Volume 31• Number 2 • Spring 2022
quepasa.osu.edu
Making Space for Latinx Scholarship and Community
Quiénes Somos Rolando Rubalcava, Editor Jessica Rivera, Staff Writer Irma Zamora, Staff Writer Luiza Corrêa, Art Director Yolanda Zepeda, Managing Director
Contributors
Angela Acosta Eddie Bautista-Garcia Francesca Galietta Giovanni Moretta Hannah Reyes Igdalia Covarrubias Irma Zamora Ivana Yactayo Jackie Courchene Jasmine Abukar Jazmin Suarez Jessica Rivera Luiza Corrêa Monica Quezada Preciosa Rios Regina Loayza Rolando Rubalcava Victor Tenorio
The Office of Diversity and Inclusion publishes ¿Qué Pasa, Ohio State? each autumn and spring semester. ¿Qué Pasa, Ohio State? celebrates the achievements of our Latinx community. Each thematically organized issue provides a space for Latinx voices to share, express, and highlight our experiences and ideas. The Ohio State University is not responsible for the content and views of this publication. We respect each author's language of choice to describe their identities.
Contenido El Lado Irresistiblemente Delicioso de Perú
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Gentefied, Reviewed: Season 2, Ep. 6 "Sangiving"
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Latino Students: What the Education System Doesn’t See
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Reaching for the Stars: Interview with Romi Rodriguez Martinez by Irma Zamora Fuerte
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Becoming a ‘Science Fiction Latina’: My Journey as a Bilingual Poet by Angela Acosta
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“Wonderfully Sane: Two Guys Review Kate Chopin’s The Awakening” by Rolando Rubalcava and Giovanni (Gino) Moretta
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Manifesting Change; Making Progress
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Merit-Based Quilt
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Breaking through the fog with art
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Women of Color and Rest
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An Offering for the New Mestiza Consciousness
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Climate Justice: A Win for Us All
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A love letter to the hijos e hijas de padres inmigrantes
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Una celebración para recordar
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Cultivating an Academic Familia
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What's New on Campus?
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Real & Imagined conversations with Yolanda Zepeda
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by Ivana Yactayo
by Rolando Rubalcava
by Eddie Bautista-Garcia
by Irma Zamora Fuerte
by Luiza Corrêa
by Preciosa Rios
by Jasmine Abukar
by Jackie Courchene
by Regina Loayza
by Jazmin Suarez
by Francesca Galietta
by Jessica Rivera, Igdalia Covarrubias, Monica Quezada and Hannah Reyes
Cover Art: Merit-Based by Luiza Correa
New Student Associations Available!
by Victor Tenorio
Luiza’s work and passion behind her project represents our issue’s theme well: Celebrating strong women of color. The authors of our pieces in this issue personify the qualities we think of when we hear the term “strong women of color”: persevering, independent, trailblazing, a fire-fueled heart. From fighting for climate justice to advocating for themselves and their community, our contributors are a collection of strong voices that, like our previous issues, work to strengthen the Latinx community, but also, with this issue at focus, exemplify that through a powerful Latina voice. In this issue, our own Irma Zamora interviews Lourdes Barroso de Padilla, a first-generation former student at OSU turned representative for the Columbus City Council. We also interview Romy Rodriguez, a recently minted OSU Presidential Award recipient, discussing her passion for exploring the stars and the vastness of opportunities for Latinx academics. An essay by Preciosa Rios discusses the trials of graduate studies, and the need to “clear the fog” that holds you back. This collection is one we are proud of, shaped by women who do not solely believe in what they do, but are putting in the work to make the difference and pave the way for others to make it real. It is with a solemn heart that I write this Esquina with, as it is the Final issue working with Luiza. From hour long debates about comma use, to the get-togethers we organized after publishing each issue together, her work is indelible to what Que Pasa magazine is today. We strongly encourage you to read our center section, written entirely by Luiza, focusing on her master's project itself and the inspiration for it. Our readership is what it is thanks to her contributions, turning a series of articles into visual gems. We wish nothing but the best for Luiza, and look forward to seeing where her academic trajectory takes her. Our issue is shaped by strong women of color. Luiza exemplifies it well. With hope, love, and a penchant for good stories,
Luiza Correa and Rolando Rubalcava at Hayes Hall
Rolando Rubalcava, Editor of QuePasa Magazine, Spring ’22
Esquina De Los Editores
Rolando Rubalcava
A few weeks ago, I decided to observe a friend work on her master’s thesis project: a 6’ by 6’ quilt composed of a multitude of squares, symbols, and icons, in the shape of the state of Ohio. I’m reminded of the collective efforts of activist students when I see it, all working towards what we want to see on campus, like diversity, harmony, and a plurality of voices. You can easily see how much heart she puts into her work, down to the fingers sewing pieces together. When I see her work, there’s a grace to her movement, pulling a thread like a surgeon, a bead of sweat rolling down her face, signifying the labor involved with this project. That friend was Luiza Correa, soon-to-be graduate of her master's program in the Department of Design, and Art Director for Qué Pasa Magazine.
El Lado Irresistiblemente Delicioso de Perú Ivana Yactayo, Undergraduate, Molecular Genetics
Si hay algo que tenga tanta historia y cultura, es la comida. Cada día, comemos sin pensar dos veces en los orígenes de nuestra comida, ¡y es muy impactante! Viniendo de un entornolatino, sé que todos los países en Latinoamérica tienen su propia historia con relación a la comida. En particular, la gastronomía del Perú tiene mucho que decir. Arraigado por mucha historia antigua e incluso una fusión de otras cocinas, la comida de mi país está llena de información y hasta hechos muy sorprendentes. ¡Estoy segura que el resto de la población peruana diría lo mismo!
os recuerdos en este aspecto tienen que ver con mi abuela. Se siente como si fuera ayer desde que rondaba sobre ella en la cocina, apenas siendo capaz de mirar por encima de la encimera. El rico aroma de las especias se extendía en el aire, llenando mi nariz con su olor. Fue solo después de que la mire con ojos suplicantes que me dio una probadita de la olla, lo suficiente para mantenerme satisfecha hasta el almuerzo. Podría compartir muchas otras experiencias que he tenido, desde los vasos fríos de chica morada durante el verano hasta el sabroso arroz chaufa de los sábados En general, las raíces de la cocina peruana lentos. Sin embargo, hay otra parte secreta de son bastante diversas debido a su geografía la comida peruana que la hace tan placentera, y diferentes climas. A los peruanos nos gusta y es la comunidad. decir que el país está geográficamente dividiComo muchos otros países, Perú es conodo en tres partes: la costa, la sierra, y la selva. cido por compartir comida. Aunque estés en Como resultado, la tierra pudo proveer una un restaurante con tu familia o sea un turista gran variedad de frutas y verduras para elegir. paseando por las calles de Lima, nosotros los Además, la proximidad al océano pacifico tam- peruanos tenemos una forma de usarlo como bién fue una ventaja en la pesca. La gran varie- conductor de conexión. En mi opinión, los dad de pescados y mariscos aún prevalece en recuerdos de comida deliciosa a lo largo de la comida hoy. Por ejemplo, el ceviche consiste mi vida no son los que más sobresalen, sino en trozos de pescado curado con limón fresco, las personas con las que la he compartido. y es el plato nacional de Perú. Sin embargo, Después de todo este tiempo, creo que no hay muchos otros factores que componen el hay nada mejor que poder disfrutar de algo paladar peruano. El país posee una enorme tan bueno con tus seres queridos, ¡y estoy secantidad de maíz, papa, calabaza y más que gura de que muchos latinos lo saben! A pesar no está presente en cualquier otro lugar. Con de que son muchos los factores que hacen la adición de influencias francesas, africanas y que la cocina de mi país sea buena, tal como chinas en la cocina, la comida definitivamente la diversidad de vegetación y animales, es el se ha vuelto única. compañerismo lo que hace que la comedia Con cada familia peruana existen diferentes sea realmente exquisita. relaciones o recuerdos con la comida. Puedo decir con certeza que mi historia con este tipo de comida es buena. Algunos de mis primer-
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"Si hay algo que tenga tanta historia y cultura, es la comida." Photo by Roberto Carlos Román Don on Unsplash.com
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Gentefied, Reviewed: Season 2, Ep. 6 "Sangiving" Rolando Rubalcava, PhD Candidate, English
The intersections of Latinx households are like cookbooks with multiple authors, constantly in flux, and after so many years, it’s only readable to the authors themselves. The first time I watched Gentefied on Netflix, it took less than an instant to see the parallels between the Morales family and the Rubalcavas. There’s the patriarchal figure, Casimiro “Pop” Morales, the array of siblings and the directions of life choices, the varied degrees of Spanish spoken in the household, all taking place in the heart of Los Angeles, street vendors and community art galore. While the premise of the show addresses gentrification in LA, a real problem that has dislocated actual families and have pushed out real small businesses, what stands out the most is how well is captures the love, pain, and anxieties that exist within Mexican family households. It nails what that atmosphere is like, filled with as much tension as there is support for each other. The episode Sangiving focuses on the Morales family having Thanksgiving dinner. Several dark clouds loom over the table, including an impending court date for Pop’s immigration trial, whether or not Chris will move to Paris for culinary school, and strife between Eric and Lidia. The dinner reaches its climax when Chris reveals he won’t be going to Paris, leading to past grievances coming to surface, and seeing a fully cooked turkey flying towards the family portrait. Thanksgiving dinners where secrets are revealed and feuds come to boil is not a new model for television; what Gentefied brings to it is a kind of self-reflection of a staple in Mexican lore, family loyalty, and how something so sacred can be problematic. The revelation soon unravels family history involv6
ing the death of one of Pop’s sons and the return of another son who was self-estranged. Serving as further commentary on Latinx family dynamics, the episode highlights the end result of refusing to discuss family tragedies. I know this all too well, learning way later in life about the riff between my father and his father, which lead to his migrating to the States and starting a family here. Gentefied makes a strong case for answering who benefits when it comes to keeping family secrets: no one. The end of the episode is a little strange. As the family gathers outside to eat after much needed reconciliation, Nayelli, one of Pop’s granddaughters, shows everyone a TikTok she made from snippets of videos she took throughout the day. It’s a little hard to believe that a TikTok video can bring a family together, but, thinking about Tolstoy’s quote, if that’s what makes this family a little less unhappy, we should be glad they found it.
Image from Gentefied (Season 2, Ep 6 "Sangiving")
Latino Students: What the Education System Doesn’t See Eddie Bautista-Garcia, Undergraduate, Education
A multitude of research concerning Latino students often categorizes them as underachieving. According to scholar P. Gándara. Rather than expedite inclusive and understanding learning atmospheres, this research promotes the belief that Latino students are both apathetic and poor in their academics. What some educators fail to note is that Latino students oftentimes grow in challenging environments like Spanish-speaking and less-than affluent households, or with families traumatized by immigration. Latino students in households with undocumented caretakers experience lower levels of education and higher levels of destitution, which undoubtedly inhibits their scholastic achievements. Latino students experience greater difficulties than other students, inhibited by an unfounded perception that precedes their presence in the academic realm. Latino students’ stories are presented as one-dimensional. We’re supposed to wake at the crack of dawn and work ourselves to the bone. We’re supposed to take the jobs nobody else wants. We’re supposed to be ignorant and simple-minded. What purpose can advanced courses serve us if our destiny resides in a factory, not a higher education institution? That’s what we have been confined to. Yet, we know our people have overcome and surpassed a breathtaking mountain of obstacles. Our parents have survived treks to provide us a better life, entrusting us with numerous opportunities that they could never have.
Still, if we are consistently tossed into a category, labeled as “underachieving,” who do we look toward for encouragement? We look toward our families, but some of us don’t have those to galvanize us into taking education seriously. Who else can we look toward for the confidence to act on our potential? This is a question some children of the Latino community have. Some need Latino role models in order to trust in themselves. All it takes is someone to reach out to these students and speak with them about the opportunities at their disposal. With this in mind, I’m adamant that the relevancy for Latino educators is more integral than ever. According to the Ohio Department of Education, as of the 20192020 school year, 94% of Ohio’s educators were white. Unfortunately, this lack of diversity is widely reflected throughout Ohio seeing that a mere 6% of Ohio educators are people of color. My hometown school district did not have any Latino educators on staff at any of its 5 schools. Considering the issues most Latino children face, it’s imperative that more Latinos enter education as teachers for Latino students to have someone who can empathize with them. These students need someone who understands what it means to be Latino and help them feel recognized. In a way, they have an example to look toward – someone who is proof that it’s possible for us to make it.
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Reaching for the Stars: Interview with Romy Rodriguez Martinez Irma J. Zamora Fuerte, Doctoral Student, English
On December 10, 2021, OSU announced the 40 winners of the Presidential Fellowship, which is known as “the most prestigious award given by the Graduate School” honoring students in their dissertation phase. We had the opportunity to connect with one of the recipients, Romy Rodriguez Martinez, a PhD student in the Astronomy department: 1. What has inspired you to reach for the stars? I’ve had many inspirations growing up and as an adult. I’ve always been interested in space and science and I liked math in school. One thing that inspired me to pursue a PhD in astronomy was learning about all the cool exoplanet discoveries from the Kepler space telescope, which was launched around the time I was in college and thinking about future career options. Another thing that motivated to pursue astronomy was being able to attend a few astronomy conferences and talking to actual astronomers and learning about their research and seeing what it’s like to do astronomy. 2. Your page mentions that you led the discovery of two ultra short-period hot Jupiters. We can’t imagine what satisfaction you must feel with an accomplishment like this, or maybe it makes you thirst for more? That project was very special for me because part of the reason I decided to go to graduate school was because I wanted to discover and characterize exoplanets, and I remember reading about exoplanet discoveries in college and dreaming about being involved in that type of work. So when I ended up getting the chance to lead the discovery of two new planets only a few years later, I was ecstatic. That project also gave me the opportunity to work in a large team and collaborate with a lot of amazing astronomers, so it was a tremendously humbling and enriching experience. Now there are other projects on the horizon so I’m looking forward to doing more research. That’s the good thing about astronomy: there’s always more to learn and discover. 3. Your page also mentions outreach work. Why do you do this work? What does community mean for you? I think it’s important for scientists to bring our work to the general public in accessible, engaging ways. We live in an increasingly scientific and technological world in which a lot of people are disconnected from science and misinformation is rampant. This is very problematic especially when we consider the global problems facing humans today, such as the current pandemic and the impending climate crisis. Effective science communication is therefore perhaps more important now than ever. It’s also important for me to give back to 8
the community and try to reach and inspire folks from diverse backgrounds, and to show people that science is for everyone. It feels very rewarding to provide guidance to more junior students and advice that I wish I had received when I was at earlier career stages. Besides all that, outreach is just genuinely fun and can be a nice distraction from research! 4. You mention several mentors. Did you choose your mentors or did they choose you? What advice do you have for other students who may not know how to find mentors, or who may not understand how mentors can help them? In my astronomy PhD program, students get to choose the type of research and advisors they want to work with, so I was lucky enough to be able to do that and I have worked with incredible advisors. In general, if students have the choice, I think it’s important to find an advisor who is invested not only in your academic growth but also in your personal growth and well-being. Your advisor will play a fundamental role in your life so make sure you find someone who is a good fit for you. 5. Did you always identify as an astronomer, or was this a process? What message do you have for others who might be thinking about research or a particular career, but might feel like they don’t belong? For me, it is definitely still a work in progress. As with everything, some days you may feel confident in your abilities and other days not so much. But I think what ultimately matters is to recognize those feelings as transient and not get too discouraged by failure and setbacks. If you really enjoy something and it makes you happy, then that’s where you belong. Nothing else matters. Continuously challenging yourself in new ways and keeping focused on your goals will help you build confidence over time. At the same time, it’s super important to find people and mentors who will support you in your goals and who will advocate for you.
"when I ended up getting the chance to lead the discovery of two new planets only a few years later, I was ecstatic." Photo by CNN.com
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Becoming a ‘Science Fiction Latina’: My Journey as a Bilingual Poet Angela Acosta, Doctoral Student, Spanish and Portuguese
The toughest criticism I’ve ever received is being told that someone didn’t understand my poetry. Back in high school, I attended an event for teen writers in my hometown in Florida. I felt disappointed that the piece I read didn’t receive any praise from the judges and felt misunderstood. As I was leaving the event, a young woman approached me and told me how much she liked my poem. A decade later, I can’t remember which poem I read, but I will never forget those kind words from a stranger.
tions like Méndez’s 1928 Surtidor (Source). Their ability to create spaces for young women writers helped me see a road forward not only as a published poet, but as a “Science Fiction Latina” ready to claim her identity.
What made me decide to make the quantum leap and become a “Sci Fi Latina”, as one magazine referred to me? My inspiration came from the very Spanish women writers I study in my dissertation. Learning about their creativity and resilience compelled me to share my stories, both autobiographical and speculative. A century ago, Carmen Conde and Concha Méndez were publishing poetry in collec-
paying homage to Spanish writer Elena Fortún in “My Dear Encarna” (The Stratford Quarterly), I celebrate those who have made my existence and path as a scholar and writer possible.
I always knew I wanted to learn Spanish. I grew up in an English-speaking household without much exposure to Spanish or Latinx culture, so learning Spanish has helped me feel more connected to my Mexican and Spanish roots. Because of my chosen profession I’ve written poetry since I was a teenager, and accent, people often assume that I am a winning the 2015 Rhina P. Espaillat Award from native speaker of Spanish or “100% Latina”, West Chester University for my Spanish poem as if I were inauthentic for being multieth“El Espejo” while I was an undergraduate at nic. Embarking on my journey as a writer has Smith College. After a six-year hiatus, I decid- shown me how much being a Latina poet is ed to share my work again in 2021. Little by integral to my identity as I grow into myself. little, I found my place publishing in multilinIn the world of creative writing, it can be gual and Spanish-language literary magazines hard to find fellow Latinx writers and magalike Pluma and Toyon. I discovered a whole zines that amplify Latinx voices. I am so grateful galaxy of science fiction writing and have, or for the communities I have connected with on soon will, showcase my work in MacroMicro- my writing journey like Latina Voice, an organiCosm, Eye to the Telescope, On Spec, and zation dedicated to uplifting Latinas and marPenumbric. I have many friends and writers ginalized women across careers and life paths. to thank for sparking my love of science and I recently gave a writers’ talk about my poem speculative fiction and I highly recommend “Fourth Generation Chicana Unicorn” with novels by Alastair Reynolds, Becky Chambers, Panochazine, an amazing new zine for femme and Nicky Drayden for their richly detailed identifying Latinx and indigenous creatives. worlds and diverse multispecies characters. Whether I am writing about my ancestors or
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Don’t wait for someone else to tell your story. Lean into what you know and find the people who will understand you and your experiences. Own your authenticity because it matters far more than rhyme and poetic meter.
Rara Avis I am not some rare bird, a criticism masquerading as a compliment thanks to your private school Latin. Habito un universo plurilingüe de las lenguas romances. I inhabit a multilingual universe of romance languages. Am I still a bird for my wings were clipped and the songs I sing go unheard? Mírame a los ojos. Look me in the eyes. My face is memorable even when other Latinas carry my same name and similar histories. No me doy por vencida por tu fragilidad. I am not giving up on account of your fragility. I learned Spanish after generations of disuse, but my feathers have a long lineage of flocks flying high like the Andean condor. No soy quien piensas, soy quien sueño ser. I am not who you think, I am who I dream to be. This poem was first published online in Academy of the Heart and Mind. https://academyoftheheartandmind.wordpress.com/2021/08/01/rara-avis/
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“Wonderfully Sane: Two Guys Review Kate Chopin’s The Awakening” Rolando Rubalcava, PhD Candidate, English Giovanni (Gino) Moretta, Undergraduate, Comparative Studies
Rolando (RR): I get asked this all the time: how does a Mexican working-class guy identify with a white privileged woman from the Creole South? It’s very much a “you-had-to-be-there” story. I read this at a pivotal time in my life, in the middle of a career change, while questions about life and art began occupying my thoughts. I started to see a story about an outlier, a person society never accepted, who saw art as an escape. Reading The Awakening made me question everything I knew about my upbringing, what was normal, and how the rules weren’t just from authority figures, but constructs that turned into prisons. Edna’s story gave me the courage to reach out and grasp what mattered to me, and how to be unapologetic about pursuing a passion. If you ever felt trapped by society, this story of liberation is for you. Gino Moretta (GM): I came across Kate Chopin’s masterpiece of a novel at the age of 17, amid the re-awakening of my passion for art and literature. As a high school senior, I was intent on being college educated, despite being a first generation college student with no college savings to speak of. I would soon unknowingly be slapped in the face of a pandemic alongside the rest of the world. This was a book that kept me grounded in my goals and beliefs. It allowed me to be critical of the structures which created my own life chances, eventually leading me to explore Marxism personally, utilizing it as a tool in my academic and professional interests for literature as well. The Awakening taught me to calm my anxiety, appreciate nature, and evaluate the world’s capacity to create art. Most of all, it inspired me not to let anything stop me in the pursuit of my own art and passions. What themes and/or moments resonated with you the most? Gino: I resonate most with many of the principles of naturalism that this book introduced to me. Chopin having shaped the narrative to be critical towards social taboos and religious institutions, as well as marriage and fidelity, was very impactful to me, especially as Edna tastefully disregards those elements of her life in the pursuit of art. Stylistically, her careful diction and use of imagery are to this day some of the most artistically inspiring to me. What are your thoughts on the ending? Gino: I absolutely love the ending. In fact, any ending in a naturalist or romantic mode which ends in a presumed suicide is one which I am an advocate for. Make no mistake, I do not wish to glamorize suicide. Edna allows herself to be taken in by those waves in a selfish and indulgent way, but for all the right reasons. In a literary world, the ultimate form of rebellion against 12
rigid societal structures is the taking of one’s own life. To fully commit to that action, which is then received by the public and heavily criticized, is very respectable and admirable to me as a person who identifies as a writer and creator myself. Rolando: I’ve always associated the ocean at the end of the novel with the bounty of art and the life she never had a chance to live. Her swimming into the ocean is a symbolic removal from what oppressed her, embracing a new life beyond even her own comprehension. She was not giving up on life; she was taking it back.
Woman standing in water at knee length
What is your favorite quote from the text? Rolando: “She grew daring and reckless, overestimating her strength. She wanted to swim far out, where no woman had swum before.” Gino: “To be an artist includes much; One must possess many gifts, absolute gifts, which have not been acquired by one’s own effort. And, moreover, to succeed, the artist must possess the courageous soul.” Like the ocean at the end of the novel, the possibilities of what The Awakening offers its readers are endless. For two guys to read this book and come away with a passion for art and rebelling against the rules speaks to its timelessness, finding its audience in anyone who ever felt ostracized by society. Read this book if you’re interested in tapping into the untapped( just stay away from large bodies of water for a while).
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Manifesting Change; Making Progress Irma J. Zamora Fuerte, Doctoral Student, English Lourdes Barroso de Padilla is a Columbus native. Her parents migrated here from Cuba, escaping the dangers of the Castro dictatorship. Inspired by service, a value instilled by her parents and more than 20 years at City Year, she campaigned for Columbus City Council in 2020. In a Spring 2021 panel, Lourdes "manifested to the world" that she would be the first Latinx person to serve in the Council. In December of 2021, this became a reality. I caught up with Lourdes recently and talked about her current work and future aspirations Below is an excerpt from that conversation.
What inspired you to run for city council? Lourdes Padilla de Barroso:I saw that our city was getting more and more diverse. Immigrants, migrants and refugees are the leading force behind our population growth, and that changes the city. I didn't see anyone thinking about that. I didn't see us in the plans for the city, people who look like you and [me]. I think about my mom who's been in this country for more than 50 years, and she's never seen anyone who looks like her at the table, making decisions on her behalf. It further inspired and encouraged me to run. Especially coming off the Trump administration where in my own country, I didn't always feel like there was a place for me. Now more than ever, we must ensure that we have representation at all levels. Why is it important for us to make spaces for each other and for others down the line? It's a funny thing about representation because it changes everything. Now that I'm here, the conversations are different. We can be intentional about things. We expanded the work of our neighborhoods committee. Now, it's Immigrants, Refugee, and Migrant Affairs (IRMA). We were deliberate in not calling it New Americans. The idea of what we call ourselves, how we are thinking about people, how we're thinking about their needs is [where] we're changing that dialogue. That's only happening because we created space for ourselves. […] We have a place where we can start to bring issues to the table and change the conversation. We can educate people about things that are challenging us in a way we couldn't before. It changes the way that we engage people. It changes the way we think about opportunity. It changes the way we give to people, and how we do things. That's how you start to create change in the system. How do you keep making room as you progress through your role as councilmember? A couple of things. One, we expanded the work of the committee to be a community-led conversation around what immigrants, migrants and refugees need. We're going to start a listening tour and have a deliberate space where people can share their priorities. Then we can start to figure out a plan to support those priorities moving forward. That’s one way we're changing the conversation. […] My colleague Nick Bankston is running the Small Minority Business Committee. [We partnered] together to meet with these business owners to figure out 14
what opportunities and resources they need. Again, it's about bringing other people to the table to hear the community. What else are you manifesting out to the world? I want to ensure that we continue to center our decision-making on our people and families; that we’re continuing to advance people of color and women in our community. We went through a process…call it social uprising…the summer of protests. All these things... where we started to really understand [and] see each other. For some it was an awakening. How are we supporting our Black brothers and sisters? How are we dealing with our own shit as a Latino community? When it comes to colorism, when it comes to racism, how are we defining ourselves and finding a place in this community? How do we continue to show people that we’re not a monolith, that we’re unique and have different needs? I want to manifest a future that sees more equity and more prosperity for all of us. I dream of a day that DREAMERS aren't just DREAMERS. That there's a place for them. We must continue to push, because that's the only way that we're going to make progress. Progress is the tension between honoring where we've been and pushing to where we want to go. Even in this time that feels gross and like we’re backsliding. We need to have esperanza that every single day there's going to be something better on the other side.
Lourdes de Barroso de Padilla
DACA rally in downtown Los Angeles. Image source: cbsnews.com
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Although the debate on higher education access is an old acquaintance, this demand has increased with Operation Varsity Blues, the rise of the Black Lives Matter movement, and the COVID-19 pandemic. Diversity issues in public and private spaces in the United States led me to ask: why are there few African American women in their first year at the Ohio State University? "Merit-based" is an exploration of individual narratives and school district funding. Inspired by the visual artists Aminah Brenda Robinson, Faith Ringgold, and Chief Baba Shongo Obadina, this college application quilt is part of a Co-Design research on African American Women College application process. This research invites African American women to create their ideal college application journey using participatory methods and their lived experience as argument. The results of this study are expected to examine how people's realities impact individual capabilities and how they can be accounted for and folded into the Design of the University application process. This project seeks to prototype an alternative application apparatus to facilitate their application journey.
Breaking through the fog with art Preciosa Rios, Alumna, Materials Science Engineering
I was in 5th grade when I showed an aptitude for science and math. I was often told I’d be the one to take care of my family when they get older. I’d be a doctor, engineer, scientist… something easily known, respectable, and pays well. Yet, I was good at art and anything creative. But even at a young age, I understood from others that pursuing art did not hold the same respect. Like many, I grew up in a low income, single-parent household. I didn’t want to see my mom continue working multiple jobs for the rest of my life. I wanted to protect her and take care of her. I wanted to make her and my family proud. So, I quickly embraced those mainstream career options. However, I started to get extreme anxiety when I would receive anything less than an A in my math and science courses. I focused on being perfect. I began to slowly stop taking courses in art and would instead only use art in clubs and projects.
Artwork by Rios
I began to feel a strange sensation, like I was sleepwalking in life. Living, but not necessarily feeling “alive.” My mind was constantly jumping forward and backward into the future and past, into black and white thinking. I became consumed by worries at an early age. I began to grow mentally and physically exhausted, especially in high school. I felt detached from everyone and everything. It was almost like there was a constant fog in my head. Emotions became dull. But I tried to hide this. I convinced myself to “look happy, because no one likes someone who seems like a wreck.” Yet, I always felt like a dam, ready to burst under the pressure around me. Then, college came, and I truly turned my back on myself. I cared too much what others thought of me, what they thought success meant, and how I could try to make everyone happy. I embarked on a futile journey. I ran away from the things I had enjoyed for myself and tried so many of the majors everyone wanted me to be. I burnt out quickly when doors that were never mine to begin with wouldn’t open. I kept blaming myself, thinking “What is wrong with me?” I kept thinking of my family. How could I take care of them if I failed? To say my depression and anxiety worsened is an understatement. I just wanted to stop existing. I wanted to stop failing at what felt like everything. I wound up graduating, feeling like I only managed to survive, and I still felt incredibly lost. To this day, I don’t blame others. I don’t blame my family. I made the decision to listen to 18
what others thought success meant. I ultimately decided to turn my back on myself to have others like me and be proud of me. I tried taking on generational burdens on my own. If you resonate with my story, I want to say a few things to you. First, if you are experiencing mental health problems, seek help. Sometimes you need to talk to a counselor or get on medication to help your exhausted brain to prioritize your health. I promise, it is not a waste of time, and it doesn’t make you less in any way. You matter and you are never alone. The right people will support you and stand by you. They won’t try to dim your light by making you feel less. Also, things will not be this way forever. You will not be this way forever. At the age of 23, thanks to counseling, medication, taking care of myself, and finding a good support system, I feel like I broke through the fog for once. That I am living for once. Secondly, it’s never too late to change who you are and what you want to do. When I started art again this past year, everyone saw how much I enjoyed it. For example, after painting for 12-14 hours straight, I always felt like very little time had passed. My family and community were happy for me. I am looking forward to pursuing art further. Lastly, life is too short. You would be surprised with how the quirkiness, flaws, and passions you have make up the light that others need. Your job is not to fix everything, your job is to simply live, love, and explore yourself.
Artwork by Rios
Artwork by Rios
Artwork by Rios
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Women of Color and Rest Jasmine Abukar, PhD, Multicultural and Equity Studies
Jasmine Abukar earned a PhD in the Multicultural and Equity Studies program in the College of Education at Ohio State. Jessica Rivera interviewed Jasmine to learn more about her research on women of color graduate students and rest.
Jessica: Can you tell us a little bit about yourself and your journey to OSU? Jasmine: I’m originally from the Hartford, Connecticut area and I went to college at Fairfield University. That was a really big culture shock for me because I came from a working-class community that was mostly made up of Black families from the Caribbean. My high school was about 95% Black students, so going to a predominantly white, religious private college in a very wealthy area was a huge shift. That experience helped me understand marginalization and how wealth, whiteness and religion are all intertwined. It motivated me to want to create a change in educational systems. So, I decided to get into higher education and student affairs. How did you become interested in research on rest? Academia is exhausting and there's many reasons for that. In the US, we live in a productivity culture. Our culture around work, efficiency, and production is very different from other places in the world, especially in academia. When you add the education field on top of that, a helping field, there’s an inherent guilt when you’re unavailable to help others. This especially affects women of color, who are often socialized to care and must work twice as hard as their white and male counterparts to be successful. Additionally, culture also adds another component, especially those from Latinx communities. Many narratives in our culture center women sacrificing to make things possible. Looking at women around me makes me realize this isn't sustainable for any of us. We’re all miserable in our programs and completely burnt out. And when we're not, many of us go back home to support our families. Experiencing this motivated my research. I couldn't stop thinking about what happens when we make our work, whether it's for school or for our family, the center of our lives. What happens when we make space for ourselves? What are some of the key findings from your study? I focused on Black and Latina women in PhD programs, and some of the findings indicate that nobody has an awesome time. This is unfortunate because many people are optimistic when they enter PhD programs. But it can be difficult, since the academic environment is often hostile in overt and hidden ways. Another major finding is that there’s a paradox of how women 20
feel about rest. There’s desire to want to rest, but then there’s also guilt and shame: “what if my family doesn't feel cared for?” and “What if I'm missing out on an opportunity that could elevate my career?” So, there's this duality and there's a lot of shame around it. One of the promising findings is that when women do rest it means different things. Sometimes rest is going for a walk or shutting off work and watching Netflix. When we do rest, we feel rejuvenated, refreshed, and empowered to continue. We feel more readily available to say no to things that don't serve us. To share that message with other women is a beautiful thing. Do you have any insights or resources on rest that you can share with our readers? To prioritize yourself is selfish but isn’t necessarily bad. Thinking about the Puerto Rican culture I grew up in, a lot of Latinx cultures think similarly: individualization isn’t common, you’re a part of your community, you're a part of your ancestors, you’re part of your family, and your role is a part of something bigger. I do think that that's an important value. But something we can learn from US culture is that it’s also important to focus on yourself. Especially as women, because we’ve been taught to put our needs second or third or fourth. So, an insight is that selfishness isn’t always a bad thing. It's all about finding balance. In terms of resources, there are many rest advocates on social media. The Nap Ministry is a big one that's rooted in Black American theology, but there are many self-care advocates under #rest. Another insight is that there isn’t one way to rest. Whatever puts your mind and heart at ease is something you should be doing to cultivate peace. If that means painting, traveling or just sitting quietly by yourself, there's no shame because it's a part of an exploration process.
Photo by Sincerely
Media on Unsplash. 21
An Offering for the New Mestiza Consciousness Jackie Courchene, MFA Student, Dance Studies
In 2020, I began my Dance Studies MFA journey here at Ohio State. I knew that I wanted to somehow focus on reconnecting with my Latinx heritage but given the state of the world during a pandemic, I was not entirely sure where to begin. Dreams of traveling to learn Latinx diasporic forms from the source suddenly felt impossible. I was beginning to feel isolated and unsure of what I was even trying to accomplish.
Mestiza mother was intent on my brother and I being as white passing as possible: we were fair skinned enough, had white names, and spoke little to no Spanish. This is how my mother planned to keep us safe from discrimination, but no matter how hard she tried, we still ran into our fair share of bigotry in white suburban Texas. In a Composition class with Professor Crystal Perkins, I began creating movement that was tethered to the objects my ofrenda. The choreography became a conversation between embodied memories as well as the ritual of arranging the objects that held the memories. Whenever I was assigned to bring in choreography, I would rearrange my ofrenda, hold each item, and see what I could deeply connect with to build movement. Eventually this ritual became the structure of my MFA project. Although I was proud of the work I was making, I began asking myself: am I allowed to be creating ofrendas when this was not part of my cultural practice growing up? Am I inflicting more harm by engaging with this practice?
To ground myself, I began casually creating ofrendas in my home to feel a physical connection to my family. I would collect cacti, flowers, photos, and other objects to arrange in a window. The act of creating this altar, or ofrenda, was not just about honoring family members but conjuring up past seasons of my life and questions around how I have changed. I thought about how isolated I felt at my childhood dance studio with an all-white faculty and grade school, the shame I felt for not speaking Spanish well enough, and the microaggressions I faced whether I was (or wasn’t) being recognized as a Latina in the moment. This ritual of ofrenda building kickstarted the creative While juggling these questions around ethpractice for my MFA project. ics, I began a collaborative process with unFor some context, the practice of building dergraduate dancers. We focus on sharing ofrendas comes from the holiday Día de Los stories and experiences within Latinidad, and Muertos where they are created as a means I introduced them to my ofrenda building pracof honoring family that have transitioned to tice. One of the biggest shifts in this ritual pracancestor. The current state of this practice is tice was coming to realize the homogenized an evangelized version of what the Aztecs did term that is “Latinidad”. It is a huge politically pre-conquest to honor their dead and appease charged and exonymic term that encompassthe gods of the underworld. While I am Chi- es so many people with vastly different expecana/Mestiza with Spanish, Aztec, and Incan riences, hair colors and textures, skin tones, heritage, I was not brought up in a home that languages, and nationalities. While vastly difcelebrated Día de Los Muertos. My Chicana/ ferent, we have collectively survived the colo-
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nization, displacement, and genocide caused by the Spanish conquest. While so much has changed and been forgotten, we are still here with glimmers of our cultural practices, languages, dances, and histories even if they have been adapted to the world that we currently live in. By building ofrendas with my cast of dancers, I am coming to realize that it is more about the choice to celebrate the resilience of my Chicanx/Mestizo ancestors and my Latinx community. I know it is not the same ritual practice of my ancestors 600 years ago, or even of my ancestors 150 years ago, but my current embodied iteration is still about them and for them. It is a representation of how we
have defied the odds to adapt and how we build community in our commonalities. I have never felt prouder of the hybrid space that I exist in and the radical act of resilience that is my family. It is within our nature to adapt and survive, and I have come to believe that this practice in building ofrendas is emblematic of that.
My Mexican Parents
Choreography in practice
Building the ofrenda
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Climate Justice: A Win for Us All Regina Loayza, Undergraduate, Enviroment and Natural Resources
I came to the US from Peru at a young age, and during my visit, I noticed that Lima had a red sky at night brought on mostly by vehicular and industrial emissions. While the US has done better in preventing air pollution, it also has its own challenges. It wasn't clear to me, though, how quickly I needed to act on the climate crisis until 2018, when the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report came out stating that to keep the rise in global temperatures from reaching 1.5oC, we would have to cut carbon emissions by 45% by 2030.
climate crisis magnifies, those issues will only intensify. It's estimated that there could be up to a billion refugees by 2050 if no climate action is taken.
Another stitch, or movement, is gender equity. As the climate crisis unravels, the World Economic Forum found that women and children are 14 times more likely to die or be harmed when disasters strike, and among those displaced by climate change, 80% are women. While these statistics single out women, this reality really applies to all those who experience Like most though, I'm not a single-issue per- misogyny and gender inequity, which includes son. As an immigrant and a Latina, I'm also pas- LGBTQ+ individuals and anyone who's been sionate about immigrant rights, gender equity left out by the heteropatriarchy. and racial justice. The good thing is that the A third stitch is racial justice. The way society climate justice movement isn't a single-issue is constructed is racially biased, and so is the movement. For the past two years, I've been a way that the climate crisis will affect different part of the Sunrise Movement and I’ve learned people. From the global aspect, the wealthier that the climate justice movement encompass- and typically white-majority countries, have es other social justice movements. The inter- contributed to the most environmental damsection of these movements isn't a new idea age, and yet the less wealthy countries and though; there’s Kimberlé Crenshaw, creator of those that consist of more people of color are the term “intersectionality”, and Hazel M. John- going to be affected more. Peru contributes son, the mother of environmental justice. to .21% of the global greenhouse gas (GHG) To visualize this, imagine a needle and a thread, and how a needle stitches together different pieces of thread to create a product. In that same way, the climate justice movement is the needle that stitches together other social justice movements to create our product: justice for all.
emissions, and yet we can see that the impact there is much different than that of the US, which contributes to 13% of the global GHG emissions. Within the US, the predominantly white and wealthier neighborhoods are better equipped to handle the climate crisis. An estimated 70% of contaminated waste sites are One of these movements, or stitches, is located within low-income neighborhoods, and immigrant rights. In this past administration, anyone living within a mile of those sites is suswe've seen how immigrants of color have been ceptible to flooding, most of which are Black demonized in the media and their pathways and brown neighborhoods. to citizenship have been made harder. As the Truthfully, you can't talk about the climate 24
crisis without talking about indigenous peoples, as they have been fighting for and protecting our earth for numerous generations. The Red Nation, which is a group of Native and non-Native leaders discussed how they noticed the invisibility of Native leaders and knowledge within social justice organizing and foresaw their targeted destruction. Knowing that the climate crisis will affect people disproportionately, true climate justice must not only tackle the climate crisis, but the roots of other social justice movements. So how do we get there? A starting point is the Green New
"Truth can be denied but not avoided"
Deal, which is a congressional resolution to mobilize every aspect of society to reach 100% clean and renewable energy, create living wage jobs, and a just transition for workers and frontline communities alike. The Green New Deal would provide economic security, clean air and water, affordable and healthy food, housing security, and much more, which makes it a win for everyone. It’s also a resolution so it opens the possibilities for further just climate legislation. By piecing together these different pieces of just climate legislation, we get true climate justice, which is a win for every social justice movement. and creates justice for all.
Photo by Antoine Giret on Unsplash
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A love letter to the hijos e hijas de padres inmigrantes Jazmin Suarez, Undergraduate, Political Science Artist statement
Scan to see her video!
This project I present to you is a poem made into a short video that resonated within my life. As a child of immigrant parents, life was very hard for me. I grew up in poverty and I experienced racism at a very young age. I was always scared of the cops because I thought they would take my family away from me. I used to think that no one cared about me or my people. Which is why I made this video: to showcase what many of us have to go through growing up. I want to show everyone and my past self that we are not alone, that we can still achieve greatness even if our background and statistics tell us otherwise. I want people like me to not give up and to embrace their culture. While people may hate us, we shouldn’t let that determine our fate or our worth as a person. But most importantly this is a poem to our parents as well, that their sacrifice will not go unnoticed and we will prosper because we have them in our life. They crossed the border and risked their lives to give us a safe life here in the U.S. Which is why we can’t give up, we can’t give up for them, they are our fire and drive. I also wanted to shed light on the racial slurs they call my people. They always used these names to dehumanize my people, to make it easier for them to hate us. It is so easy for them to tell us to leave this country when this was initially our country. But no matter what this won’t hurt or affect me because I love who I am. My culture is beautiful and I wouldn’t trade it for the world. I am Mexican and I am so proud of who I am. That is why I made this video.
A love letter to the hijos e hijas de padres inmigrantes "This is a love letter to the hijos e hijas de padres inmigrantes. To those who carry the weight of being the one to break our ciclo de pobreza. Our parents risked their lives to cross the border para darnos el sueño Americano. But in the midst of this sacrifice, there also came racism and odio. Odio a nuestra gente porque nos dicen que no somos de aquí, to leave this country. Their country, their white country. But this was my country, the land that they took away from us. We hear this everyday, nos dicen aliens y wetbacks. We grow up normalizing the microaggressions towards us. “How did you learn english, were you born here, so are you illegal?” We’re told that we steal jobs but my padres work in a field where they can never retire. We grew up being terrified of cops and wondering if they were going to take nuestros padres away…We grew up resenting the US, for allowing schools and people to hate me, to hate “my kind”. We’re told we won’t make it pero, we can't give up, we can’t give up on our familia. They risked their life for us to be here, now we have to repay them. Damos todo a cambio de una sonrisa, un abrazo, una caricia and most importantly un orgullo, un orgullo para los papás que sacrificaron todo para darnos un mejor futuro. Which is why I try so hard in life and in school, for our family, our family that gave us everything even when they had nothing. They were my American Dream."
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Photo by Will Paterson on Unsplash
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Una celebración para recordar Francesca Galietta, Alum, Spanish
Cada año en el otoño, Navratri, se celebra un festival de la religión hinduista. El festival dura diez dias y cada día tiene una celebración diferente. Estas celebraciones pueden ser grupos de oraciones, ayunos, banquetes, luces decorativas, y bailes. La India es grande y tiene muchas regiones y cada región celebra el festival de forma diferente. Por eso, en esta crónica, voy a explorar el festival desde una perspectiva gujarati, o de la perspectiva del festival en la región Gujarat. Hay asociaciones en el centro de Columbus y los suburbios de Columbus que tienen eventos cada año y tuve la oportunidad asistir a una de las celebraciones. Por varias semanas, el club llamado Asociación de Estudiantes Indios había planeado un día de celebración por Navratri. Yo no había asistido a una celebración de Navratri antes de este evento, y no sabía qué anticipar. Tuve un poquito de información sobre las decoraciones y la comida que iban a estar allí porque mis amigos eran parte del club, pero muchos de los detalles eran un misterio para mí. En lugar de un festival completo durante el curso de diez días, el club solamente tuvo una celebración por una noche que combinó varios aspectos del festival. No puedo recordar el día de la celebración, pero si puedo recordar que el evento pasó en Octubre cuando las hojas en los árboles empezaban a cambiar de colores. Me desperté con un sentido de entusiasmo. Antes del evento, yo habría escuchado historias incontables de mis amigos sobre el festival de Navratri; todas las historias incluían detalles sobre comida rica, como aloo gobi y samosas, la ropa tradicional, y, por supuesto, el baile. ¡Entonces, tuve altas expectativas! Cuando me levanté, una de mis compañeras de piso, Vrinda, esta28
ba en la cocina haciendo upma, un plato normalmente comido para el desayuno en India. Upma es una crema de avena salada que se puede cocinar en la estufa o en el microondas; porque éramos estudiantes y queríamos lavar lo mínimo de platos, ella cocinó la upma en el microondas. Después del desayuno, mi compañera se apresuró para prepararse (ella era uno de los líderes de la celebración y necesitaba ayudar con los toques finales a la locación del evento). Dentro de la hora, ella se había vestido y se fue en un frenesí. Un poquito más tarde en el día, fue tiempo para mis otras compañeras, Deepika y Karli, y yo para prepararnos para el evento. Deepika y Vrinda compusieron vestidos tradicionales para que Karli y yo nos lo pusiéramos. Los vestidos se llaman lehengas y tienen tres partes: hay una falda, una blusa, y una bufanda que se acomoda en el pecho y remata en la falda. Después de un desfile de modas de las selecciones, yo elegí una lehenga para llevar. Mi traje era una blusa dorada con mangas de encaje y una bufanda verde con una raya dorada. Mi parte favorita era la falda. La falda era negra con rayas al dobladillo en dorado, rosada, verde, y anaranjado. También, una de las rayas tenía un estampado que incorporaba todos los colores arriba mencionados. La última pieza de mi traje era tres o cuatro pulseras doradas. Finalmente, mis amigas y yo salimos para la celebración. El evento fue en el RPAC en campus, pero el espacio fue transformado. Había luces decorativas en las paredes, imágenes de dioses y diosas hinduistas, y un altar en el medio del espacio por oraciones. El evento empezó con una oración. Las velas fueron encendidas y una fuente con objetos espirituales que agarró mi amigo movió en círculos al ritmo
de la oración. Al fin de la oración, las velas y la fuente fue colocada en el altar. ¡Era tiempo para el baile! Naturalmente, yo terminé la noche con comida india como samosas, casi como una bola de masa con verduras, y pav bhaji, un curry con panecillos que es una comida callejera. Mis amigas y yo caminamos de regreso a la casa con estómagos llenos y corazones contentos. Estaba cansadísima y me dolían los pies, pero mi sonrisa no podía ser más grande.
Navatri at Sunset. Source: Indian Student Association Facebook Page Flyer
Navatri Celebration. Source: Indian Student Association
Image Source: Garba Dance Silhouette at Vecteezy.com
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Cultivating an Academic Familia Jessica Rivera, PhD; Igdalia Covarrubias, Monica Quezada, Hannah Reyes Doctoral Students, Higher Education
Jessica: Leaving Texas to start a doctoral program wasn’t an easy decision. As a Latina, it’s always been hard to leave home because I come from a close-knit family. Although my parents were supportive, I couldn’t help but feel guilty that I was leaving my family. My family instilled values of working collaboratively. These values are at odds with those of academia that reward independence and competition. While my family offered support by listening to challenges I faced, there were times I needed help in ways they couldn’t understand. I then realized how important it is to cultivate an academic familia. Every year, doctoral programs bring about challenges which require distinct types of support. During my first year, I leaned on my cohort and students ahead of me in the program to help me navigate graduate school. They mentored me and explained the politics of higher education. For this article, I interviewed three amazing Latinas in my academic familia. Here’s what they had to say! What does an academic familia mean to you? Igdalia: In the academic space, familia includes shared meaning and understanding of what it means to be a Latinx student in a doctoral program. As someone who moved more than 2,000 miles away from home (California to Ohio), I can say that I wouldn’t have made the move if I hadn’t seen other Latinx students who looked like me in these spaces. To say you’re a doctoral student is one thing, but to say you’re a Latinx doctoral student es otra cosa; it’s beyond the norm. Monica: My academic familia are those outside of my immediate family who are genuinely interested in supporting my academic success. My academic familia includes peers (academic siblings), faculty and staff (academic aunts and uncles) who have provided me with resources, words of encouragement, and care to help me get through challenges to succeed in college. It’s also important to me to mirror the support of other members of my academic familia. It’s a community that continues to grow. Hannah: Originally from Texas, I didn't expect to meet people like me in my program. The roots of my academic family tree sprouted before I set foot in Ohio. It started with Jessica, mentioning my name in rooms of opportunity, though we'd only exchanged emails. It started with Monica, sitting in a Zoom room where we talked about our fears of uprooting ourselves as new PhD admits but promising to look out for each other always. It started with Igdalia, who didn’t let me go a week without asking about my doctoral transition. Now, it’s continuing with us having impromptu karaoke nights, enjoying homemade flan, and exploring new parts of the world. Having an academic familia means I can dream bigger, aim higher, and exist more boldly.
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How has your academic familia impacted your experience?
Academic Familia Picture
Igdalia: Before coming to OSU, I didn’t know what it meant to be a doctoral student, especially a Latina studying at a Predominantly White Institution (PWI). When accepting my offer, I reached out to the only Latina doctoral student I knew in the program and asked what her experience was like. When it comes to shared understanding of my experience as a doctoral stu-
dent, especially as a Latina, only those sharing my identity recognize my struggles and the difficulties navigating a system that wasn’t built for people like me. Having an academic familia has been my saving grace. Now, there is three amazing Latinas in my academic familia I can share a cafecito and concha with and converse about my current struggles as a Latina in higher education. For once, I feel visible. Monica: As a first-generation graduate student many times I’ve felt that no one in my family (immediate and extended) understands my experience as a college student, however, having an academic familia has continuously validated my experiences as a student. It’s a familia that I feel comfortable asking questions and asking for help when I feel stuck. Hannah: Coming from my master’s program, I never had a cohort or writing collective to exchange ideas and rely on. Since starting at Ohio State, my academic familia has enriched every part of my life. Academically, we challenge and grow with each other. Personally, and emotionally, we support and love each other. It’s a space I don’t take for granted. This is a reminder to Latinx students that our culture instills values that are an asset to our growth and success. Working in collaboration isn’t a value to abandon because individualism is rewarded in higher education. Relationships with peers are essential, especially for students not broadly represented at their institutions. Be intentional and seek out your academic familia!
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WHAT'S
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The Peruvian Association @theperuvianassociation
The Peruvian Association aims to promote Peruvian culture to anyone interested as well as provide a space to meet the needs of Peruvian undergraduate, graduate, professional students, and faculty that are looking for a place to connect with their culture. Our mission will include, but not be limited to, hosting cross-cultural events that cover social, political, and educational themes. We look forward to welcoming all members and we can’t wait to meet you in our next event! Visit their website: https://go.osu.edu/theperuvanassociation
Queer Latinx Community Pride Association @queerlatinxosu
The Queer Latinx Community Pride Association centers on the intersectionality of Latinidad and queerness. We are here to celebrate the queer Latinx experience by holding meetings, cultural events, and community involvement opportunities; QLCPA hopes to provide queer Latinx students with a sense of belonging, community, and home here on campus, strengthening the queer Latinx student body at The Ohio State University. By providing students with a space where they can be expressive and their most authentic selves, while also having the opportunity to meet others apart from the queer Latinx community, we hope QLCPA flourishes throughout the years to come. Reach out to any of QLCPA’s current executive board members to see how you can get involved! Check their inniciatives: https://linktr.ee/queerlatinxosu Avimelek R. García (President) Dahianna Ontaneda (Co-President) Jaylene Canales (Community Chair) Rey Velázquez II (Communication Chair) 33
Real & Imagined conversations with Yolanda Zepeda Victor M. Tenorio, Undergraduate, Nursing
Yolanda: Victor, you stand at the threshold of your future. Ohio State has been part of your life almost as long as you have been conscious. Now you are ready to lead. That must be thrilling. How has your time with YSP (APL, ODI, your time as a Buckeye) shaped your identity and your sense of mission? Victor Tenorio : I have spread my net wide, encompassing as many corners of the university as possible. Beginning with my transformative time in MUNDO, to pledging Alpha Psi Lambda National Fraternity Inc., to my induction into SPHINX. My time as a mentor for James L. Moore III Scholars Program, the Young Scholars Program, and the Latinx Success team. My short-lived time in Dr. Timiya Nolan’s research lab, to the month-long education abroad in Zambia, and many more experiences. My time at Ohio State has been filled with abundance and indescribable growth. As a child growing up in North Philadelphia, I never would have dreamed of the things I have seen and experienced during these last five years of my life. My identity is a culmination of these unique life experiences, and the connections I have fostered over the years with a wide array of folks. My mission has only been enhanced by my time at Ohio State. I know who I am, and what I am wanting to achieve. When you look behind you, at those you are inspiring, those from your extended family and neighborhood, do you feel like all of your work was worth it? What does your incredible journey mean for them? When I was younger, I thought everywhere looked like my neighborhood in Philly. Just endless rows of homes tightly compacted together. Parks with little to no grass or trees. Corner stores on every corner. It wasn’t until I moved to Youngstown, Ohio that I realized: the world is much bigger than the small communities we come from. Spending my formidable years in Youngstown truly opened my eyes to a lot of cracks in our society. Before I enrolled in college, my family lived in public housing, also called “the projects”. Living in that environment lit a fire under me. I knew I had to try my damnedest in college to escape the generational poverty that plagued my family. My journey is a testament to the collective “village” that raised and guided me. It is proof that we are much more than a statistic if given the right support and access. It is a humbling experience that has shown me that there is plenty of work to be done to create true justice and equity for the next generation. What about when you attend your patients? Do you feel a sense of mission? I think it is a bit early to tell if it has been worth it. While my degree has provided me with insurmountable education and knowledge, that is only the start. I feel as if my mission has just 34
begun. I have a lot more I would like to accomplish. It will be worth it when the system begins to change for the better. It will be worth it when my communities no longer suffer health care disparities outside of their control. When all people have access to medical care, especially preventive care! What gift of wisdom or inspiration will be your Ohio State legacy?
Source: Provided by Victor Tenorio
I hope the impact I have had at Ohio State continues to ripple through time. The spaces I helped create and shape mean the most to me. I hope that the communities I helped shape continue to give back and pay it forward to those who come after. I hope that I have cultivated an army of leaders ready to enact change at every level at the university and beyond. Currently, the Black student population sits around 5.8%, and the Latino population sits around 2.8%. I hope those numbers grow exponentially as time passes.
Do you want to shout out to those who inspired you along the way? I would love to shout out to those who have helped me along the way! In no particular order: Evelin N.R., Yvette V., Isaac A., Keaisia H., Leslie L., Dawn C., Rachel C., Johanna C., Yolanda Z., Lauren L., Frankie A.S., Victoria A., Jesse F., Elianis O., Faith M., Aarhea H., Zachary W., Rayonna B., Reynaldo V., and many more. You all inspired me in many ways, possessing qualities and attributes I deeply admire. I will cherish the memories and friendship we forged here at The Ohio State University.
Source: Provided by Victor Tenorio
Source: Provided by Victor Tenorio
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