For Raymond Herrera, Ph.D., McNair Scholars program director, and Lucila Loera, executive director in the Office for Access & Opportunity, their journey started at WSU within the welcoming walls of the Chicano/Latino Student Center.

Loera went to the center because she was trying to find a place to call home and connect with people. Herrera happened to be working there, she said.

Herrera, who came to Pullman in fall 1992, has a different recollection—he was a student mentor for the center during Week of Welcome and met many students, so he did not remember meeting Loera there.

Herrera said Loera came to the library in the College of Education where he worked behind the counter to check out books. She came in Monday, then Tuesday, then Wednesday and so on.

“I thought, ‘This girl reads a lot,’” he said.

Before Herrera realized what was happening, Loera said she already knew he was going to be an important person in her life.

“There was this notion that came into my head when we shook hands—this is the man I’m going to marry,” Loera said.

While education and responsibilities were their primary focus, the more they got to know each other, the more they realized they had the same values, common life goals and shared histories, Herrera said. Even though they grew up in different places, they found solace and safety in each other as Chicano and Chicana students from California navigating life in a predominantly white region.

“We felt comfortable sharing all those thoughts and fears, hopes and dreams,” Herrera said.

Their careers also took parallel paths, as both wanted to stay in higher education to help the next generation of students of color succeed in college, he said.

Loera said many people know them separately in their respective roles at WSU and are surprised to learn they are married. A newly hired colleague once tried to introduce them to each other, unaware they were already husband and wife, she said.

Herrera and Loera have worked together in several campus organizations, including the Chicanx/Latinx Graduate Students Association, CAMARADAS and the WSU Faculty Staff Association, Loera said.

“There were points where we did need to make a choice if we were going to keep doing this,” Herrera said.

When Loera graduated, she had the option to return to California but chose to stay and work at WSU. Later, Herrera received offers from Ph.D. programs elsewhere but ultimately decided to remain in Pullman.

“Certainly, one of the reasons why I stayed was because Luci was here,” he said.

Loera said they have always supported each other’s career goals, and now she is working on her Ph.D. at Colorado State University while maintaining her full-time job at WSU.

Herrera said their shared commitment to public service is a guiding force in their lives.

“We have always worked in public service, and we probably always will, to give back to the greater good,” he said.

As their relationship grew, so did the challenges they faced together. Early on, both lost their fathers within months of each other.

“Oftentimes, what brings folks together is tragedy,” Herrera said. “That had us turning to each other for love and support.”

Loera said they endured a lot of loss but also met each other’s families through those experiences.

Among their many cherished memories, one stands out for Herrera—the day Loera took him out for his birthday.

“She asked if I had plans, and I didn’t. I was broke and didn’t have a car, and she didn’t either. But she said, ‘I’m going to take you out.’ And she did. I thought that was pretty awesome,” he said.

The Chinese restaurant they visited, now rebuilt as Zoe’s, became a place of tradition.

“Every year after that, we would go back,” Loera said.