USD Magazine Summer 2021

San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria ‘00 (BA) as a child alongside then- Governor George Deukmejian in 1989. Tell me about your childhood and growing up in San Diego. What was that like? It was a good childhood. I come from a working-class family, so it was a childhood with limitations in terms of economic resources. I was blessed with incredible par- ents with great morals and values that have served me well through- out my whole life. I have to say that I won the geographic lottery by being born in San Diego. It’s hard to move here now, financial- ly, right? Being born here gave me a running start. There were certainly challenges for a variety of reasons, but, on the whole, I was born at the right place to the right people. I’m lucky. I like to refer to them as a maid and a gardener, since that’s what their professions were when I was born. They married young and they had both struggled. I think in many ways they served as life rafts for one another. They provided a great founda- tion for my brother and me. Over time, my dad found his way to the defense industry, which had good paying jobs for people who didn’t have high educational attainment. Both my parents went to high school, but they didn’t go to college. And my mom did a very long series of jobs until she liter- ally just worked herself into dis- ability. She’s the hardest working person you’d ever meet. It’s a blessing that we still have her. I understand that you were engaged in pol i t ical act ivi t ies at the age of 10. How did that get star ted? I’m sure you’ve talked to students at USD who are undecided majors, What did your mom and dad do for a living?

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