A Letter From The Publisher

Engineering Solutions to Overcoming
Life’s Obstacles

Each of us has certain obstacles to overcome in our lives. Some of these obstacles are greater than others. Take, for, example Fresno State engineering graduate, Sam Iacobellis, this month’s Vox Pop Influential (Page 19).
The obstacles that Sam faced over five decades ago were pretty imposing. Sam was the son of Italian immigrants. His father was uneducated and couldn’t speak any English when he first arrived here. Sam’s dad did do one thing very well – he worked extremely hard and instilled that work ethic in his family, particularly in his son, Sam.
Sam, in turn, not only worked hard on the family farm in Fresno, he also excelled in sports. He had enough talent in football to get a full scholarship to Fresno State. But football really wasn’t Sam’s greatest strength – math was. Fortunately for Sam, his teachers recognized this hidden talent and encouraged him to “reach for the sky.” Thank goodness for our teachers!
Little did they know that Sam would literally reach for the sky – and the moon – as he began designing and building rocket engines after finishing Fresno State with an engineering degree. Eleven years later he returned to school to get his master’s degree at UCLA in Aeronautical Engineering and Rarified Gas Dynamics. As the rest of the story goes, Sam’s engineering contributions helped propel both the Saturn V and the space shuttle programs into orbit and earned him the nickname “Father of the B-1B Bomber.”
Sam’s work ethic never changed. Even after college it was stellar. Early on in his career as a draftsman at Rockwell (earning $1.62 an hour) he found himself always arriving early and staying late at his job – it was his nature. And he wasn’t doing it for the recognition. He really loved his work and took pride in being part of the team that would put astronauts on the moon.
Rockwell management recognized Sam’s stick-to-itiveness, in more ways than one by awarding him the company’s best parking space, right next to the front door. Their reasoning was simple – Sam worked longer and harder than other employees, and they wanted everyone to pass by Sam’s car each morning and evening as they were arriving and leaving work. Yes, Sam was still there on the job … with all the talent, energy and effort a young man could muster!
While Sam was a good example of the American dream-come-true, there are other stories dealing with obstacles that are truly nightmares. Our story honoring April as Child Abuse Prevention Month, (Page 26) along with the hard work of our local Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) volunteers, is equally as compelling as Sam Iacobellis’ story.
But many times these stories do not have happy endings. Just this week the local news reported that DNA tests revealed it was the same unknown mother in a nearby community who abandoned three babies over a period of 22 months. One of these babies, less than 14 hours old, died as a result.
Sam Iacobellis, now approaching the golden years of his life, could not have accomplished anything if it weren’t for his parents and their guidance. They nurtured and encouraged him throughout his youth. He paid them and society back by working hard and becoming an aviation industry leader, not just an engineer. (Sam’s last job at Rockwell was Deputy Chairman.)
The moral of these two stories are very similar. We need to offer opportunities to our youth. If we do not, there will always be someone abandoned. I am still hopeful for our society because of the hard work of parents, teachers and CASA volunteers like Larry Garcia, Donna Bertao and Cathy Hatfield.
It should be our goal to encourage and inspire our youth and those young adults who may believe their life is hopeless. We all need someone who believes in us – that defines the word “advocate” – a true believer.
Someday, hopefully soon, young mothers will no longer feel the need to abandon their babies because no-one seems to care. Someday, real soon!

Publisher
R.J. Latronico

Editor–In–Chief
Ernest Wayne Cunningham

Creative Services Director
Eric D. Cribbs

Contributors
Alana Unger, Harvey Mackay, David Humerickhouse DDS, John Davis, Nick Kenney, Kurt Eichsteadt.

Contact Information
VOX POP Influentials
Volume 2 Issue No.5 APRIL 2007

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