La Unidad Latina

As a first generation, Mexican-American student who is proud of being involved in both Greek life and the Theatre community on campus, I believe that I have a very unique position as a member of the Cornell community. As a first generation, Mexican American student I know the struggles that come with navigating the college process and all the obstacles that come with it. I can empathize with others who might be facing the same struggles and I enjoy being as helpful as possible, so that others can avoid some of the road blocks that I faced during the college search process. As a member of the Greek community, I understand the importance of philanthropy and building a network with other diverse minds. Through this community I have come to value

Through this university I have been able to become involved with various student organizations, including CEPA and the PILOT program. CEPA stands for the Club de Español Para Amigos. This club provides opportunities for its members to practice their Spanish speaking skills, meet and collaborate with organizations that support the Hispanic community, and volunteer in areas that support Spanish speaking community. This club has allowed me to combine my love for Hispanic language and culture, and do philanthropic work. As a Spanish major, it has provided me with the opportunity to network and practice the skills that I have learned in the classroom. Another organization I am affiliated with is the Pilot program. This is a leadership program on campus. As a member of this club I attend a variety of workshops in order to receive credit as a certified leader and then a master leader. These workshops cover topics including diversity, skill building, self- improvement, and leadership programs. This organization has allowed me to grow as a leader, and become a more well-rounded

Along with being a diligent student who has been enrolled in 11 Advanced Placement classes, I have also dedicated my time to other causes. For example, I have volunteered at public libraries, Special Olympics events, orphanages for intellectually disabled children, and food pantries. While maintaining a rigorous course load and volunteering, I also work at Kumon. I tutor children to boost their confidences and understanding of concepts vital to their future success. Moreover, I have received membership to The National Honor Society and have been awarded an AP Scholar with Merit Award. My dedication to becoming more culturally aware and five years of enrollment in Spanish classes has allowed me to be inducted into Spanish Honor Society. Within

At my all-girls high school, I’ve always stood out for having a “thick accent”. Aside from not fully understanding English, being different has taught me how to be a creatively gifted, intelligent, and influential entity among my peers. Throughout the years, I grew frustrated with myself for being unable to speak clearly to my classmates. Additionally, my friends did not understand how I spoke, where I came from, or what I cared most about in my culture. This stood out to me to make a change and prompted me to take action towards it. In tenth grade, I became the founding Vice President of the Spanish Honor Society, an organization that executes community service and immerse students in the different Hispanic cultures. Our school was on the need for a display of diverse Hispanic cultures. For example, the school's student profile tends to show a racial disbursement of “51% African American, 40.4% Hispanic, and 4.5% White.” Additionally, that “40.4% Hispanic” for students is only “Mexicans.” Taking this issue, Spanish Honor Society (SHS) presents students with an exciting way to learn more about their diverse peers and their cultures such as music, food, and beliefs.

One manner in which I have helped the Hispanic Chamber achieve its mission is by serving as a translator for the workers in the kitchen who are unable to communicate fluently in English. This has proven to be a very valuable asset of mine as it allows the managers and crew members to coexist more smoothly and work more efficiently. This experience has also taught me to become grateful for the many values the other workers in the kitchen have instilled within me, including: hard-work, perseverance, and punctuality. Additionally, I have been able to offer advice to the other Latinos at my job about any questions they may have regarding the American education system. This includes providing them with different resources and contact information for information on colleges, scholarships, financial aid, etc. Lastly, I have also assisted the other workers by retelling my father's experiences coming to America and the many obstacles he has encountered throughout his life in order to achieve the success he has garnered today. For these reasons, I have learned to take nothing for granted in life and to always willingly assist the other Latinos at my job in order to express my gratitude for the many valuable life lessons they have taught me over the

I am grateful for the opportunity to be allowed to address joint meeting in this country that I personally call my home. This country is the land where people can be free and pursue their dreams that can not be done in any other country. As the United States Congress the whole body of this organization is to be able to defend the lives and rights of the people. This country is the home of the people that keep this country running, and part of those people is the Latino community. The Latino community now make up 1 out 4 school students in the United States and are a rapidly growing population in nontraditional settlement areas (Gandara 2017). But as the Latino community keeps growing the youth is not getting enough help to continue into higher

As a Latina student, I have faced many struggles as many of my fellow Latino classmates have as well. One of these struggles has always been writing papers. I was never the best at knowing when and where to place commas in a sentence and still am not very good at it. Being a Latina is hard enough when English is my second language and Spanish is my first, and English being one of the hardest to learn how to write properly is not really going for me. I’ve never really enjoyed writing papers that I knew I would have to be graded on because I knew my grammar and punctuation is not very good but I have improved my writing skill a bit but it is nowhere near perfect nor where it should be for my age. Another struggle that I have had as being a Latina

When the Europeans first arrived in Latin America, they didn’t realize the immensity of their actions. As history has proven, the Europeans have imposed many things on the Latin American territory have had a long, devastating effect on the indigenous people. In the centuries after 1492, Europeans would control much of South America and impose a foreign culture upon the already established civilizations that existed before their arrival. These imposed ideas left the continent weak and resulted in the loss of culture, the dependence on European countries, and a long standing ethnic tension between natives and settlers which is evident even to this day. The indigenous people of South America, which

Latinos face many obstacles in obtaining quality healthcare due to social and structural barriers. Many Latinos are undocumented which prevents them from getting health insurance and they have lower insurance rates in comparison to other ethnic minorities (Terriquez and Joseph, 2016). Additionally, Latinos tend to have lower socioeconomic status and levels of education which further prohibits them from accessing insurance and healthcare. There is also an issue when the parents aren’t legal citizens, inhibiting Latino children’s ability to gain insurance through their parents (Terriquez and Joseph, 2016). Thus, documentation status is a key determinant of Latino’s health status and insurance access.

American attitudes towards Latin America can be summed up as an extension of larger global directives, and the exclusion of foreign powers in the region. This was highlighted especially during the Cold War as US involvement was essentially in competition with the USSR. Latin America was therefore a mere pawn in the larger context of US-Soviet competition for global dominance. The actions and methods used are also characterized by the lack of an international authority, or an atmosphere of inter-state anarchy, which shaped their calculations in the endeavor to increase their influence over Latin America. When one analyzes the situation, it seems only rational that the United States treated its southern neighbors so, due to the geographical

As a Public Health Science major, I feel that I am extremely qualified for this position. My work with Health Leads has prepared me immensely for this position. I am very familiar with working with young children and their family in need. At Health Leads, I am responsible for connecting families with services that will improve their health. I am extremely interested in the mission of Casa de Esperanza. Your position on helping families through their journey as a supporter rather than instructor really resonated with

I believe that I should be accepted as cabinet member of SHH because of my strengths which are being creatively in photography and overall projects, and well-roundly intelligent. Skills that I have that are so important are being determined, trustworthy, a great listener, and have self-motivation. I should be accepted into Sociedad Honaria Hispanica because I do believe that I have the potential to help improve this club.

Women of Latin American culture have incessantly ensued the potent gender roles that have become a social construction of their society over innumerable decades. The profound author of Insurgent Mexico, John Reed, imparts his experiences with the revolutionary leaders of the Mexican Revolution, like Pancho Villa, and was able to witness their culture and more specifically the roles these Mexican women were forced to render by their chauvinistic counterparts. This period of revolution, started to grant women new mantles usually reserved only for men, like participating in fighting for the success of the revolution; any preeminent changes would soon approach, but in the meantime Mexican society run by men enjoyed the regulated traditional

As a member of this organization, I made an effort for the bridge to be noticed by the residence of the community, by being present to as many events as possible. Through community service event such as Adelante Hombre Latino Youth Summit and college campus tours, I was able to serve as a mentor for young high school Latino males. Within these events I was able to give advice to high school students who either didn’t know what to expect as a college student, or for those who were contemplating on what route they should embark. Being able to participate in events such like these, allowed me to display what Hermanos Unidos stands for, while also being an example for Latino youth residing in our surrounding

As a Hispanic individual, I identity with the culture and have walked the path that many unrepresented Hispanic individuals have walked. I understand the mores and the livelihood of many Hispanics and furthermore I want to use my education to assist others outside the community to apprehend our true culture. With that stated,