Just as Cesar Chavez waged a battle in the fields for farm workers rights, Arizonans must do battle in the classroom to ensure every child is afforded higher educational opportunities, a speaker said Thursday.

Paul Luna, president and chief executive of Helios Education Foundation, gave the keynote speech at the annual Cesar Chavez Breakfast attended by more than 500 people at the Glendale Civic Center. The breakfast was hosted by the Glendale Chamber Foundation and the Glendale Hispanic Network.

"Arizona needs to decide if we as a state value education," Luna said. "Education changes lives and makes communities better."   
  
Luna said he and hi sister learned the value of education from their father, a copper-mine worker. 

"He worked every day to give us the opportunity for an education," said Luna, who was born in Miami, a community east of the Valley. "He created a culture for me and my sister that we could do and be whatever we wanted to be."

He called it "transformational" the day he graduated with a degree in civil engineering, becoming a first-generation college graduate.

Luna compared what his parents did for him to what Chavez did for farm workers, advocating for fair wages, a safe working environment and medical benefits.

"I believe if Cesar Chavez were here today and looked around our state he would say we have a lot of work to do in this state," he said. "The battle or fight is not just in the fields. I believe the battle is now in the classroom."

The Stanford University-educated Luna said today’s students are competing in a global economy for jobs against other students who are better educated.

"Arizona is at a crossroads to decide what the future of Arizona will be and how we will be viewed," Luna said.

Making sure every child gets a shot at secondary education gives them the opportunity to succeed on their own merits, not based on income, where their parents were born or the color of their skin, he said.

But there are some state leaders who view education as an expense and not an investment, he said.

"They view it as a disease, a cancer that needs to be cut out," he said, referring to proposed state-budget cuts to education.

He said cuts to the state community college and university systems mean fewer students can access higher learning.

"It’s time for us to stand up," he said, evoking the spirit of Chavez. "We will be the voice for our students that no one listens to."

The event also recognized Rick Alvarez, principal of Harold W. Smith Elementary School, and businessman Guadalupe Medina for promoting diversity in the community.