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Ligon De Ita, Nancy

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University of the Pacific Scholarly Commons Callison College and School of International Studies Colleges and Schools 2023 Ligon De Ita Nancy - Callison College One Pager Nancy Ligon De Ita Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarlycommons.pacific.edu/callison-college-sis Recommended Citation Ligon De Ita, Nancy, "Ligon De Ita Nancy - Callison College One Pager" (2023). Callison College and School of International Studies. 37. https://scholarlycommons.pacific.edu/callison-college-sis/37 This Interview is brought to you for free and open access by the Colleges and Schools at Scholarly Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Callison College and School of International Studies by an authorized administrator of Scholarly Commons. For more information, please contact mgibney@pacific.edu. The value of an International EducationI attended Lowell High school, a feeder school to UC Berkeley.  I got one C too many in mysenior year and had to settle on a state college or the expensive  private UOP.  Looking over theUOP brochure I saw the opportunity to travel in a meaningful way. (I am the daughter of a seacaptain who sent me dolls from every port in the world, opening my eyes to a wider world.)  Ialso saw interdisciplinary classes named, Heritage of Man, AnthroLinguistics, and realized thiswas going to be interesting, rather than just taking rote requirements leading to a predictabledegree and career.  And isn't that what college is supposed to be -- a way of meanderingthrough subjects until you hit upon the one that helps you find your purpose in life?Callison promoted a sophomore year abroad in a culture as different as possible, when we werestill mulling our career choices and still flexible and impressionable.  I went to India with about90 other students.  We had Indian teachers of language, dance, art history, and, of course,yoga.  We had 3 long travel periods which, due to my father's contacts I was able to see EastPakistan before it became Bangladesh and Ceylon before it became Sri Lanka.  Seeing thepoverty, floods, and religious factionalism that led to those wars, made me realize that a countryis not stable unless it has a sizable middle class and religious and social freedom.I also began to realize what a privilege it was to be an American.  In 1970  East Indians werenot allowed to travel outside the country with more than $90 on them.  In India, at that time, onecould not get a good job without family connections. Marriages were often arranged.Individualism was subservient to Family.  As Americans, we were a fount of information aboutthe outside world and we were welcomed by every caste and religion.  When we femalestudents traveled alone by train, Indian families would adopt us for the trip, keeping us safe,while peppering us with questions about America.Upon return to the United States, we experienced some culture shock. This made us restless tofind another unique experience.  I, for financial reasons, worked for a year in the Stockton PublicLibrary, children's room.  I then transferred to the U.S. accredited bilingual University ofAmericas, in Cholula, Mexico for my junior and senior year.  They didn't have an anthropologydepartment but they did have an archaeology department, situated next to one of the largestpyramids in the world. However I ended up with a degree is Spanish Literature.  On graduationday I married a local attorney and we headed back up to the Bay Area.I could not find an interesting job with this degree so I continued to work full time and went tonight law school and had our first of two children. This may seem daunting to others, butsomething about the challenges of living abroad for 3 years, made it seem like just anotherhurdle to go through.  I became a deputy D.A. in S.F. for six years, then took a big cut in pay toswitch to civil litigation.  Once I learned how to do personal injury and family law, I took anotherleap and started my own bilingual law office.  We particularly enjoyed serving the Latinocommunity but also prized our Indian and Pakistani clients.  Again, my life abroad served mewell in helping me understand the needs and concerns of other cultures.Besides the law, and raising kids, my interest in other cultures, and the reasons people migrate,led me to genealogy.  My maternal grandmother, Fructuosa Ortiz, was an 8th generation NewMexican whose forebears walked from Mexico City to Santa Fe in 1694.  I found many cousinsin that state and became a frequent speaker for the Historical Society of New Mexico.  Mymaternal grandfather, Otto Mengelkamp's grandfather came to Cincinnati in 1861 fromWestphalia, Germany.  I organized an American Mengelkamp family reunion in Oldenberg,Indiana (where their farm was situated) and later an International Mengelkamp family reunion inOelffen, Germany.  We had men, whose fathers and grandfathers had fought against each otherin World War I and II, laughing and sharing photos and family trees, becoming family again.  Onmy father's Ligon side, I was able to join an international family reunion at our English cousins'manor house of Madresfield, England, learning that our family was the  basis of theautobiographical novel Brideshead Revisited.Oh, and in my spare time, I began doing walking marathons, raising money  for the Leukemia &Lymphoma society.  This led to walking across Spain on the Camino Frances for a month,meeting people from all over the world on that pilgrimage journey, a gesture towards myCatholic heritage from all my ancestors.I have now retired to Puebla, Mexico where I am an integral part of my husband's large family.  Iteach English as a second language (pronunciation and conversation) to primary students oneday a week.  I get to open my students' eyes to the world through power points of photos andstories about the countries of my travels around the world:  England, Australia, Spain, Italy,Argentina, Peru, Brazil, Costa Rica, Fiji, New Mexico and of course India.So, I think, by living abroad, you become a citizen of the world, and many more opportunitiesopen up to you.  You gain a confidence to go to that which makes you happy, taking smart risks,knowing that you are lucky to have the advantages of being an American, and there is nothingyou can't do if you follow your heart in work, play, and life.Nancy Ligon de Ita

Ligon De Ita Nancy - Callison College One Pager

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Ligon De Ita Nancy - Callison College One Pager

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