#FlashbackFriday: 2005—An SVP Reflects on His Great-Grandmother’s ‘Tortilla University’

Updated at 12:44 p.m. Sept. 27 to correct Marilyn Cerna’s title.

For National Hispanic Heritage Month, Flashback Friday looks back on the story of Javier Cerna, a 31-year Exchange associate who retired as senior vice president of Western Region in 2005.

That year, Cerna spoke about the education that influenced his childhood and his success at the Exchange. Although he went to a public school, the education he was talking about came from what he called “Tortilla University”—or what he learned from his great-grandmother when he was growing up.

Cerna, his brother and two cousins were born in Eagle Pass, Texas, a town on the Mexican border. Near the school the four boys attended was the small house of Conchita Martinez, Cerna’s 82-year-old great-grandmother. Because their parents worked, the boys would go to her house after school. They’d sit in the kitchen while Martinez cooked tortillas, one at a time, on her gas stove.

“I didn’t realize it at the time,” Cerna said during his presentation, “but every day while she was slowly cooking tortillas, she would bond with us, she would mentor us, she would talk to us about integrity and tell us that we were the most handsome boys in Eagle Pass.”

Martinez talked to the boys about values and respect. She asked them what they learned in school that day and then went over the lesson. She told them that they could be anything that they wanted in life and that they could decide for themselves how far they would go.

“Little did I realize the impact that she had over us the few years that we attended ‘Tortilla University,”’ said Cerna, who graduated from high school when he was 16. He went on to earn a bachelor’s degree in management and a master’s degree in business.

Cerna joined the Exchange in 1974 as a retail college trainee. His career spanned many retail management positions including: Fort Douglas, Utah; Fort Huachuca, Arizona; Fort Bragg (now Fort Liberty), North Carolina; and Eglin AFB in Florida, where he was general manager.

In 1993, he became chief of the Human Resources Development and Training Division. In 1997, he was promoted to vice president, Western Region. In 2001, Cerna served as senior vice president, Central Region. In 2002, he became Senior Vice President, Human Resources. He moved to SVP for Western Region in 2003.

“Although AAFES associates can’t attend my great grandmother’s Tortilla University, they can still strive to be their best, like the four young boys in the story,” he said during his talk. “AAFES is a great company to work for because there are abundant opportunities for promotion if you have integrity, are willing to work hard and believe in your capabilities.”

Cerna’s wife, Marilyn, also worked for the Exchange. She retired in January 2004 as a Senior Human Resources specialist. She had been with the organization 33 years.

Cerna wasn’t the only success story among the boys. Cerna’s cousin, Rolando Santos, had a 25-year career at CNN in multiple executive roles before retiring in 2016 as CEO of CNN Chile. He was the first Latino to win an Emmy for broadcasting on Spanish-language television.

Javier’s brother, David Cerna Jr., became a successful entrepreneur in El Paso His other cousin, Frank Santos, Jr., retired from Xerox as a senior vice president not long before Javier gave his talk.

Sources: Exchange Post archives, Media Moves