By MARK MUCKENFUSS
July 23, 2008
When Agxibel Barajas applied for an internship program at Merrill Lynch three years ago, she didn't expect to end up in a movie.
Barajas, 22, of Coachella, is one of seven young women featured in the new documentary "what's your point, honey?" The film by Amy Sewell, who also made the Oscar-nominated "Mad Hot Ballroom," and Susan Toffler looks at some potential female leaders, asking the question: Who might be the first female president?
Sewell emphasizes the fact that she and Toffler began researching their subject in 2005.
"We had this idea before Sen. Clinton did," she said.
Working with Project 2024 -- a joint venture between CosmoGirl magazine and The White House Project that provides leadership-oriented internships to young women -- the filmmakers decided to make the seven interns in the project part of, and ultimately the focus of, their film.
The interns came from a variety of backgrounds, but none were quite as removed from the high-powered Manhattan environment where they spent the summer of 2006 as Barajas.
Both New York natives, Sewell and Toffler had their eyes opened when they came to film Barajas in her home environment.
"When we went out in the fields of Coachella, and felt the soil below us and in our fingers and touched the plants, it was an amazing experience," Sewell said.
She said they also got a sense of how hard Barajas' family worked. Both Victor and Veronica Barajas are Mexican immigrants. Victor now drives a cab and Veronica is a cosmetologist. But both were field workers until just a few years ago.
Their struggles did not go unnoticed by their daughter.
"I was impressed by my parents' hard work," Barajas said. "They worked hard so we could focus on school."
From an early age, she said, she expected she would attend college.
"When I was in fourth grade, my oldest brother was in college," she said. "I think I knew then that I was going to go."
Her mother said she would have been happy to see Agxibel attend a technical school and get a good job. Her dream was to make sure her daughter had enough education to get a good job and not have to work in the fields.
"I always wanted her to study something even if it wasn't anything major," said Veronica Barajas, 48. "I didn't want her to be ignorant like her father and me."
She may not have realized how determined her young daughter was. Agxibel Barajas says any time she was told she couldn't do something because of her age or gender, it made her angry.
"It was never in my nature to just accept things," she said. "I always wanted things to be fair, so I fought with everyone."
Sights Set Higher
Midway through high school, she began to question her own limited expectations of initially attending a junior college.
"I started looking out of the box," she said. "I applied to the summer session at Stanford and that opened up many doors."
Fourth in her high school class, Barajas applied and was accepted to several high-profile private universities. But Stanford, her first choice, turned her down. She decided to attend USC, majoring in finance.
A framed photo in her parents' living room shows Barajas in her USC graduation robe, a lei of red and yellow flowers hanging from her neck. The photo was taken in 2007.
Barajas will enter the University of Arizona College of Law this fall. She isn't sure whether that will lead to an eventual step into politics.
"I'm not ruling anything out," she said, adopting a phrase often used by politicians. "Someday, if (a run for office) were ever to happen, it would probably be when I was 40 or 50. I just feel I can have a bigger impact on my community through local politics. I don't necessarily have to hold an office."
But she does want to contribute to her community -- and she hopes the film will inspire others to do the same.
"We, as women, need to take on more leadership roles and be supportive of other female colleagues," she said. "The documentary aims at raising awareness and inspiring women and motivating women to run for office.
"If I can inspire someone, I'll feel good about it," she added. "For me, that was the most valuable thing I got from it, the fact that I got to share my story."
Striving to Inspire
The film is playing at a festival in San Francisco. Plans are in the works to arrange a showing in the Coachella area. The DVD is also available at www.whatsyourpointhoney.com.
Barajas said she doesn't feel like a star in any way. She has spent the last year working as a substitute teacher, often at Coachella Valley High School, where she graduated just a few years ago and where her older brother, Victor, is a calculus teacher. She said she has had the opportunity to share her story with and counsel some of the female students there.
If they see the film, she said, she hopes those young women will see something attainable.
"They shouldn't be impressed," she said, referring to her own accomplishments. "That should be their expectation as well."
Reach Mark Muckenfuss at 951-368-9595 or mmuckenfuss@PE.com
