Issue 1 Ed Note by Isabella Montenegro
What does my job entail within the position I have come to earn in la Vista? As a Latina female, I have started to appreciate the complexity of my position. Throughout the course of my summer break, I worked on my application to universities and completed a final draft of my personal statement. Thanks to English teacher Shannon Vaughan’s writing workshop, I was able to dig deep into an aspect of my life that is the backbone for why I am the way I am. My father is an immigrant and my mother is first generation here in the United States but comes from immigrant parents.
When I was drafting my personal statement, I did extensive research on what it actually means to be Hispanic. According to the New York Times, a study that was done in 2020 stated that only 28% of university students come from immigrant origin. That is not even half of the million of students that attend universities nowadays. While there are many factors as to why immigrant origin students do not make it to universities, I fall in the 28%. I come back to the question I have posed to myself and I have come to a real answer. My job is to lead my staff to be proud of where they come from and express their identities through their stories. I will continue to encourage my staff to try new things and to not let anything get in their way.
As this month is Hispanic Heritage Month, I am excited to celebrate with my family through our many traditions. Within La Vista, I am excited to share these traditions with my staff in a unique and fun way. Hispanic Heritage Month is one of my favorite times of the year because I am able to recognize my roots. I am half Guatemalan and half Mexican. I am proud of where I come from and hope that La Vista continues to be my safe space in a world where there is prominent unjust being put on display.
Leave a Reply