By Gina Ledbetter with Pepperdine Voice (Posted: August 18, 2005)

Throughout his life, Mark Apodaca has endeavored to turn his hearing loss into gain -- to make his deafness serve rather than hinder him. Apodaca tragically lost his hearing at the young age of six. "I feel I have spent much of my lifetime proving myself because I am Mexican and deaf," he said.

Energized by the challenges in his life, he not only achieved his dream of obtaining a college degree (Seaver College, 1978), he earned his Pepperdine MBA in 1983. Beginning his undergraduate studies at Golden West College in Huntington Beach, California, Apodaca eventually found his place at Pepperdine, and a lifelong friend in Howard A. White, then Pepperdine's executive vice president.

In a letter to Apodaca, White assessed the needs of this "young man of promise," and made it possible for him to earn his master's degree. White wrote, "I am writing to promise you that Pepperdine University will provide for you a cash grant in order to provide an interpreter for your classes as you pursue the MBA degree at Pepperdine University." It was a promise that changed Apodaca's life forever.

During Apodaca's college years, between 1972 and 1978, Hispanics and Latinos accounted for a mere two percent of all bachelor's and master's degrees granted to students in the United States. "Can you imagine what the statistics were when you are both Mexican and deaf?" asked Apodaca.

Apodaca never went to a school for the deaf where he could communicate with American Sign Language (ASL). His public schools provided special programs for deaf and hard of hearing students, but did not offer ASL. He had to overcome challenges himself - - through hard work and perseverance.

The effort has paid off, and Apodaca's life has been a fantastic journey. From storeroom clerk to CEO, his career has led him to his current position as head of national programs and is in charge of seventeen states at CSD, an organization that provides services for deaf and hard of hearing individuals. He is also seeking the vice presidency of the National Association of the Deaf, with whom he has volunteered since 1996.

After receiving his MBA, Apodaca was promoted five times within four years at Hughes Electronics Corporation as head of finance. While still at Hughes, he taught accounting courses at University of California, Los Angeles Extension. Having all hearing students, he unknowingly taught tolerance, and improved many of his students' perspectives about deaf culture.

In 1993, Apodaca became director of finance of the Greater Los Angeles Council on Deafness, Inc., and in 1999 left his position there as the chief executive officer to join CSD's Georgia Division as director. In 2001, Apodaca moved to South Dakota to become the CSD assistant vice president of programs, and initiated human services for the deaf in four states.

Apodaca has gone beyond accomplishing his dreams - - he has made it possible for others to accomplish theirs. For the past twenty years he has served on the boards of several nonprofit organizations. He was awarded the Golden West College Alumni Pillar of Achievement in 2002, becoming the first and only deaf alumnus in the college's nearly forty-year history to be honored. "All of this may never have happened if it wasn't for Dr. White's willingness to open the door and allow me to study for my MBA at Pepperdine," Apodaca reflected.

"During my first year at Golden West College, I set a goal to become a manager within a corporation and a teacher at a university. I was told by some instructors that they were unrealistic goals. Years later, I accomplished both."