Alejandro Benavides was born in southern Texas, and grew up in Aurora, Illinois, his family part of the second wave of people with Mexican ancestry who migrated there in the early ...visualizza altroAlejandro Benavides was born in southern Texas, and grew up in Aurora, Illinois, his family part of the second wave of people with Mexican ancestry who migrated there in the early 1950s. After graduated from East Aurora High School, he served four years in the U.S. Air Force. He holds an AA in sociology from Waubonsee Community College, a BA in special education from Northern Illinois University, an MA in education from Nation Lewis University, and a PhD in educational leadership from Southern Illinois University-Carbondale. His career included bilingual teacher, bilingual education specialist, bilingual special education administrator, and special education due-process hearing officer for the Chicago Public Schools. He was also superintendent of the Illinois Center for Rehabilitation and Education in Chicago for students with severe physical disabilities and traumatic brain injuries, and Director of Secondary Education for the Aurora East Public School District. In addition to publishing several academic articles in educational journals as well as his doctoral dissertation, Alejandro wrote the 50-year commemorative issue of Aquí Es Mi Tierra: The History of the Aurora Latin American Club. His forthcoming books are titled: Everyone Has a Story: The Early Immigration and Migration of People from Mexican Ancestry to Aurora, Illinois, and The Hispanic Big Bang: La Hispanida in Aurora, Illinois.visualizza meno