If cars could talk, Ricardo Nazario y Colon’s 1997 Toyota Camry might ask for free oil for an entire year — and a break from the road.
Colon, the director of the Office of Diversity Programs, lives in Georgetown. But he commutes about two hours to work each morning. And he has no plans to change that anytime soon.
“I have children, a daughter who’s a junior in high school, that’s a major reason we can’t move,” he said.
Colon has to be in tune with his car because he’s in it alone an average of 20 hours a week to and from work. He said he has regular maintenance work done, and if he notices that something’s wrong he addresses it immediately.
Colon doesn’t drive his Camry on the weekends or during breaks to conserve it for the brutal road trips that it has to make. So far, the Camry has racked up 315,000 miles.
Colon has to drive between time zones to go to work; he wakes up at 5 a.m. Eastern time to be in Bowling Green at 7 a.m. Central time.
On his drive home, he loses an hour, which he said hinders him from doing some evening activities.
“My daughter says I’m not home enough,” Colon said. “My wife understands. She just asks that I pick our 4-year-old son up from daycare.”
Being the director of ODP doesn’t give him privileges that his colleagues wouldn’t have; his office hours are the same, and he still organizes several programs.
“I actually have a little place in Bowling Green,” he said as he laughed at having to pay two rents. “I have it so I can stay there depending on the week or what’s happening on campus.”
Colon worked at the University of Kentucky as the executive director of Multicultural Affairs before he came to Western.
“I was looking for employment, I got interviewed, impressed them and they hired me,” he said.
Colon is also a founding member of the Affrilachian Poets, which started 19 years ago at the University of Kentucky. He will be featured in the fall issue of the Louisville Review and is looking for a publisher to print his first book, “Jíbaros and Hillbillies.”
Colon said he makes the drive worth it by connecting with students and co-workers.
“He’s a good boss,” said Flowers Robinson, a junior from West Michigan and ODP assistant. “He always asks and checks with us to make sure we’re doing fine.”
Despite the 132-miles-a-day drive, Colon said his love for his job keeps him motivated.
And he said he feels lucky to be able to share his unique heritage.
“I think being a black Puerto Rican gives me a unique sense because I bring a diaspora to WKU,” he said. “I’m not only a citizen of the United States but of the world.”
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