In the early 1940s, my mother, Frutosa Ortiz Vigil, and father, Policarpio Vigil, had three young children. The family lived mostly in the Cundiyó area.

My father had to find work wherever he could. He often left the family to travel to other cities or states to where there was work. He worked as a general laborer, miner, sheepherder — anything to keep the family sheltered, fed and clothed. Life for the family was probably not hard, but by today's standards, it could be classified as living just above poverty level.

My grandfather, Hilario Ortiz, looked at this young family and its circumstances and told my mother to move to Santa Fe. For the good of the children, he advised her to move to where there was a better educational system, because chances were slim at that time for a high quality education in the remote villages of Truchas and Cundiyó.

In 1944, the family moved to a house on Camino Don Miguel in Santa Fe. Thus began my parents' work to heed my grandfather's advice and give the children the best education they could. The children first attended Manderfield Elementary School, but with passage of time and accumulation of resources, the three children were able to enroll at St. Francis Elementary School. From St. Francis, they went on to St. Michael's and Loretto Academy.

My brother, Paul, and I were born in the attic apartment of the building that now adjoins the Rio Chama Restaurant. Midwifery was common for families in those days; we were delivered by nuns from the Sisters of Charity. My brother and I also went on to attend St. Francis and St. Michael's.

What did my grandfather, Hilario, know about the value of a good education in the early 1940s? My grandfather hardly, if ever, attended school, so why was he so insistent that his daughter seek good schools for her children? How could he be so wise? Somehow, Hilario knew that with a good education, life could be freer, happier and maybe easier for his grandchildren.

My parents took their parenting responsibilities very seriously. A large portion of the family income went to pay for tuition at St. Michael's and Loretto, but their determination to expose their children to the best of education never wavered. St. Michael's provided a solid education. I credit the organization of the school, and the disciplined approach to learning that it requires, as vital to the quality of my education.

I graduated from St. Michael's in 1964 and from The University of New Mexico in 1969. I did graduate work at Northern Arizona University and the University of Madrid, in Spain, and then became a math teacher at Zuni High School on the Zuni Indian Reservation. Later, I developed and ran a community education program in Gallup, and I went on to teach English in Madrid, Spain, and New Orleans. And, for 25 years, I owned and operated a construction business. I succeeded in all my ventures because of the solid grounding I received from St. Francis Elementary School and St. Michael's High School.

Robert Vigil lives in Santa Fe. He is a volunteer with the Santa Fe Public Schools.