Rick Bazaldua Employment and Training Employment Readiness Instructor

First Job: My first job was at the tender age of 7, helping my parents tie grape vines and laying sheets of paper on the ground for grapes during the raisin season. My first job on my own was working as a cashier/cook for Long John Silver.

Birthplace: Tulare , CA

Years at EOC: 4 years

Best advice ever received: From my mother: “Don’t worry what people say about you unless they are supporting you financially.” This advice was given to me when I was young and wearing secondhand clothes.

Favorite advice I give: “ Be strong! Don’t be afraid to tell people what you want otherwise you’ll never get what you need.”

Favorite restaurant, dish, or pig-out food: cookies and cream ice cream

Proudest moment: graduating from Fresno City College and earning my A.A. in Liberal Arts. I am the first in my family to graduate from college.

Greatest personal accomplishment: p urchasing my new home. Thank you Obama for the incentives!

Best vacation I’ve taken/dream vacation: g oing to Mexico and visiting my parent’s hometowns …. or “ranchitos”!

Favorite weekend activity: hanging out with my parents, sisters, brother, nephews and nieces; “I am a pretty important person around here.” When I am around my family I am the happiest.

Last good movie I saw: Classic “What ever happened to Baby Jane”

Scariest experience: p urchasing a home…

If I had a million dollars I would … pay-off my house, build my parents a new kitchen, and invest the rest.

Favorite place to shop: Rasputin … I like to collect old records.

Favorite childhood memory: crawling into bed with my parents and siblings on Sunday morning and listening to my parents tell stories of their childhoods

Words that describe me best: Funny, Strong, Positive, Sarcastic, Sensitive, and Handsome

I like to watch: old family videos…

In my spare time … I enjoy listening to music or watching TV.