2019-2020 School Year
Isabella Herreno: Freshman – Communications
“The first time I saw Colombia was meaningful to me. I got to see my own culture, and felt completely immersed into it. I felt like I was able to connect with my family that I had never met. I went to the capital city, which is where my family is from, and we just explored. We went to the mountains, and it was really beautiful. I met my great, great grandmother. She was very healthy at the time, and was even able to teach me how to dance and take me horse riding.”
Anthony Vidal: Freshman – Cambridge
“When I was ten, I used to live with my mother and father, but they broke up so we (my mother and I) moved to Mexico for vacation, but then my mother decided to cross the border. So I started crying because my dad was back in Cuba and he worked with the government so he couldn’t leave. I was in 6th grade when we crossed the border and we spent the whole night there, until we took a plane to Miami. I instantly started missing my dad, I wasn’t scared but I just wanted to go back and see my loved ones again. However, my life in Miami is pretty good and I actually have a lot of family here, aunts and cousins that I never knew before and they are all wonderful people. I still miss home sometimes, but I get to visit Cuba every once in a while.”
Adrian Oyola: Freshman – Communications
“I was always raised as a Dominican, but I really never understood what it really meant to be Dominican. I would just say I was from there to simply represent it, but to me it was just some arbitrary label. That was until just recently. My great grandmother and I went to my cousin’s wedding in DR, and stayed at her house which had been passed down many generations. The conditions of the house were horrible. There was no water or air conditioning, and there were no cars. We got to see where my mom spent her childhood, and I got to meet family I had never met before. I ate authentic DR cuisine for the first time. I am now more grateful for what I have since what I took for granted here is scarce over there. And now I truly feel proud calling myself Dominican since now I really know where I come from.”
Nestor Yanes: Junior – IT
“One time in 7th grade, I did cross country and won top 20 out of 500 kids. It made me feel ecstatic. I’ve had a decent life but this was something exciting and I’m glad it happened because now I have a fun fact to tell about myself.”
Raquel de La Rosa: Sophomore – Entrepreneurship
“My life is nowhere near perfect regardless what people think. Yes, I’m a christian, yes I’m a pastor kid, but it’s hard for me. I constantly have pressure from the world and my parents to make a difference and be different.”
Gabriel Arechavaleta: Junior – Communications
“Ever since I was young, I knew that I didn’t want to do boring office jobs. I like being as expressive as I can with papers, paints, paintbrushes.”
Nathalie Benitez: Freshman – Health
“The thing I fear the most in life is trusting people and being vulnerable. Someone I loved betrayed me…It’s been hard learning to trust people again, but the one thing I try to do is forgive and forget.”
