Willmar women honored for community endeavor
The women were part of the group that received the “25 on the Rise” award at a ceremony on Nov. 29. Most of the other recipients are from the Twin Cities area.
The award is given to people younger than 40 who are working to improve their communities and who set high ethical and professional standards for themselves.
Schwab, 30, is an Edina Realty real estate agent and is currently working to develop the Willmar Area Multicultural Market.
Diaz, 39, is a community organizer for the Raices Project, which strives to empower Latinos to take on leadership roles in the community. She also received the Latino Empowerment Award from Central Legal on Wednesday.
The women said they were nominated for the “25 on the Rise” award and then were asked to provide more information about themselves. This fall, they went to the Twin Cities to have their photos taken and to be interviewed for a feature in Twin Cities Business magazine.
Schwab said they were honored as much for the work they do outside their jobs as for what they have done in their careers.
“They talked about where you came from,” she said. She was born in El Paso, Texas, and attended Willmar schools. “What brought my family here was agriculture,” she said. “I’ve been working in the fields since I was 8 years old.” At 14, she got a fast food job.
She married young and was a teenage mother, she said, and she went through all the struggles that come along with that early start.
“I think that’s what’s helped me do the work that I do,” she said. “I can relate to what people are going through.”
Schwab is also a member of the U.S. Navy Reserve. She joined a year ago and was recently promoted to the rank of petty officer 3rd class. She has volunteered to be part of the funeral guard, she said, and she likes being there for families and being part of the official farewell to veterans.
When she can, she said, she likes to involve her three children in her work in the community.
Diaz talked about her history, too. When she first came to the United States from Mexico, she worked as a maid in California, “and I was proud of that,” she said. “I didn’t even know there was such a thing as working helping others.”
Moving to Willmar made a difference in her life.
“Willmar made me,” she said. “Ever since I came here, I’ve discovered myself.” She learned many things through her work for the PACT 4 Collaborative, the West Central Integration Collaborative and the Willmar Public Schools.
Her past, including learning English as a second language, helps her understand others, she said, and she enjoys helping people so they can make their lives more successful.
Her jobs with the Raices Project “is one of the best,” she said. “At least we’re in the beginning of the process where we can all work together and respect each other.”
The women said Willmar has been a role model for other communities around the state.
At conferences, Diaz said, they are often asked, “How do you do that in Willmar?”
People are impressed by how agencies in the Willmar area work together. “There’s a definite pride in being part of this community,” she said.
Other communities are interested in the WAMM concept, too, Schwab said.
In developing plans for the market, she said, the goal is to have everyone in the area involved in it. “The best way to make change is to include everybody.”
The Centro Legal award was given to five people from around the state who have supported Latinos in their community through hard times. Diaz said she does volunteer work for Centro Legal and helped inform people of their rights when immigration agents conducted raids in Willmar last spring.
She continues to work with some of the families affected by helping families provide for their basic needs and driving people to required court appearances.
Schwab and Diaz said they felt the awards they received actually should be shared with many people.
That includes their families. “We have really exceptional husbands,” Diaz said, as Schwab nodded. Antonio Diaz and Jason Schwab have supported their wives’ community activism, even when it sometimes interferes with family time, they said.
“My job with the community is very rewarding by itself; I wasn’t expecting any of these awards,” Diaz said. “There is definitely support from a lot of people.”
Learning to lead starts by being a good follower, Schwab said. “There’s a lot of people in the community that have trained us.” She is here because her parents wanted to make sure their children grew up in a good environment, she said.
Both praised the West Central Integration Collaborative and its director Idalia “Charly” Leuze for providing guidance early on.
