Commitment to inclusion and diversity have always been top of mind for me. From an academic and professional perspective, my success is also the product of the opportunities I have been given because I have been in environments that nurtured and committed to inclusion and diversity. Not only from an institutional policy or requirement perspective, but from the less formal perspective. At critical times in my life I have come across key individuals that recognized my value and gave me opportunities to grow despite my background as a Latin American Woman. In fact, some of the value lied precisely in what I could bring to the team or work at hand by drawing from my diverse background and experience. Based on my experience, I know that inclusion and diversity must be deliberately integrated in institutional policy, and more importantly, at the individual level. I want to help facilitate the success of others, like myself, who may experience greater barriers to opportunities for various reasons that are not limited to race or ethnicity.
I have been working with a group of youth since 2002 who are now young productive adults. This work started as part of an immigrant youth program at one of the non-profits I worked for many years. Some of them (or their parents) were undocumented and experienced many of the issues usually associated with being an immigrant. Our work (my mother, sister, I) with the youth covered many areas of public speaking, civic engagement, community work, self-esteem building, and many other activities that sought to encourage the youth to see themselves as productive members of society. In fact, many of these youth were among the first “Dreamers” and gave testimonials on “Dreamers” rights to legislators at the Massachusetts State House and Washington, DC. All under our guidance, but solely based on their skills and resiliency. Much of this work culminated into the first Brazil Week at Harvard University in which the youth exhibited photographs they had taken to depict their experience as immigrants. I have kept in contact with the majority of these youth and have given them mentorship over the years especially as it relates to their careers and education. I will bring the same level of commitment to student and mentee development that I have provided to the youth mentioned above, and from which I have benefitted. The university context is different; however, the same underlying motivation that kept me engaged with the youth in the non-profit is what I will draw from in this next phase in my academic career.