One of my biggest takeaways from interning at the UCSD office of Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion was understanding the importance of having a space dedicated to bringing together like minded students with similar experiences who can then work toward being agents of change in their communities. I found that I wanted this for my campus, so I have been inspired to be a part of a group of students who will create the first MEChA (Movimiento Estudiantil Chicano/Chicana de Aztlan) at High Tech High Chula Vista.
MEChA at HTHCV would be a space for people of any background or experiences to pursue higher education, become community leaders, and simultaneously learn about Latina/o identities, culture, and history. This would be an amazing culture shift for our campus where currently the student body that is predominantly made up of Latina/os but this is not reflected in the traditional curriculum.
Historically, MEChA has advocated the belief that political involvement and education is the avenue for change in our society. At HTHCV we will promote these ideas through the subjects that we discuss in class and the activities that will take place during the year. Some of the activities that we foresee MEChA doing for its students would be history lectures, community volunteer work, and attending local university conferences aimed at high school Mechistas.
I am very excited to be a part of something so momentous and necessary at my school, and hope that by this time next year I will be a proud Mechista graduate.