Graduating Fresno State elder Timothy M. Flores Jr. is blunt astir his younger self: “I was a knucklehead. When I was astatine schoolhouse I would conscionable get into trouble.” Completing his acquisition is Flores’ latest milestone successful a travel of self-transformation. Despite a troubled youth, struggles with poorness and idiosyncratic tragedies, Flores is present a devoted household man, a assured nonrecreational and a servant person dedicated to helping others.
A business medication (real estate) major, Flores is the victor of the 2025 Craig School of Business Re-Entry Award, which recognizes an outstanding pupil who started assemblage precocious oregon returned aft an extended break. He and different graduates volition beryllium recognized astatine the Craig School commencement from 8 to 9:30 a.m. connected Friday, May 16, astatine Save Mart Center.
In summation to his world achievements, Flores volunteers with the Prison Education Project for Madera County Juvenile Hall and has led a service-learning task to make selling and nationalist outreach for the St. Francis Homeless Project, which assists women who person suffered quality trafficking, home violence, intelligence wellness issues and homelessness.
“Tim is simply a standout,” said Anna Borgeas, a lecturer successful the Department of Management and supervisor of Flores’ service-learning project. “Throughout my clip moving with him, I’ve been continually impressed by his exceptional enactment skills. He leads not conscionable with confidence, but with integrity and empathy — qualities that animate those astir him.”
Getting to this constituent wasn’t easy. In precocious school, Flores said helium was a promising pupil who didn’t easy acceptable into accepted education. He excelled astatine Furman Independent Study, a continuation precocious schoolhouse successful Madera, and took college-level classes astatine Madera Community College.
“I went to Madera Community College erstwhile I was 18, and instantly I didn’t consciousness similar I belonged. I dropped out, had a kid, didn’t adjacent decorativeness precocious school, got my GED,” Flores said.
Years of conflict followed. Flores worked arsenic a instrumentality relation successful a container factory, moving six-day weeks for arsenic debased arsenic $12 an hour. He had a hard archetypal matrimony that ended erstwhile helium mislaid his woman to addiction. He got successful occupation with the law. By his precocious 20s, Flores, present remarried, had 5 children (one adopted) and was struggling to negociate connected his debased pay.
“I was bushed of hardly surviving paycheck to paycheck,” Flores said. “We had nutrient insecurities. The PG&E measure sometimes didn’t get paid. I thought, acquisition is my outlet to springiness my kids thing much than conscionable the bare minimum.”
Flores said his contiguous wife, Nicole, a transitional kindergarten educator, has been a pillar of enactment successful finishing his education. “She said, ‘I’m going to enactment afloat time, I privation you to spell to schoolhouse afloat time,’” Flores said. “She’s been holding down the fort, and I’ve been going to schoolhouse afloat clip since then.”
In 2024, Flores’ beingness was rocked by 3 tragedies: his member was fatally struck by a drunk driver, Nicole and their 2 daughters were earnestly injured successful different car accident, and his champion person of 30 years died. Despite his grief, Flores stayed connected way due to the fact that of his committedness to his family.
“I mourned, I cried, I didn’t devour for immoderate time. But I ever got my homework done. I was inactive determination astatine each carnal therapy assignment for my daughters truthful they could locomotion again. It tested my willpower and resilience. But you prime yourself up and support going. I couldn’t springiness up connected them, truthful I couldn’t springiness up connected myself,” Flores said.
Flores is adamant helium wouldn’t person made it done assemblage without the assistance of programs like TRIO, a programme providing world support, fiscal assistance and fiscal literacy; Project Rebound a enactment programme for students who were formerly incarcerated; and Services for Students with Disabilities. He besides said helium couldn’t person done it without the guidance of professors Dr. Andres Jauregui and Dr. Jacquelin Curry of the Department of Finance, Real Estate and Business Law, and assorted world advisers. He said the assistance helium received has strengthened his dedication to helping others.
“Project Rebound has truly helped mold maine into the antheral I americium today,” Flores said. “They thatch that everyone tin marque a difference, nary substance what your inheritance is. I privation to beryllium a servant leader. Service fulfills the server.”
“Tim faced galore adversities extracurricular the classroom. Any 1 of these would person been capable for immoderate radical to quit,” Curry said. “Not Timothy, helium not lone continuously communicated and showed up, but continued to enactment hard and participate, passionately, successful schoolroom discussion. He is simply a pupil that lifts different students up careless of what helium mightiness beryllium dealing with oregon going through. I cognize helium volition proceed to animate others adjacent him and passim his assemblage done his perseverance and kindness.”
Despite each the troubles successful his past, the aboriginal looks agleam to Flores. He plans to commencement a vocation arsenic a selling communications nonrecreational and existent property investor, and helium is encouraging his children to excel successful their acquisition and prosecute ambitious goals.
“Every greeting I aftermath up with a grin connected my face,” Flores said. “I look astatine myself successful the mirror, and I say, ‘I’m not the feline I utilized to be.’ I person a purpose, and my intent is to springiness my kids a beingness I ne'er had.”
