Christine Marin is the 2018 Sharlot Hall Award honoree for her research and extensive education work in 20th century Mexican-American and Southwest history.

A native of Globe, Arizona, she grew up in a colorful, working-class neighborhood of this copper mining community. Born of immigrant parents from Mexico, she was inspired by them both to "Dream Big!"  After graduating from the local high school, she went on to attend Arizona State University, where she ultimately received her Ph.D. in history.

"I was a lucky kid growing up on Euclid Avenue in Globe," Christine recalls in describing her hometown of post-World War II —"...a 'United Nations' kind of street. Italian, Anglo, Mexican American, African American, and a sprinkling of Serbian — a true multi-cultural, working class neighborhood, where copper miners and their families struggled to make ends meet." It was there she became devoted to Americanism, patriotism, volunteerism, education, and such family values as hard work, determination, and community activism.

"Mining town kids like me learned the importance of unions," she adds, "in working to bring an end to the unjust, discriminatory ethnic and racial dual-wage system of work and pay. This taught me the importance of fighting for equality, workers' rights, and resisting segregation and racism.

"The examples of civil rights activism served me well when I joined friends and colleagues in the 1990s at ASU to help found and establish the Chicano Studies Department, now known as the School of Transborder Studies," she adds.

At ASU, she became adjunct faculty and founder of the school’s prestigious Chicano/a Research Collection, and continues as emeritus faculty at ASU. As a researcher, historian and educator, Christine has received numerous awards, including ASU's "Outstanding Faculty Award," the Girl Scouts Arizona Cactus and Pine Council's "Women and Young Women of Distinction Award," Arizona Humanities' "Distinguished Scholar," the "Community Award" from the National Assn. for Chicana & Chicano Studies, and the "Tribute to Women Award" from YWCA of Maricopa County, and more.

She serves on the boards of several organizations and her published works include four books and numerous articles. Her research and writing on the history of racial and ethnic groups in Arizona she views as a personal responsibility to her heritage and her community, one that preserves and and continues to tell their stories for future generations.