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San Diego Princeton Prize in Race Relations, 4th Annual Awards Ceremony

The 4th annual San Diego Princeton Prize in Race Relations Award Ceremony took place in Point Loma on May6, 2018. It was a beautiful sunny day in San Diego, a perfect addition to the wonderful honor of receiving this award. Only one week after my trip to Princeton University, I was one of four local San Diego students who were honored with the opportunity to attend a ceremony that was organized by the Princeton Prize Committee of San Diego. This event was especially for our families, Princeton Alumni, and local leaders such as the amazing keynote speaker, San Diego Superior Court Judge Sharon L. Kalemkiarian.

The program for the event shined a light on the amazing work we have done in our schools. It was amazing to have the work that I do be recognized and validated by local Princeton alumni, friends and family. I am deeply grateful for the opportunities that the alumni have provided me with with this award, and feel the need to personally thank the members of the selection committee of San Diego: Javier Hernandez (Chair), Marie-Line Allen, Bernardo Ferdman, Carol Hasson, Gabriela Kovats, Beverly Randez, Tony Rodriguez, and Mary Slattery Johnson. I also have to thank my parents, family and friends who attended an informal after-ceremony “tardeada” that included carne asada and my grandmother’s tamales.

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Princeton Prize Symposium on Race

On April 27 and 28, 2018, I participated in the Princeton Prize Symposium on Race that took place on the Princeton University campus in New Jersey. This trip was included in the award I was given for my work in helping introduce an Ethnic Studies elective course at my school, HTHCV.

The weekend I spent visiting Princeton University was amazing. The relationships that I developed with young people from all over the nation touched my heart and reaffirmed the value of my community work. I saw my own passion and dedication reflected in each of unique projects shared by the other prize winners. When we talked about why we do the work that we do, I felt the love I had was also being shared with me. Never before had I experienced such pride in being a young activist scholar, and I know that we will be the generation to demand change and not be intimidated by the difficulties that will come from our work. Being at Princeton not only made me feel at home in a community of people, it made me feel as though I had also contributed something to the Princeton campus community and legacy.

Education has always been one of the most important things to my family. Both my parents are first generation college graduates, and they made sure that when the time came for me to start thinking about universities I knew that I had access to all the necessary resources to build upon their legacies of academic achievement and community service. They always wanted me to at least match what they had done. With this prize and through my visit to Princeton University, for the first time I was able to visualize myself attending an Ivy League school. I am truly grateful for having been chosen for this prize because it not only provided me access to a totally new experience, but my visit to Princeton has allowed me to expand my horizons in terms of what I see as being possible for in future.

 

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2018 National Student Walkout Against Gun Violence

The 2018 National Student Walkout Against Gun Violence was a call for all high schoolers in the nation to walk out of their classes on the 19th anniversary of the Columbine shooting, and demand that action be taken to end gun violence in the United States. I was one of the key organizers for the activities that took place across South San Diego. A committee of students representing at least six different high schools in Chula Vista and San Diego met every week from February to April 2018 to plan our events.

The walkout I participated in took place on August 20th, 2018 and at least 250 students from my school walked out of their classes at 10:00 am and marched to a local park. My responsibilities for the protest included organizing a student security team to make sure our protesters were safe during the entirety of the march, and to deliver a speech toward the end of the event. I also purchased waters for the students, and searched for megaphones to use during the march.

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Thanksgiving & Thankstaking

As a “Welcome back!” to our Ethnic Studies class, I led a lesson on the origins and implications of celebrating the Thanksgiving holiday. The lesson addressed the roots of American land wealth in relation to the theft of indigenous land. We also talked about native genocide, treaty violations, and the continuing colonial reality of native people. We followed up with a class discussion on how these tragedies set the current conditions for native people to live in poverty, be subjected to inadequate educational institutions, the decline of native languages, and other  injustices. The dialogue eventually led students to be more critical and reflect on the social inequalities and circumstances native people live with, and how a holiday like Thanksgiving can hide this part of American history. 

The lessons and discussion questions were an introduction to what we will be looking deeper into during our last two weeks in Ethnic Studies. We will be seeking representatives, activists and educators  of the Kumeyaay people to speak to the class about Native American history, the most pressing matters that need to be addressed within Native American communities, and what we can do to support their movements.