Alejandra Vazquez, Presidential Award Winner, Author, Future Graduate Student, y Hija

 

Alejandra Vazquez is one of four Portland State University undergraduates to receive a 2025 Presidential Award for service to the university! I (David) have known "Ale" (as our students call her) very well throughout her years at Portland State. She was an outstanding student in our Freshman Inquiry class her first year, then a beloved Peer Mentor for the next four. This year we are collaborating to research and write an ebook on how "New Majority" PSU students experience, or not, a sense of belonging at Portland State. She has also been a leader at La Casa Latina, MEChA, and in many other contexts.

But what has always most struck me about Alejandra is her commitment to her family. First and foremost, she is a Latina daughter, sister, niece, and cousin. Family is where she finds her greatest joys and strengths and role models, and that love of and commitment to family informs everything she does. She has taught me that the most responsible and joyful way to use the privileges that higher education brings is to make places at the table for people who have been marginalized, that our lives and choices should always be informed by the needs of others, that the first responsibility of a leader is to serve.

This is a theme she developed in a recent piece for Amplify journal in which she joined six other former members of Freshman Inquiry classes in reflecting on how written assignments for our class related to their families and communities. Ms. Vazquez essay is about Reyna Grande's memoir, The Distance Between Us, a bittersweet story of how her family's move from Mexico to the U.S. affected each family member.

Here is a paragraph from her introduction to the essay:

As I read, I often found my mother in the pages. It didn’t feel like just another assignment; it felt like a glimpse into my mother's life — one she rarely shared, due to the trauma and heartbreak she carries. For the first time, I was able to relate to a character and see the people I love reflected in the words on the page. Reyna Grande’s story, though heartbreaking, was also deeply empowering. 

Here is the link to the full article: https://pdxscholar.library.pdx.edu/amplify/vol3/iss1/6/.

In a few months, Alejandra will be headed off to Maryland as a graduate student in the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies. Portland State will miss her, but she has enriched the lives of hundreds of students, as well as many faculty and staff. 

Gracias por todo, Alejandra.

"Painting my Dreams: Help Fund my Art Journey to Japan!" By Tina Vuong

David's Note: Tina was a wonderful student in our year-long Freshman Inquiry class during the "year of Co-vid," when the entire class was online. I remember her as shy and very bright, and that she was really struggling to find the money and the time to pursue her education. Three years later, she's a confident and, as you can see, accomplished artist on the edge of realizing a life-long dream of studying in Japan! She returned to our class last year and was one of our most popular guest speakers. Please support her trip if you are able and inclined to, and please help spread the word. Tina is one of those people who will pull many other people along as she succeeds.

Tina's Fund My Travel Page: https://www.fundmytravel.com/campaign/4WUFKilnOH

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As a graphic design student, I am applying for the PSU Exchange Program at Japan: Kansai Gaidai University in Osaka. Growing up, I found much of my inspiration in Japanese culture, especially through reading manga and watching anime. As a child, when things were difficult at home, I would immerse myself in Japanese comic books to escape from my surroundings. The stories transported me to another world and helped me through my childhood. I daydreamed about being rescued by a prince or traveling through time with a talking blue cat. Today, I aim to bring the same comfort and joy to others through my art. This personal connection to Japanese media has been a driving force behind my artistic journey, shaping both my passion and career goals.

When I chose to attend PSU, it was a practical decision to save money while pursuing my degree. At the time, I thought I had to leave behind my love for 2D art. As technology advanced, many people told me that majoring in Art Practice wouldn’t lead to a successful career after graduation. Because of that, I decided to switch to Graphic Design, where I could still use my artistic skills while learning how to apply them in a more modern, digital context. 

Although I no longer take studio art classes, I have continued to evolve my craft through graphic design studies at PSU. I have had the opportunity to learn how to critique and create short animations, infographics, movie posters, and various other projects. I’ve used these skills to create and sell my work, taking on freelance projects such as tattoo and poster designs, along with many smaller projects.

One of my goals is to create my own webcomic series and work in an animation or art studio, turning my imagination into reality. During the spring semester of 2023, I took a course on “The History of Animation”, which reignited my passion for the subject. The class showed me how Japanese and American animation have influenced one another, but I especially appreciated Japan’s dedication to 2D animation, which has largely been replaced by 3D in the United States. This exploration gave me valuable insights into the evolution of techniques and visual storytelling across cultures.

Now, I hope to learn directly from the source that has shaped my artistic vision. I’m particularly eager to gain a deeper understanding of Japanese aesthetics, culture, and society through design. Having already completed three terms of Japanese at PSU, I look forward to using the language in real-life situations to improve my communication skills and gain fluency.

"Beyond Intergenerational Trauma," By Brenda Rodriquez-Garcia

 

This powerful account is taken from Sharing Stories of Hope and Transformation in U.S. Higher Education: An eReader by Portland State University Students, edited by Óscar Fernández and myself. You can read more stories by clicking on this link. By the way, Brenda graduated last June, less than four years after entering PSU, despite innumerable challenges and while serving as a much beloved peer mentor for sixty first-year students.

Our childhood experiences and parents have influenced us to be the person we are today. For some people, this influence gave them many incredible outcomes in their adult/teenage life but for others, this influence could be very damaging, hurtful, and traumatic. I hold the belief that every baby is born innocently, and their parents, society, or community influence the person they’ll grow up to be.

At a young age, I constantly witnessed my parents always fighting verbally and physically and never getting along. My mother, brother, and I were always moving into different homes and ended up in a domestic abuse shelter. We’d always leave my father behind, and I never understood why. Being young and naive, I often made my own conclusions that my parents simply didn’t love each other enough and that’s why they’d always leave one another and get back together all the time. I found myself resenting my mother when my dad would come to look for us, and she’d refuse to be with him and force him to leave.

When I was eight, I remember my parents arguing for the whole car ride back to our house. As we arrived home, my mom stormed out of the car into the fall night, and my brother and I quickly followed behind her and left my dad behind. I don’t think my mom knew where she was intending to go because all she was doing was crying as she walked—which provoked us to cry along with her. After she noticed we were very cold, we headed back home but my dad didn’t open the door for us after the countless times she knocked. We had no choice but to sleep at a park as we shivered in the cold. The next thing I recall was being carried inside back into the house by my mom as she angrily continued to argue with my dad about not opening the door and having us in the cold. After this night, there was no more fighting or arguments, my parent’s relationship was healthier, and everything changed for the better.

By the time I reached middle school, I overheard a heated argument between my parents which I wasn’t necessarily new to, but this time I wasn’t naive and understood what they were arguing about. My mom realized this and took me out of the house to a random parking lot. I don’t know what I was expecting but little did I know this conversation would have a great impact on my life. She revealed why we used to leave my dad so much in my early life which sadly turned out to be for my dad’s struggle with a crystal meth addiction. When my mother would get domestically abused by my father, it was because my dad would be drugged and have hallucinations of my mom cheating on him. To protect my brother and me, my mom would get us away from the violence. For the past five years, he was attending a rehab group and was sober which explained why our lives had changed for the better. Unfortunately, the reason why she was revealing all this was due to my dad relapsing back into his addiction.

From there, my life changed forever and I felt as if I had lost my father by witnessing him lose, destroy, and consume himself by his drug addiction. He’d be sober for a month or two and then relapse again and make endless promises of changing, but his drug addiction always seemed to overpower him. It was truly hard to have to go to school and act as if nothing was going on at home and to come home from school not knowing if my dad would be sober or drugged. When he’d be drugged, he wouldn’t sleep or eat for days, destroy the house, ignore us, and would have constant hallucinations about incidents that weren’t happening. Commonly, those hallucinations would be my mother cheating, someone trying to kidnap me, people breaking in, and awfully more.

I’d feel very devastated and depressed, because I felt as if my father preferred his drugs over me and my family. I witnessed my household turn into a living hell, and I couldn’t do anything about it due to being young and lacking the resources to help my father’s addiction. Many times I felt as if I was the adult at home because my mom would be depressed, even suicidal, and I had to be supporting her in a way I could. She would have mood swings where she’d take her frustration out on me and even though it hurt a lot, I’d still have compassion for her because it was hell at home. My mother had her flaws but she also never abandoned us. SHE made us feel loved and cared for, and provided for us. My dad never abandoned us either, his weakness was his meth addiction, so when he was absent or a horrible person it was when he was on that but when he wasn’t he was the best dad in the world.

The hardest years of my life would have to be my high school years due to the fact that I was sadly living with a drug addict and somehow still pursuing school. My life at home couldn’t be changed from the lack of control I held, but I viewed my education as my only salvation to save my family as it would guide me to more opportunities that would benefit me in my life to pursue my dreams and help my father. By my sophomore year, things were just getting so out of hand, and it just kept making everything more and more difficult to be at home. Sometimes I would either stay after school or go to my friend’s house just to avoid having to go home. It was hard to focus on school with everything at home, but somehow I still managed to do it. My mom was getting emotionally and physically tired, too. Halfway through the year, she decided for us to leave my dad and go live with her sister in Wisconsin. I had to leave everything behind in my life and start a new one in a different place. It was very overwhelming having to start a new life and adjust to a new high school, especially halfway through the year. Although I was far from my dad, somehow he would still affect me and influence how I felt.

After a week of us being gone, my dad drove to go find us. He knew my mom would take us with her sister since that’s the only family she has here in the United States. Somehow he got there ready to take us home, but I wasn’t too convinced. He convinced my mom he would change for good and to leave back with him. I decided to stay because I didn’t want to have to adjust one more time to school, and I was embarrassed to show up there since I wouldn’t know what to tell the school. My dad was offended by me not wanting to leave back with him, but he didn’t consider how I had left everything for him, and deep down inside I knew it was too soon for him to change. About two weeks after my parents left with my baby sister, he had again relapsed into his drugs. So, my mom ended up coming back to Wisconsin embarrassed, but I didn’t judge her for believing in him.  At the end of the day, we all held the same hope he’d defeat his drug addiction.

Things only got even worse after that, as now my dad was all alone drugging himself non-stop. I fell into a really bad depression, as I didn’t understand why my dad chose his drugs over his family. My aunt would check up on him occasionally and even pay the rent so he would have a place to stay, but that didn’t help him much. He destroyed our house. He broke the walls, burned our belongings, burned spots in the house, painted the windows black, and so on and so forth. He was only damaging everything around him but most importantly damaging himself.

After three months, he got arrested for driving recklessly and that was the best thing that could’ve happened since my dad would be locked up without being able to drug himself anymore. My mom left back for Oregon to save our house from getting taken away, and facing consequences since it was under her name. I stayed to finish my high school year at Hamilton High School, even though it was a pretty dangerous school. I felt unsafe many times because the staff weren’t very strict, and it felt as if the students were in charge. We had to go through security every single day before entering school. My life was slowly getting back together again, as my dad was now sober and would frequently call me. After a month, his parents paid the bail and he was three months sober getting his life back together. My parents ended up getting back together, and when I arrived home in the summer the house was rebuilt again. Nothing remained of the house I had left behind. I did not see the destruction my dad had done to it. Sadly, this didn’t last long. On my birthday, my dad came home very upset with bad news about the court and having to leave for Mexico. My whole world was falling apart just when everything was getting back to normal.

In Mexico, my dad relapsed back into his drugs and spent time in and out of rehabilitation. I would go visit him when I could during the holidays, and my grandparents would take him out to spend the holidays with us, but after a short time, he would just go back to his drugs. It was like no matter what I did, his family or friends did to support him, he’d always choose his drugs over everything. At this point, he lost all his family, his job, and his life due to his drug addiction.

The hardest moment in my life was my senior year when my dad was lost for the weekend and nobody could locate him. Monday night I received a call from my aunt crying telling me my dad had run over a person while he was drugged. Unfortunately, the person was in a cartel and sent people after my dad to kill him. I felt my world ending as I feared for my dad’s life. I prayed for the people of the cartel to have compassion on the life of my dad because he didn’t intentionally try to hurt anyone since he was struggling with a deep drug addiction. My dad drove to my grandparent’s house with bullets all over his car, and somehow my dad’s brothers managed to negotiate with the people by covering all the hospital’s expenses, buying him a new motorcycle, and giving him money for six months. Even though we found a solution to the problem, and my dad’s life wasn’t lost, my heart sank at the thought of my father almost losing his life. I remember being so emotionally unstable I didn’t go to school for a week, which got me behind in my classes.

Living through all of this was very devastatingly hard for me, and sadly I’m still living through this challenge that hasn’t ended, yet. Many people judge my father and talk bad about him. They often say he is never going to change, but, at the end of the day, he continues to be my father regardless of who he is, and I’m never going to lose hope in him changing. His weakness is his addiction, but he loves us, and I know it.

I’m happy to share that I received a four-year scholarship to pursue my education and complete my desires. After completing my college education and my criminology and criminal justice major, I plan on helping my dad by putting him in a rehabilitation center and counseling program to help him recover from his addiction for good and heal his childhood trauma. As for my mom, I want to give her everything she deserves, as she’s the one who’s suffered the most. She would’ve loved to pursue her education but couldn’t for circumstances in Mexico, and I want to complete that dream for her. I still hold no resentment towards my father or mother.

My parents aren’t bad people and never will be even after all my siblings and I have lived through. I’ve always had in my mind that people are who they are based on the childhood they lived through. My dad had a very ugly childhood full of domestic violence, physical and sexual abuse, and neglect. My dad at six years old witnessed the death of his brother who was six years old due to bricks falling on him while they were working in Mexico. My mom’s life faced some trauma as well, and I acknowledge that they’ve both reflected on what they got as children, their trauma, problems, and more that hasn’t yet been healed so this is why I don’t hold any grudges or judgments against them. As you could imagine this was very traumatic in my life but it also made me desire a better future and mature very young. I honestly don’t know where I would be today without my parents or the life I’ve lived as it has shaped me into the woman I am today. Although not everyone is strong enough to forgive and look beyond the trauma, I encourage you to forgive your parents, forgive the life you’ve lived, and move forward to truly heal yourself. Break those inter-generational curses that separate and restrict us from living and pursuing a healthy life.

"Mirror's Reflection: My People and Me," by Rebecca Hart Benitez Hernandez

[Sense of community is] a spirit of belonging together, a feeling that there is an authority structure that can be trusted, an awareness that trade and mutual benefit come from being together, and a spirit that comes from shared experiences that are preserved as art.” Dr. David McMillan

 I often struggle to explain to white people the sense of community and connection I feel within my race and culture and how that sense and connection is different from theirs. I currently live with my husband and in-laws, who are white, and from living with them I can see that the relationships, connections, and loyalties they have within themselves as a family and within their cultural community are different from that of people of color and immigrant families in America. 

As a Mexican-American, I immediately feel connection, understanding, respect, and love toward any Latinx person I meet. I see my parents in the faces of the elders in my community. I see their struggles, and I see their pain. I think about how, like my mother, maybe they haven’t held their mothers and fathers in over 30 years. Maybe they, too, came to this country young, and now many years later, with adult children of their own, cry out in their rooms for their parents and family as my parents do. I wonder if like my parents they left a peaceful life on a village farm, where life is slow and full of love and laughter, for uncertainty. I can look at any old Latina woman and know she hugs her children tight every chance she gets. I know she prays for them constantly, I know she makes all their meals with love and care. I know if she doesn’t have documentation she probably babysat kids in the neighborhood for money like my mother. Or sold things she made like the many years my mom would make hundreds of tamales every weekend, drive an hour to a Latinx-dense neighborhood, and stay out until she sold every last one. Or maybe, like my mother, she sold AVON or winter blankets or pots and pans. I see my father in every Latino man I see who is tired after a long day of labor. I know that after a hard day at work, that old man still makes time for his kids. No matter how tired my pops was or how late it was, he was there for me, eye bags and all with a smile on his face. If I ever come across a younger Latinx person, I know that like me, they have a soft spot for their mamá. Maybe their mom also stays up at night with them, telling them stories of their village life, and maybe they too, laugh together like I do with my mom when I ask her about how the boys were in her village. Maybe when they complain about being tired, their dad too, starts telling stories about how back in his day everyone had two full time jobs and that we young folk have it easy. 

I am constantly trying to explain the logic behind the trust I have in Latinos who are complete strangers. It is hard to put into words that I simply trust them because they are like me. They too love their Mexico as I do, their first and biggest love is their mother, and like me they will work themselves to death before seeing anyone in their family suffer. They will sacrifice everything good to make sure those they love are okay. Their father is the protector and head of the family, like mine. They have a blinding trust in God and in his word like me. They have a mother who poured all the love in the world towards raising them like mine. They eat what I eat, they love what I love and love as I love, they respect as I do, and they were raised with Latin-specific rules, beliefs and morals like me. I find myself getting comfortable quickly around Latinos because I am able to see myself in them, I am able to see similarities in how we process and respond to information, on how we act and what we care about.. Their mother is a mirror to mine, their pain is the same, their struggles and their love are the same. They are responsible to their families, they take accountability, and they love like no other. I feel safe around them because I have faith in the strength of our culture and that our values align. I find that that mentality isn’t the case for white communities. Thus, what takes me one meeting to read, open up to, and decide if I can trust or feel safe around a fellow Latino, takes more with a white person, because I am unable to trust that the morals, values, rules, beliefs, family roles and structure for their community as a whole will be consistent with all members of their community. It is a very individualistic culture whereas Latino culture is heavily community and family based. 

“Collectivism stresses the importance of the community, while individualism is focused on the rights and concerns of each person. Where unity and selflessness or altruism are valued traits in collectivist cultures, independence and personal identity are promoted in individualistic cultures.” 

Kendra Cherry, MSEd

For us, family is everything, and my people are very important to me. Immigrant communities also take those bonds very seriously. They are what make us who we are. We are truly never alone. I experience my people’s love in all aspects of my life. I can go up to any Latinx people and strike up a conversation. A simple hello followed by where are you guys from. "De que parte son?" And the possibilities are endless for where that conversation will lead. A new friend? A new family member? Food advice/ a recipe to try? Talking about what we know and love about each other's regions? Telling every older Latina woman she reminds me of my beautiful mom because they all do in some way. I see mi gente everywhere and it brings me great pride. And with that community growing so does our connection. It will never falter, we will always be there for each other, helping our raza continue on one step at a time.

Beyond the Numbers Podcast: Freshman Inquiry Students Reflect on Their Lives

Many of the smart, determined, and funny students who make Portland State such a delightful place to work and be find their way into the Freshman Inquiry classes--Immigration, Migration, and Belonging--that I'm honored to teach.

Last Spring a half dozen or so students in both classes collaborated with Joe Rivera Soto, a wonderful student advocate at Portland State, to create a podcast about, well, whatever they wanted to talk about. The sound quality of one of the podcasts was strong enough to distribute, so here it is. The peer mentors and I invited the students to research some topic that meant a lot to them, so they are discussing both that subject (imposter syndrome and racism in Portland, for example) and how it has shaped their lives.

The students decided on the format and what their roles in the podcast would be.

The title reflects the complex, particular, challenging, and wonderful personal stories behind the growing numbers of students from under-served communities who are enriching Portland State. I used to think that my primary role as a scholar who was interested in making the world a better and more humane place was to research and publish. Listening to students such as the ones speaking her helped me to realize that my time is much better spent doing what I can to smooth the paths of people such as Abigail, Adilene, Fatima, Joel, Liza, Nicolas, and Stacy to positions of power and influence. 

Enjoy!

 La Casa Latina (Numbers Speak Podcast).mp3

A Student Bill of Rights by PSU Freshman Inquiry Students Just Published in Amplify

About a year and a half ago, the seventy or so students in the Freshman Inquiry classes that I'm honored to teach at Portland State University--Immigration, Migration, and Belonging--collaborated to create a Student Bill of Rights. The great majority of these students are people of color, from immigrant families, and first-generation college students, and the great majority are excited and proud to be at university. But many of them soon feel out of place and discouraged.

Here are their conclusions on what colleges should do to help them to feel at home and to succeed, just published in Amplify: A Journal of Writing-As-Activism: 

https://pdxscholar.library.pdx.edu/amplify/vol2/iss1/5/

 

The Journal of Transformative Learning just published a piece that nine Freshman Inquiry students (Raya, Arina, Kenyn, Daira, Jennifer, Estefani, Han, Brianna, and Tony) and our Peer Mentor (Laihha) and I co-wrote based on our class!

It is a very short piece but one we all enjoyed working on very much. "'Like a Family'" describes how we strove to create an environment where people from very diverse backgrounds, in a class in which nearly everyone was from an immigrant family, eventually felt seen and welcome and at home. Many of the students felt much like Jennifer at the beginning of our first class that fall day in 2019: "I was so nervous that I wanted to leave." But as we sat and listened to and got to know each other, magical things happened.

Here is the link: https://jotl.uco.edu/index.php/jotl/article/view/446

"Barriers and Passion," by Aline Alvarez

I never really imagined I would be where I am today. I grew up in a home where right off the bat I was destined to be a statistic. Single-parent household, father in prison, immigrant family, Latina, first-generation American, English language learner, the list could go on. This is very common in my culture as many Latinx youth carry the weight of so many circumstances, many of which they cannot avoid or control. It's frustrating to think that because we grow up like this, the world already uses these circumstances as barriers towards our success. Because of this, we grow up with the mindset that we have to work ten times harder than our peers who don't share the same circumstances. Who don't share the same “barriers.” Very early on, I knew I wanted to show that my culture is more than just a statistic and we are capable of accomplishing pretty much anything despite what we go through at home.

Throughout high school, I was a very introverted person. You wouldn't catch me at any homecoming games or dances, you would probably find me at home watching reruns of CSI: New York or working. I kept to myself and had a close knit group of friends. I got great grades. Not because I wanted to, but more because my Mom refused to let me or my sister fall into this pot of statistics. And also because my Mom truly scared me at the time and I knew if I had a failing grade, I would come home to the infamous chancla and the very common Mexican mom lecture where she would explain all of the sacrifices she has made for me and my sister. At 14, I was expected to work and contribute what I could at home. Growing up in a single-parent household, my mom alone could not provide for us on her own so both my sister and I had to take on the role of provider alongside my mom. I had to grow up fast, again not because I wanted to, but because I had to survive and support my family. From fast food jobs, retail, babysitting, and even selling tamales as a side hustle, whatever income I could bring into the household was crucial to whether we would have enough money to keep the heat and lights on. Like many Latinx youth in the same position, we dream of one day earning enough money to move our families out of the struggle and poverty we so commonly face. We dream about taking care of our parents so that they don't have to wake up at the crack of dawn to work a crappy minimum wage job where they work away the rest of their lives. Not the American dream but the Latinx dream.

I took advantage of the fact that I was already busy working by also piling up volunteer hours. I figured by doing this, I could network and in my high school mind, these programs would all of a sudden hire a little 16-year-old as their CEO (I know, I had big dreams). I knew realistically that wasn't going to happen, so I had to keep doing what I was doing to eventually get there. Over time, I lost track of everything I was involved in. It became apparent that it wasn't about my dream any more and more about my passion. I loved working with people and helping people. This has been a huge reason why I have always been involved in service work or more specifically service work in our educational system. Student life and environment is crucial to a person's development, career, and overall future. With programs such as SUN, Latino Network, and IRCO, they are able to target school environments and provide extended services for students with backgrounds similar to mine. I think that's why I kind of felt at home when I would volunteer with them because they understood the eager goals of a Latinx teen just trying to survive. 

This brings me to where I am today and what I do. My senior year of high school, I applied to many universities. A majority of them accepted me without hesitation, which was great until you saw the cost of tuition, fees, books, all that “fun” stuff. I decided Portland State University was what would work best for me and it was probably one of the best decisions I have ever made. Being a first-generation student, I went into college pretty clueless and scared. I didn't have anyone to help or guide me so I am appreciative that I was able to find my niche at the Multicultural Center and my FRINQ class with professor David Peterson Del Mar. While in college, I started to take the risk of actually applying for these student-life careers. Of course, rejection was common. I was still pretty young to be in this type of field as many districts and programs wanted paid experience, a master’s or bachelor's degree, certifications, etc. I still took the risk and rejection and kept applying. Eventually, I ended up getting hired with Volunteers of America as an after-school program coordinator. This job gave me the experience I needed to then move on to my next career which was with Portland Public Schools. I was a Family Service Worker with the Head Start program which focused a lot on aspects of social work and family and student resources. This journey of course wasn't easy. I wouldn't say I was the best employee and I did perfect in my field because I didn't. It was a very big trial and error process for me as I was still learning so much and was also juggling my last two years of college. What kept me going was the people I was helping in the process. The passion.

With both of these experiences I learned a lot about myself and what my purpose was. I was nearing my last year at PSU so I really had to reflect on what I wanted to do after I am done. I received a BA in Criminology and Criminal Justice and knew I wanted to continue working with youth. My end goal is to work with youth who have been put in a system already set up to fail them. Youth that could not overcome their “barriers.” By starting in the school system, we are able to help these youth before they are put into the correctional system. By being that mentor, role model, or friend, it can come a long way and make just enough impact in their lives and futures. I now work with David Douglas High School as a Bilingual after-school coordinator where I focus on the Latinx student population. A lot of the Latinx student population is very underrepresented and underestimated. I run an after-school club Monday-Thursday where Latinx students can come in to do homework, connect with other Latinx peers, and learn about the overall Latinx culture.

I didn't really know what direction I wanted to go with when it came to writing this blog post, I just wanted to assure readers that regardless of your background, anything is possible if you take the risk of doing it. I am the product of that as well as the many students I have worked with. The strength and resilience this new generation has had is incredible and I am thankful to be working with them as they teach me new things every day. I didn't let these so-called barriers in my life stop me and I encourage you to do the same. Some days might be good and some days might be bad, no like, really bad, but trust me, it will get better and you will succeed.

"Who We Are" Published in Change: The Magazine of Higher Learning

 

I never listened very closely to my students at PSU until I started teaching Freshman Inquiry courses four years ago. What those students had to say startled and moved me. I quickly decided that teaching them was far more important than researching and writing another book and that listening to them should become a central feature of my teaching.

Neera and Vicki are two friends and colleagues in University Studies who have modeled that way of teaching to me, and two years ago we started listening together with three students, Yarina, Ceci, and Jasmine (a pseudonym) about their journeys to and at Portland State and exploring how we might amplify their voices.

I'm delighted to report that Change: The Magazine of Higher Learning just published the stories of Yarina, Ceci, and Jasmine.

Their stories are compelling. At the age of six Ceci demanded that her father 'buy me a small chalkboard because I wanted to become his English teacher." Now, a junior at PSU, she is determined "to be that lawyer my brother did not have." Yarina's path to and through PSU was especially difficult: "I'm the first in my family to attend college, a brown, gang-affiliated youth who found her way here, alone." She graduated a year ago and is preparing to apply to law school.

If you would like to read their stories, please access the current issue of Change through your library if it subscribes to the periodical, or go here, to my (limited number) of free downloads.

"Not Your Model Minority," By Andrea Luong

 

When Professor David asked me to write a blog post about a lesson I have learned about life, I truly asked myself what does a 20-year-old has to offer to others around me? Let me tell you a little about myself. My name is Andrea and I come from a Vietnamese family. I am a recent graduate of Portland State University Class of 2021 from OHSU-PSU School of Public Health. I graduated high school early and now I graduated college in 3 years. My future career goal is to become a Physician Assistant with the ultimate goal of traveling and providing healthcare to rural areas around the world. These are the lines I often used to introduce myself to others. Countless times in my life have I had people assume or make little comments about me. Such as, “Oh, because you are Asian, you want to go into medicine” or “Because you are Asian and graduated early, you must be really smart and school comes easy for you.” I can tell you both of these assumptions are false.

I can say that I have been independent all of my life. My parents got divorced when I was seven years old, which pushed me into the role of taking care of my younger brother. When I was growing up, I was constantly surrounded by the Vietnamese language, which made learning English in school a little harder. When I reached high school, I constantly felt that every year was a struggle, both academically and socially. I was working as a waitress at the age of 15. I always felt more mature than my high school peers. Knowing that I was graduating early, this helped me thrive in my third year of high school. I was part of my high school first Girl’s Wrestling team. I started my own small business making earrings after discovering an interest from my advanced 3-D art class portfolio. I also have to give credit to my Art teacher who believed in me and supported me my last year in a way I never knew I needed. 

Then, it was time for college to begin. Coming into college at 17 was pretty scary. I had anxiety about my classes, the school work, and finding my way around PSU. Now looking back at my 3 years at PSU, I found what type of classes worked best for me. I began to take risks to apply for programs and jobs. I started to understand that some professors are there to support you and others may seem less supportive. I gained experiences working in healthcare, research, getting mentored support, mentoring others, and getting my Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) certification while still taking college classes. Having these experiences during college made me realize that I wanted to be out in the real world gaining more experiences, hence why I was motivated to graduate college in 3 years. Even though I have around 50 cousins, 5 aunts, 10 uncles, and both of my parents with college degrees, no one in my family is in healthcare and finding people who were able to support me through my journey was so important. Through my journey, I had many people tell me that I should be enjoying my high school and college experiences and question why I am going so quickly. Let me tell you, I am the happiest I have ever been right now. I am currently in my gap year working as an EMT for a mobile urgent care company and making an impact in the lives I get to see and help. I also get to learn about each and every one of my patients' struggles and stories. I continue to learn and grow as a person. 

Looking back at my journey, I am proud of myself, even with all of their assumptions and my struggles. This is my journey. My biggest advice for others is to make your own journey and be proud of it. Never compare yourself to others because everyone has their own unique stories. No one can ever tell you who you should be or what your journey should look like. Along your journey, you will have people who will try to put you down, others who will support you, and you will be someone who inspires others. 

Follow your heart. Find your passions. Take risks. And accomplish your goals. You won't believe where it can take you and how it makes you feel.

"Everyone or No One": My Family's Journey, My Journey, By Diana Sanchez

I was born in Puebla, Mexico in 1998. Let’s go back a few years to how my family came to the U.S. My mother and father first met when they were just kids. They were actually neighbors who later on started dating when they got older. At age 16, my mother had my older sister, their lives changed completely. My mother moved in with my father's family and dropped out of school and my father no longer continued to pursue his career. In 1995, my second older sister was born. My father became financially unstable and he decided to go to the U.S because everyone said it was a better country to get a job. He endured some of the toughest situations while trying to come to the U.S. My father finally arrived in the USA for the very first time in 1996. Originally he planned to be living in the Midwest since he had a set employment there but the coyote (men or women who smuggle people into the U.S.) didn’t want to take him anywhere anymore. So another one of the men who was along with him offered him a place to stay and a secured job in Hillsboro, Oregon.

He didn’t last working for long in the U.S, he started missing his family and he came back to see my mother and my sisters. In 1997, my brother was born and again my father left to work again. By the time I was born in 1998, my parents decided to move to the U.S. for a couple of years just to make money to build a home in Mexico, except my father’s plan was to only bring me and my older brother, but my mom didn’t allow it, she said it was everyone or no one. When I arrived for the first time, I was only two months old and my siblings and parents endured again hard moments. The coyotes wouldn’t feed them, my sisters’ clothes ripped, they stole my mother’s bag which had all of the baby necessities.

Ever since 1998, we have never left this country, but we have all our family in Mexico. I have only had the pleasure to meet three uncles, two from my father’s side and one from my mother’s side. So it’s always just been me and my family. As an immigrant child, I have always wanted to compensate my parents for bringing us to the U.S to have a better life and education. They haven’t been able to see their parents for 22 years and they continue to stay here for us.

Except as a child I didn’t realize the difficulty it was going to be to continue my education and goals in life. In 2012, Obama changed the lives of many children like myself to obtain a work employment authorization card. I didn’t understand how this could possibly help us, but then the following year my oldest sister was going to graduate from high school. She wanted to be a pediatrician, and in order to do so you had to be a citizen and it hit me that I would have to work twice as hard to obtain my goals and dreams. Senior year came around for me, I struggled to sign up for scholarships that accepted DACA recipients. I wasn’t eligible for FASFA which continues to be a challenge in my life, I was only eligible for state aid, but when I was a senior it was the first time it became available to DACA students. So I wasn’t sure what to fill out and as much as my parents wanted to help they couldn’t because of the language barrier and without an understanding of how college really works. My siblings had begun college, but a lot had changed since they graduated so they couldn’t even help me either. I had been a part of this great program that helped me so much and to apply for schools, scholarships, and even my financial aid. Through all their help, I obtained to have my four years of undergrad paid for and further scholarships that paid for other parts of my education.

I just graduated in the Spring of 2021 in Public Health and minored in Criminal Justice/Criminology. I am now getting ready to begin my journey at the University of Washington for my Master’s degree in Public Policy & Governance. As an immigrant and a child of immigrant parents who came to the U.S with nothing, I can say anything is possible as long as you push forward to get where you want to be.

"Why Not Me?" By Isabella Maranghi

When asked to look back and speak about my past and the series of events that have occurred to bring me where I am today, I thought to myself “I can’t believe that I am doing this,” and then I immediately interrupted myself and thought “why not me”? 

It is a funny thing, success, it comes in all shapes, sizes, and amounts, and yet we are never really expecting it: at least I wasn’t. I grew up in a low-income, first-generation family with 3 brothers and sisters. Growing up, I had a very distinct role. I took care of my younger siblings, brought them to doctors, made sure they got to school, had clean clothes to wear, and got their schoolwork done. I was there for their meetings with teachers and school advisors. While spending my entire life taking care of my family, I never thought that I would be the one to go to school and make a whole other life for myself. Even the counselors at my high school doubted my ability to succeed in school.  One even told me that I wouldn’t do well in college because it is not meant for people like me. Part of that statement is true, higher education was not built or intended women, students from low-income families, or immigrant families, as well as many other people outside of that description. What the counselor failed to understand is that determination and a willingness to overcome struggle goes further than what is easy ever will. This counselor believed that because I fell outside the lines of their assumptions about who could be successful in college, I would fail. 

It would have been easy for me to accept my position and live the rest of my life without ever trying to be more than what others thought of me, but I didn’t. I chose what was hard. I chose to challenge the beliefs so many had about myself and those in the same shoes as me. Some of the challenge (if not most of it) came from myself and my own self-deprecating thoughts. There were times I thought I wouldn’t make it to graduation or even the next week of classes.  The journey I have been on has brought me immense amounts of challenges but also a great deal of pride.  In Italian we say, “nonostante tutto” which means “in spite of everything.” Think about that the next time you are feeling like you do not belong.  Think about the times you could have quit and did not, think about all the things you had to work though to be here. Be proud of where you have come from, how far you have gotten, and all the possibilities you still have.

I had to teach myself that I deserved to be at school, and I was capable to achieving all that I want in life. There is always a way to get there, and it is not a fair playing field, some will become successful with ease and others will find obstacle after obstacle. I want you to know that just because you might not fit in the categories of who succeeds does not mean you don’t deserve to. I urge you to ask yourself “why not me”?  when you feel like an imposter or like you don’t deserve to be here. List all the things you had to overcome just to be sitting in the classroom. You are incredible and you are deserving. 

• Isabella graduated from Portland State University in 2021 and is entering the Graduate Program in Speech Pathology at Northern Arizona University.

Some Thoughts on Support (Upon Graduating from University), By Aineias Engstrom

 

    I’m not usually one to boast about my accomplishments, but I’m confident enough to say that I succeeded at Portland State. Not only did I meet many wonderful people who have had a meaningful impact on my life, but I also graduated summa cum laude and gained important professional experience by completing three internships in Portland. These achievements put me in a position to now move on to graduate school in Switzerland.

    I don’t mean to toot my own horn by calling my time as an undergraduate a success. I mean to set the scene to discuss an important realization I’m taking away from my three-and-a-half years at PSU. Namely, why I was able to succeed.

    I was able to succeed because I had a tremendously strong and dedicated support structure that helped me with every step along the way. My aunt, uncle, and grandparents here in Oregon; my parents from abroad; advisers, classmates, and professors in school itself. I felt supported by more people than I could have imagined during my time in Portland.

    Yes, I worked hard, I looked for internships, I was bright-eyed and eager to build relationships. I understood how to put the puzzle pieces together to succeed. But only because I was given the time and space to figure it out. I produced good work because I felt like people had my back and wanted me to succeed. I got internships because my family supported me financially, so I could work twenty hours a week without pay. And I became eager to build relationships because people’s kindness allowed me to overcome my social anxiety, at least on most days.

    Throughout my time as an undergraduate, I realized more and more the privilege of having such an extensive and committed support structure. I benefited tremendously from it, both materially (having my basic needs met) and emotionally (receiving affirmation for my hard work). But it also became clear to me that having such a support structure is not necessarily normal at PSU. Two of the smartest and most kind-hearted classmates I met as an undergraduate were forced to quit school because they could no longer pay tuition costs. Both of them also had troubled relationships with their families and couldn’t count on them for much support. And I encountered many more people who didn’t have the support structure they needed to overcome problems ranging from trauma and loneliness to food insecurity and houselessness.

     As somebody who was empowered by a strong support structure, my main message to readers is that we need to provide whatever support we can to each other, especially if we ourselves enjoy the privilege of support. There are many different means of support and each of us has something to contribute to somebody else’s well-being. I’ll be the first to say that I need to do more, but I’ve also come to realize that it isn’t a competition. Providing support starts with simple gestures like complimenting someone for a job well done or listening to them when they want to share something about their lives.

    While there are types of support that nobody should have to ask for (such as food or housing), it can also be important to overcome hesitation about asking for help when we need it. It can feel intimidating or even disempowering to ask for support. But oftentimes, people are willing to support us, they just don’t know exactly how – so we have to let them know. It’s true that I come from a privileged position in society that makes it relatively easy for me to overcome this hesitation. But I want to encourage everyone with access to a support structure to use it, to push past the hesitation. Because having a support structure can be so crucial for our success and our emotional and physical well-being. I believe we all need help and most of us also want to help others.

AVID High School Graduation Speech from PSU DACA Student

    Two years ago, I was in the same shoes as all of you–days before officially graduating and celebrating this remarkable achievement with my AVID family. AVID and those in it, Mr. Smith, and my classmates encouraged me to pursue my goals despite the challenges. AVID represents an exceptional part of my high school experience because it was a place where I felt welcome and encouraged. The idea of being in college as a first-generation and minority student often feels impossible, not only to us as students but also to our parents. When I told my parents the cost of a public university, they immediately told me, "So, you're not going?" To give you a perspective of their thinking, which I completely understood, the cost of a public university is more than my mother makes in a single year. The process of going to college continues to be a learning path for me and my parents. It did not help that I did not qualify for federal aid and other scholarships as a DACA recipient. However, during my senior year in AVID, we all helped each other by sharing scholarships we found; Mr. Smith gave us so many resources, and I was able to apply for local scholarships. 

    Para ustedes como padres, esta celebración refleja el trabajo duro que sus hijos e hijas han hecho para llegar a este punto, y hay que reconocerlo porque es muy difícil no solo por el trabajo que hicieron sino emocionalmente también. En la comunidad hispana, pocas veces se habla de lo emocional pero es una parte importante de los logros. La graduación de la preparatoria es solo el comienzo y sus estudiantes se enfrentarán con más retos en el futuro. A veces es difícil entender estos obstáculos y el trabajo de nosotros los estudiantes porque muchas veces somos los primeros en nuestras familias en continuar nuestra educación. Hablo por experiencia porque mis padres no entienden lo que hago la mayoría del tiempo. Algo que no puedo enfatizar suficiente es que, este es el camino de sus hijos. No decidan lo que creen que sea mejor para ellos; dejen que ellos descubran lo que les gusta, incluyendo su carrera. Como padres, siempre estarán allí para apoyar a sus hijos, pero estos próximos años son para que ellos exploren y aprendan. Para que cometan errores y aprendan de ellos. No es algo fácil y la presión no ayuda. Se que parecen muchas cosas y tal vez parezcan regaños pero como dice mi papá, “No son regaños, son consejos.” Apoyen mucho a sus estudiantes, especialmente en sus reconocibles logros.   

    Pursuing post-secondary education is financially challenging, emotionally draining, and overall a difficult path. This is especially true during senior year when receiving good and bad news about schools and scholarships and face other factors like leaving your family behind. In Hispanic & immigrant families, this is especially relevant because we carry a lot of pressure. Many of us often serve essential roles in our families, so it’s challenging for them to see us go, and we often feel guilty for leaving. 

    Getting into college is already a significant accomplishment because we are often the first ones in our family to follow this journey; however, it will also come with many challenges. Something that stuck with me from my senior year was that post-secondary spaces were not built for us. To this day, colleges often do not represent the diversity of our communities, which can lead to minority students not feeling a part of the school. In my first year, I struggled with feeling a sense of belonging in my science and math courses –courses where the demographic was lacking in diverse ethnicities and gender. The students around me were confident and always asked questions, whereas I felt small and dumb. Because of this, I began struggling with imposter syndrome –a feeling that made me doubt my ability, and I questioned whether I deserved my accomplishments –or if they had only been because of luck. 

    To reduce these struggles, I relied on the professors who showed they cared about me being there and made it feel like a learning space, not a competition. I sought out clubs & organizations that interested me to feel a part of the campus and the Portland community. In Portland, I volunteered at a preschool reading program, helped senior AVID students with their college essays, and wrote an encouraging letter to a high school student unsure of pursuing college because of the financial aspect. These experiences reminded me of how far I'd come since high school, which helped me remember that I had earned my place at PSU. 

    There will be many times when you'll be facing very similar challenges, so it will be necessary to surround yourself with people who respect you and your goals. It will also go by quickly, so enjoy it while you can and try new things –join clubs, organizations, travel abroad, and maybe even become a mentor to the younger students. Discover yourself in college and find what you are genuinely passionate about –not the path that others think is best for you. I struggled with this my first year but am now discovering a career that interests me. And, of course, take care of your mental health. Recognize when you need a break; don't push it off as laziness because small breaks can keep you from burning out too soon and losing your motivation. Following this, college is a learning space, so don’t bring yourself down for a failed test or assignment. Straight A’s and good grades in high school do not reflect your grades in college. Getting C’s and failing tests my first year was challenging because I doubted my ability or if my demanding major was the right choice. It’s critical to think of setbacks as learning experiences and analyzing what you can do to improve. 

    Finally, and without a doubt, you have all worked hard to deserve this unique, individual celebration. Graduating from high school is the beginning of your journey, and continuing to college is your next step. You have all incorporated yourselves in places you deserve to be in as part of the AVID class by being in advanced, AP, and dual-credit classes throughout high school, which often lack diversity. Like your AP and advanced courses, you deserve to be in countless other spaces. All of you deserve to be in a college classroom. You deserve to hold a leadership position and share your perspectives. You deserve to have a role in the career you are passionate about, whether a teacher, psychologist, architect, or engineer. You deserve to go beyond an undergraduate education and pursue a master’s or Ph.D. education. These spaces weren’t meant for us from the start. But you can all make it a space for you because you deserve to be there and anywhere else. 

    Today, I only see the tip of the iceberg on the journey that led you all here, but I know that beneath that, you have all worked hard and sacrificed things to get to this moment. Every single one of you has demonstrated the individual determination you carry, and I have no doubt you’ll use it wisely, so I’d like to wish you luck wherever you are heading.

Michael Winchester, Jr. on Service, Loss, and Vulnerability

Throughout the last three to four years of my life, I have experienced a variety of profound transformations. Some that were voluntary, some that were almost completely out of my hands, and some that were situated somewhere in between the two. After all, being a college student trying to traverse the perilous ordeal of choosing a career path, and actually sticking with it, has been something that has plagued me since the beginning. I always have had a general idea of where my skill sets lay, but I was not always confident where they were best applied. I decided to become a psychology major, as I knew working individually with people was something that spoke deeply to me. I am not the most extroverted person, but forming genuine relationships has always proven to be a fantastic motivator for myself. With that said, I had never been quite sure what specific area of psychology I would engage in and pursue. Luckily, that all really began to change for me through service work in David’s freshman year “Immigration, Migration, and Belonging” course.

I enrolled in the course without much knowledge of what it would look like and because I was not sure what else to take at the time. Of course, I am so happy I did now, but I might not have had the same excitement for what was to come upon registering. This was especially the case when the initial idea of volunteering outside of the classroom was brought to my attention. I had never really done much service work in my life, so there is no other way around it but to say that I was somewhat nervous for what was to come. Would I be effective in helping others, at this point in my life? Would people be receptive to me? These were all doubts that began to emerge and cloud my expectations.

At the start of Winter term of that year, I began volunteering out at Earl Boyles Primary School out in the David Douglas School District. Of all the presented options of places to volunteer at, I figured that younger kids would be easier to work with. Nonetheless, I hopped on the bus behind my freshman year dormitory and embarked on the 30-minute bus ride to Earl Boyles with no idea of what I was getting myself into.

As soon as I entered the building, I immediately began to feel a bit more at ease. Shortly after arriving, I was assigned to work in a classroom of 5th graders. I was placed in a particular classroom with another volunteer to focus on helping two students that had struggled academically and socially throughout the year. Now, this was something that was still quite outside of my comfort zone. I had never been in a position where impressionable kids were looking up to me for advice or to answer one of their many questions. More doubts slowly followed. Although this time, the idea began to present itself in a much more positive light. The hardest part - actually stepping foot on the bus, into the school, and meeting with the staff - was completed, and I became much more optimistic about the experience. I suppose that feeling is quite relevant to most new opportunities in life. Once we begin to place ourselves in a state of relative discomfort, we position ourselves in a way that enables growth in some form or another. Without taking a gamble, we risk stagnating where we are. I know this has been true for myself in the past, as I have not always pushed myself as hard to leave my comfort zone. The push from David’s course was exactly what I needed at that period of my life.

With my outlook improving, finally getting to enter the classroom and introduce myself to the students instantaneously overrode the initial anxieties that had built up. These were doubts and anxieties that existed only in my head and were quickly dispelled by the beaming smiles and elation of the students towards me. Any doubt over whether or not I was qualified to help the students became irrelevant, as the kids certainly treated me as if I was fit for the job. It became clear to me that this was something that gave me a great sense of fulfillment and purpose. Furthermore, it made me realize the importance of supporting young people and encouraging them to be their best selves. I think this is a principle that has gotten lost along the way in our accolade-based education system.

As time passed, I began to form greater connections with the students I had been working with independently. The eventual trust that developed really helped me settle in and improve my overall service work. More importantly, it helped me help them, and the benefits of this were largely noticeable. One of the two was someone that struggled to make friends and fit in with their peers. It was not a long time before he was chatty and playing basketball with all the other students at recess. This was someone who I could not previously get a word out of. The other student struggled academically throughout his time at the school, but saw the overall largest grade improvement of any student in the 5th grade at the end of the year. It finally clicked for me. My experience at Earl Boyles was entirely transformative, as it helped guide me down the path of identifying a particular career in psychology. I had seen that I was truly capable of working with kids, but without being pushed to do so might not have fully realized this passion.

In fact, the following year led me to begin working at the Boys and Girls Club of Portland, in a very similar environment with other elementary school kids. The job has allowed me to further minimize doubts in my life, find purpose, and improve my abilities of working with kids. My recent experiences with the Boys and Girls Club has shown me how kids are the individuals who need additional support the most. Lots of the kids I work with have difficult home lives, trauma, or other issues that are not always visible or able to be addressed by a teacher in a normal 30-student classroom. So, it has become my mission to do my part in assisting students who find themselves in these situations and work as some sort of child therapist or counselor. I’m still figuring it out.

On top of my career, it has also helped transform me into a better person. It has taught me the importance of giving back to the community and those who need it most. There are so many different kinds of people struggling with different types of issues, that I have definitely begun to transition my life into a more caring and conscious one. I view all people’s issues as valid and worth finding solutions for. If a person is voicing concerns about an issue, there is most likely truth to be found within those concerns, whether we are currently aware of it or not.

These values of having a conscious awareness and caring for those around us are ones that are not new to me, but certainly new in their application to my current life. The first person who truly demonstrated these values to me was my mother. She was a school teacher before I was born and lived her life with an unmatched gratitude and thoughtfulness towards those around her. Unfortunately, she passed away a little over a year ago while battling a second round of aggressive colorectal cancer. She was originally diagnosed with stage 4 cancer when I was only in 5th grade, so her battle with cancer and the fight for her life was something that always played a role in my development. One of the major things I took away from the many years when she struggled through chemotherapy, radiation, and being bed-ridden was how her spirit and optimism continued to prevail. In the face of death, she remained focused on checking in with others, giving to others when she could, and living a lifestyle that encouraged peace and happiness for all of those around her. Having a first-hand view of this battle really transformed the way I looked at life. It provided me with a whole new perspective. How could somebody, whose chances of surviving seemed so bleak, remain so positive and filled with gratitude? Moreover, it helped me understand that if she, in her health, could remain living with such compassion for the world then it was totally possible for me to do the same.

As a result, it also helped me get in touch with my vulnerabilities and appreciate the unseen vulnerabilities of those around me. Growing up, my peers at school did not know what I was going through at home. That undoubtedly made things much tougher, as I felt like it was a secret burden to my life. Now that I’m a little older and able to do service work, I definitely carry that knowledge into each day. We never know someone’s whole story just from an initial glance or what we assume to be true for someone else. We are all unique individuals with our own exceptional stories. That’s how we must treat all of those around us.

Thank you, David for giving me a platform to tell my experiences and for those of you who have read this piece. If there are any primary takeaways from this, I would say to constantly try to find ways to push yourself out of your comfort zone, give back to those around us in the best way possible, and live with a conscious awareness of the fact that we do not know everything about everything that meets the eye. I still have a lot to learn and figure out, but I’m optimistic for the future, as the principles act as a light to illuminate the path ahead of me.