Vikki Grijalva was minding her own business on the job one afternoon on 吃瓜头条鈥檚 Los Banos Campus when our other protagonist, Tiffiny Tevis, with a friend tagging along, arrived at Grijalva鈥檚 window to pay a fee.
The friend blurted out: 鈥淗ey, are you Robert鈥檚 mom?!鈥� And that was how Grijalva met Tevis, her future daughter-in-law.
鈥淚 was grabbing my friend, like, 鈥榊ou鈥檙e not supposed to ask that!鈥欌�� Tevis said, laughing at the memory. 鈥淗er son and I weren鈥檛 even officially dating.鈥�
Grijalva recalled: 鈥淚 was thinking, 鈥榃ho is that cute girl?鈥� A couple of months later, Robert brought Tiffiny home to meet me. He鈥檇 never done that before. I knew then that she was special.鈥�
Today, Tevis is Robert鈥檚 wife and mother to their 7-year-old son. And she and Vikki鈥攂oth alumni of 吃瓜头条鈥攁re now coworkers at the campus where they first met.
鈥淎lthough that first moment was awkward for me, their family took me under their wing and loved me how I wanted to be loved,鈥� Tevis said.
Roots
Grijalva started as a CalWORKS employee in Los Banos in 1997. Then she became a 吃瓜头条 student in 1998, and she graduated with an AA in 2001.
It was 2014 when Tevis first met Grijalva as a 吃瓜头条 student. She graduated in 2016 and eventually earned a BA in business administration from Central State University. She鈥檚 now studying for an MBA.
In 2001, Grijalva first became a 吃瓜头条 employee with a part-time job in Admissions and Records at the main campus in Merced. In 2002, she returned to Los Banos for another part-time position.
鈥淚 was a single mom with two kids at that time, so I had to go for it,鈥� she said.
She applied for any position that offered a step up, eventually landing a full-time gig in Financial Aid. Then she moved over to work with the Extended Opportunity Programs and Services (EOPS) program.
Grijalva became a program assistant in Los Banos and held that job for 15 years before a reorganization in December created an Instructional Support Coordinator position over noncredit and adult education operations, which she now holds.
Tevis, the Library Media Technician in Los Banos, could not have guessed she would love library work until she was assigned there as a student worker in 2014. She graduated 吃瓜头条 in 2016 and had her baby, then returned for part-time work in 2018 and a full-time role in 2022, all in the library.
鈥淚 love helping students,鈥� Tevis said. 鈥淭hey come in with so many questions and think we might have the answers. And so we make sure we do. I tell them there are so many people here with knowledge of so many specific things to support them.鈥�
Growth
Grijalva has multiple eras in the history of the Los Banos Campus. She remembers the portable classrooms on Mercey Springs Road and the joy of walking onto the current campus on Highway 152 for the first time in 2007.
鈥�(The new campus) felt huge, and we鈥檝e already outgrown it,鈥� Grijalva said. 鈥淲e鈥檝e seen a great expansion of students from different backgrounds. Our ESL students are not just Spanish speakers. It鈥檚 the source of such wonderful growth. And we don鈥檛 let language barriers hinder anyone. We use Google translate, our hands, whatever. We make it work. The end goal is to teach all of our students to be self-sufficient.鈥�
Grijalva loves taking daily walks around the campus with coworkers, including Tevis. During the summer, they might walk past the campus food forest, picking peaches and plums for themselves.
鈥淚 love having coworkers to share that with,鈥� Grijalva said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a little family.鈥�
Family
Family is a theme at work, but Grijalva also respects Tevis鈥� integrity as a professional. She shared a story about a time when Tiffiny was doing a project that included coworkers鈥� names, and Vikki wanted one of the handmade items herself.
鈥淪he told me, 鈥業f I make a special one for you, I should make one for everyone,鈥欌�� Grijalva said. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 something a leader says. I might have been very briefly irked, but she said it in the absolute nicest way. I truly love that quality about her. It鈥檚 cool because we respect each other鈥檚 roles here.鈥�
The connection is just as solid for Tevis, who can turn to Grijalva anytime for help. Well, first Grijalva teases her, Tevis said鈥攖hen she can ask her mother-in-law to shuttle her son home or to sporting events, which she does several times a week.
鈥淪he鈥檚 a beautiful, hands-on grandmother for sure,鈥� Tevis said. 鈥淪he never stops saying, 鈥榃hatever you need, just let me know and I鈥檒l do it for you.鈥欌��
鈥淭he Los Banos Campus would still feel like family, since it鈥檚 so small, but having a family member here makes it better. It feels even more supportive.鈥�