November 2021 – Jennifer Rocha graduated from University of California-San Diego in June. But Rocha had her graduation pictures made in the farm fields where she and her parents had worked after immigrating to the United States from Michoacán, Mexico. The stunning photographs show Rocha dressed in heels, wearing her cap and gown. In one photo, she hands her tasseled cap to her parents, dressed in their “regular field picking work clothes” and standing in a field of pepper plants.
“The whole reason I wanted to go back to the fields with my parents,” Rocha explained, “is because I wouldn’t have the degree and the diploma if it weren’t for them.”
For Rocha, her graduation photos of the farm fields are a tribute to her parents and other immigrants, who tirelessly work some of the nation’s most menial and low-paying jobs to support their families while helping provide food for all Americans.
“I’m proud that’s where I come from,” said Rocha. “It’s a huge part of who I am.”
