SEAHO Report - Spring 2020 - 17

FEATURE ARTICLES

I am Unique, I am Latina, Now What?
Diana Aguillón, University of North Carolina Greensboro
I am a daughter of immigrants,
raised in a lower-middle-class
Spanish-speaking household. At
an early age, I knew I was different
from my peers with my long black
hair that everyone loved. My parents
raised me in rural North Carolina.
While working long hours, they
taught me the traditions, values,
customs, and culture of the LatinX
community. To this day I am
grateful for the things I was taught.
Nevertheless, my identity and selfidentification process were not easy,
but engaging with social justice and
diversity in higher education was a
pivotal learning experience.
Once I entered the third grade, I
understood I was bilingual, helping
the teacher translate class material
for the new students from Mexico
(Garcia, 1999). When teachers asked
who knew Spanish, I would be that
happy student to raise their hand.
When I began talking in Spanish,
I would see the new students
from Mexico smile. I was that
person willing to take a moment
to help them feel at home. As I
reflect on these experiences, I now
understand why I am so passionate
about advocating for my LatinX
community. To this day, I continue
to translate and communicate with
Spanish-speaking families and
parents at the institutions at which I
work. It is my goal to help students
feel at home in the residence hall in
which they live.
I earned my Bachelor's degree from
Winston-Salem State University
(WSSU), a Historically Black College
or University (HBCU). At WSSU,
I engaged with Blacks students
daily, an experience that opened
my eyes to the fact that I was not
as educated as I thought regarding
diversity, inclusion, and social
justice. Attending WSSU, I began
to encounter Black culture daily.

I knew I had so much more to
learn about the culture and other
underrepresented populations.
Social justice was a part of the
strategic plan of the university and
it was ingrained in our academic
courses. From my first professor
to my last, we had discussions
on how to advocate for our Black
students because they deserve the
same opportunities as their White
counterparts. Experiencing social
justice firsthand from an outside
perspective was truly powerful and
knowing how proud and grateful
these students were to be Black,
I found pride in my identity as
a Latina student who can speak
Spanish.
Therefore, diversity is etched
into every experience I have as a
professional. After WSSU, I decided
to enroll in a Master's program
at Western Carolina University
(WCU). As a first-generation college
student, a second college degree
seemed unattainable. Nevertheless,
I was admitted, and I graduated
two years later from WCU with my
Master's and now I am a LatinX
student affairs professional working
at The University of North Carolina
at Greensboro (UNCG). As student
affairs professionals I find it
important to know our student's
upbringings, attitudes, beliefs,
values, and lastly their personality
type (Cultural diversity, 2006). These
are instrumental elements to get
to know our students, something I
know each of my supervisors did.
Every student in our halls is unique.
If you have not yet done so, it is time
to reflect on your own experiences
because for me it allowed me to
put words to my self-identification
process. Everything I do gives me a
new learning opportunity; we need
to work for our students and help
them be their authentic selves in
a world that affects them in

numerous ways.
During my first year working
professionally at UNCG, I have
worked hard to ingrain diversity and
inclusion into my everyday work. I
work hard to listen and learn from
those around me. Underrepresented
communities need allies, and as
professionals in the field, we should
step up and help in their fight. As
professionals, we should step up and
learn about social justice, diversity,
and inclusion daily. As I sit on
the SJDI committee at UNCG, our
monthly newsletter gives me that
opportunity, as we say 60 seconds
or 60 minutes, make SJDI a part of
your everyday, something we should
all do as professionals in student
affairs.
This is one aspect of my career
I think I can always improve on
especially on all the different
underrepresented communities.
These communities will continue
to grow, and they will always need
someone to help advocate for them.
As I continue to understand and
learn more about others it will
help me see how I can support
and advocate for them. Take into
consideration that you are not going
to know it all; you might make a
mistake, but take the time to learn
from it and grow as a professional. I
am unique, I am a proud Latina with
immigrant parents, who knows how
to speak Spanish, and is a firstgeneration college student.
REFERENCES
Cultural diversity & awareness.
ReadytoManage, 2006. eBook Business
Collection (EBSCOhost). Web. 15 Oct
2016.
García, Eugene E. Student cultural
diversity: Understanding and meeting
the challenge. Boston: Houghton
Mifflin, 1999. Print.

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SEAHO Report - Spring 2020

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