Stories to Remember. Luis Roldan was a professional soccer player in Mexico in the position of goalkeeper. He loved the game but hated the preference shown to players from rich families and gambling in the soccer club. He also saw his friend get badly hurt and wondered if he would be next. So, he packed his bag and headed north for Arizona in 2000. And six months after that, he was even further north—in Seattle with his brother.

It was hard for Luis at the beginning even though he liked the climate, job opportunities and people better here. He started by cleaning apartments before he joined his friend to work in construction. After a while, he and his brother had saved enough money to bring their parents and two other siblings here. Luis was working on a job in Bellingham when his cousin came from California to visit his family. His cousin convinced his father, mother and sister to relocate to California. Luis didn’t want to move, but his parents persuaded him to come for a visit and see what it was like. During that time, he met a woman, fell in love, and got married. Little did he realize that he would soon be back in Mexico in order to fulfill the strict requirements for his legal status. Leaving his wife and daughter and the rest of his family to live in Mexico for a year was one of the hardest times in his life. As Luis said, “It was not a good time for me because I lose one year with my daughter.” He tried to remain positive. He remembered a saying in his country, “Put a good face on bad times.”

When he returned, his job was gone due to the bad economy in the U.S. His brother decided to start a construction company, so Luis went to work with him. People have talked to him about becoming a coach because of his background playing soccer at a professional level. Luis, however, wants to study English so that he can concentrate on becoming a policeman or a fireman. He wants to help people and fight corruption. His belief in God helps him get through difficult times. He said if something bad happens it is “because something better is going to happen in the future.” He also wants to conduct his life in a good way to be an example for his daughter. He enjoys a diverse group of friends from many countries in his ESL class. He is happy to be in English, computer, and job preparation classes for the first time since he came to the U.S. His goal for English is to speak as well as his teacher, Mila Tari, because Mila is from China and, like Luis, was not born here. She and President Obama are role models for Luis.

In this 31/2-minute excerpt from the long interview, Luis talks about his difficult time playing professional soccer in Mexico. He is pictured with the teacher whom he admisres, Mila Tari.