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Militarization of the U.S.-Mexico Border

I have been volunteering at the Binational Garden in Border Field State Park since I was 12 years old. Also known as “Friendship Park,” it includes a 75-foot section of the boundary between the United States and Mexico that is one of the last locations where people can still interact across the international border wall. Families who have been separated by immigration policies visit the park on Sundays to share a few moments together. For this reason, this space is very important to the border community it resides in.

Unfortunately, after January 2018, Friendship Park was increasingly militarized, limiting public access to the garden. On November 14th, the Park was completely sealed off to be covered with rows of razor wire. Heavily armed U.S. soldiers patrol the area, waiting for Central American asylum seekers. Now more than ever, I am reminded of the importance of the Binational Garden and my volunteer work to help maintain public access to Friendship Park. In the near future, I hope to return and continue to care for the conflicted beauty of this special place.

 

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I am now a “Rising Senior”!

So I finished my Junior year at HTHCV!! I don’t want to show off, but I think my final grades are pretty good ;-). What was especially nice was this message from my two team teachers:

“Luz! Words can’t fully describe how thankful we are to have been your junior year teachers. Your name is so appropriate because you really are the type of person who shines light into the darkness. You provide eloquent wording to people’s thoughts that they can’t quite articulate yet as well as action steps for how to do something about it. You are unapologetically yourself – setting an example for both your peers and teachers for what it means to work hard and laugh at the same time. Your voice has been integral to our evolution as teachers and we thank for you that. Everything you say is thought out and articulate. You’re not afraid to ask questions or be an advocate for yourself. At the beginning of this year, you didn’t necessarily view yourself as a scientists or as someone who would go into the sciences, but you made one of the best Making Waves Documentaries and Infographic of the class. To us, this illustrates that your mindset had changed in regards to how you view yourself as a scientist. Between the gun violence walkout, Ethnic Studies, and MEChA next year, you set the bar for what student leadership looks like and for how HTHCV can evolve has a community. Next year, we hope that you continue to take care of yourself. The work that brings you energy can often also be draining, and much like your mentor Diana mentioned, it’s important to ensure that you make time for yourself. Whether it’s through the Danza Azteca or other forms of artistic expression, we hope that you embrace that space for yourself. Overall, we hope that you are happy and thriving in your final year at HTHCV. Thank you so much for everything and good luck in 12th grade and beyond! With love, Ms. Mackenzie and Ms. Meghan”

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Dr. Frances Contreras & EDI

Like I have mentioned in my previous blog posts, I had the amazing opportunity to intern at the office of Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) at UCSD and shadow Dr. Frances Contreras, the Vice Chancellor of this office. The reason why I chose this internship was because of my interest in being an educator and working with students in higher education. I wanted my mentor to be a person that could show me that I am capable of achieving what they have done in their career, and that is exactly what  Dr. Contreras provided for me. The work that Dr. Contreras does for UCSD is inspiring, and of such great importance. I hope to one day make as much of a difference as she does. She showed me what it means to be a highly educated leader, and as a young Latina I saw evidence of why I must be true to myself. She is an incredible role model.

My experience at UCSD was incredibly successful! I learned about what steps are being taken to work toward making UCSD a more diverse and equitable campus, and what the UC system does to support the existing population of students from underrepresented backgrounds. I found that I thrive in spaces like this one, where professional people seek answers to questions related diversity and are passionate about education. For the first time I really saw myself one day being a part of an institution like this one. Realizing this was not hard to do, considering I had such an amazing mentor to look up to.