A SOBOBA SUCCESS STORY

Not all stories from SOBOBA involve gangsters and those shooting at sheriff's deputies. Here's a great success stories. Two of my own children graduated from college before Pechanga threw them to the street in favor of car-jackers, violent criminals and child molestors.


Geneva Mojado didn't need anyone to push her toward success, her mother says. The young Soboba Indian woman always was driven.

As a child, Mojado pushed herself in school, softball and student government. Michelle Miranda recalls waking in the middle of the night once to discover her daughter studiously working at the kitchen table on a collage due for her fifth- or sixth-grade class the next day.

As a young woman, Mojado made it through San Diego State in four years and earned a degree in criminal justice. Back home, she got elected to the Soboba tribal council for two years, played some more softball and now is eyeing law school. She said she has been fascinated by criminology for years, especially by mystery stories or psychological thrillers such as "Silence of the Lambs."
Mojado, 24, and her mother hope Mojado can serve as an inspiration to other young members of the San Jacinto-area tribe. They hope more young people take advantage of the tuition assistance the tribe provides and develop their own talents.

"I hope that ... somebody wants to follow in my footsteps -- somebody in the tribe says, 'I'm going to succeed more than her,' which will make me even more proud," Mojado said during a recent interview in her spacious Hemet home as her 2-year-old son played outdoors.

Mojado, whose two-year term on the tribal council ended this summer, already has captured the attention of her tribe's leadership. Tribal Chairman Robert Salgado singled out Mojado at Soboba's 125th anniversary celebration over the summer, urging her publicly to become a lawyer and return to serve and inspire her people.

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