Latinx 校友 Group Reflects on, Celebrates Hispanic Heritage Month

Over the past year, a group of dedicated alumni have 开发ABLA to "connect alumni 和 inspire the future,“支持拉丁裔校友和学生，并彼此定期交谈. They chose the acronym ABLA to play on the Spanish word hablar可以说.

Gonzalez 和 Rubi describe the month as a chance for both celebration 和 reflection, a time to "honor the rich tapestry of Latinx culture, 历史, 以及对社会的贡献." 

For their part, Gonzalez 和 Runi recently spoke with ABLA's vice president Jimena Escudero, 13岁，社区委员会主席 埃德加多·塞普尔韦达，15岁ABLA的运营主管 劳拉Ibáñez ' 17 about what their Latinx heritage means to them, what they're currently working on, 和 why they got involved with the initiative. Below are their transcribed exchanges.

What does Latinx heritage mean to you?

Escudero: Celebration, inclusivity, diversity. Being Latinx isn’t any one thing. 在西班牙裔传统月期间，花点时间停下来反思作为拉丁裔是如何影响我的经历的，这很重要. I did not grow up particularly attached to my heritage 和 for so long, fitting in was the priority [for me]. Now is the time that I’ve turned towards it. I’ve found that I must seek out the community I want to be a part of, 幸运的是, that that community can be found anywhere.

赛: 对我来说, Latinx heritage represents an unapologetic pride in our roots, a deep love for our customs 和 language, 尽管社会试图扼杀我们的文化，但我们仍坚持不懈地把我们的文化带到最前沿. It’s a reminder of my mother isl和, where life 和 love are prioritized 和 celebrated, where the benefit of the community is at the core of all our interactions, 和 where passion 和 毅力 are shared attributes amongst everyone. 这是一种集体文化体验，尽管拉丁美洲的每个国家都不一样, we can all easily find a home amongst each other through our food, 音乐, 和舞蹈. 拉丁裔遗产实际上就是来自多米尼加共和国和我的家庭的各种社会和文化因素，这些因素塑造了我作为一个人以及我如何与世界互动，我永远无法真正赋予它一种意义.

Ibanez说: 遗产都是买球平台传统和我们个性的小片段，这些小片段是从我们周围的人那里传下来的. 对我来说, 庆祝我的拉丁传统意味着继续做我祖母教我的食谱, even though they have never been written down. 遗产意味着认识到我的思想和行为源于我的拉丁根源的时刻, such as superstitions 和 embracing them wholeheartedly as part of who I am. 它还意味着坚持这些传统，并以家庭和社区的价值观生活.  

Tell us a bit about what brings you joy 和 what projects you’re currently working on. 

Escudero: 这是我现在最大的项目...是我儿子吗?. 他刚满一岁，看着他成长，看着他如何与他不断成长的世界联系在一起，真是太棒了. Through him I’ve had to examine how I connect to my own Latino-ness, 我想确保他与自己的根有很强的联系，能够理解自己作为一个多元文化个体的故事. I want him to know that his 历史 is something to be proud of, 和 that he has an appreciation for the multitude of Latinx narratives around us.

赛: 能够社交和结识新朋友确实给我带来了快乐，尤其是在疫情之后. 有机会和别人交流，听听他们的生活故事，或者他们的工作，甚至是他们的个人激情，这些都给了我能量，让我快乐. 是一本好书的同义词, 我发现能够了解一个新的人给了你一个机会进入一个不同于你自己的世界，并从他们的角度短暂地体验一些新的东西, or even find connection where you least expect it.

Ibanez说: 如果我不是一名医生，我就会成为一名图书管理员，整天看书. This is one of the reasons I worked at 特殊的集合 all four years while at Bowdoin; the books 和 the air conditioning. 阅读之余，我喜欢徒步旅行和探索大自然，如果能带上我的狗狗，那就加分了.

I am a resident physician in internal medicine, so learning 和 practicing medicine takes up most of my time. 我喜欢能够照顾我的病人和他们的家人，尤其是当我能用西班牙语做这件事的时候. 我认识到拉丁家庭对一个能理解他们的医生的宽慰和信任, including the cultural 和 familial nuances that are so integral to their health. My patients motivate me everyday though their stories of struggle, 毅力, laughter 和 love; they guide me to keep rooted in the humanity of medicine.

Why did you decide to get involved with ABLA?

Escudero: 买球平台给了我这么多，我想找到一种重新联系的方式，给我的时间和精力. 我每隔几年就搬一次家, 和 I’m happy to have found a role that can move with me, providing me both continuity of purpose 和 a strong network. As ABLA is just in its infancy, 我很感激能找到这样一个角色，在这里我可以帮助指导和塑造它，让年轻的校友在离开买球平台后能从中受益, 和 a way for older alumni to reconnect to the College.

赛: 多年来，我在买球平台拉丁学院的经历中一直注意到一个共同的主题，那就是人们渴望在拉丁裔/POC学生和拉丁裔/POC校友之间建立某种可访问的联系. 学生可以通过多种方式联系校友，校友也可以将自己塑造成学校的资源, 当然, 但在大多数情况下，这些途径都是以职业建议为导向的，没有任何与身份相关的东西. There usually had to be a POC-oriented milestone event hosted at the school for these two groups to ever interact; 和 even then, these token moments would be fleeting as the community aspect never followed. ABLA-alongside Bowdoin 校友 RepresentASIAN 和 Bowdoin College Black 校友 Association-为买球平台有色人种社区提供了最终填补这一空白的机会. 我记得当听到学院想要加强并解决这个缺失的环节时，我非常兴奋, 和 it was an easy decision to join the steering committee, given the shared passion of everyone who first started attending meetings. 我真的很高兴能参与到这个倡议中来，这个倡议最终将引领一个未来，在这个未来，拉丁裔不再是买球平台学生或校友的附加身份, but rather it being an inherent part of that college pride.

Ibanez说: 我决定加入ABLA，以保持与买球平台的联系，并支持拉丁裔学生应对他们可能面临的挑战. 社区对我来说很重要, 和 finding one after Bowdoin has been hard, especially through the isolation we experienced during the p和emic. 我希望ABLA通过社区将拉丁裔校友聚集在一起，以便我们更好地相互支持. 最后, 我想成为当前拉丁裔学生的资源，通过对许多共同经历的理解，为他们提供额外的支持, such as being immigrants or first-generation graduates.