Through my time in the Laidlaw Research and Leadership Program, I’ve been conducting community-based immigration research on the U.S.-Mexico border, and I work with a non-profit focused on addressing inequalities within education, employment, and various other factors, with a focus on empowering youth. Before my research summer, our Gateway course had been one of the most impactful courses I’ve taken here at Duke, having truly opened my eyes to ensuring that I enter spaces ethically as a leader. Specifically, with sharing results with the community, as most research is set to only be in academic spaces, instead of being accessible to the community themselves.
Through my research summer, I worked in a cohort with 10 other students, focusing on court accessibility focusing on language understanding within translation, and educational background influencing the understanding of court knowledge. I felt that throughout my 10 weeks in El Paso, Texas, and Las Cruces, New Mexico, I began to start to understand what it means to be a global citizen. Stepping into new environments long-term, understanding the different challenges that arise within communities, specifically focusing on the court observations. As my main takeaway throughout the project had been for court-watching programs to be present to ensure that all rights are being followed within the courts to ensure due process is present. However, I had learned about the complexities as legal individuals had translation services, yet there had still been a prevalent gap in comprehension. This experience had impacted me so deeply that upon my return to Duke, I began a program II major, which is an individualized degree program. My current degree is Structuring Access: Immigration, Education, and Institutional Justice, in which I focus on the intersectionality behind immigration, education, and institutional justice, including medical, legal, and social justice.
To be transparent, I had been extremely nervous while designing my LIA, as I had been fearful of traveling to a new country and environment without previous connections to any individuals in the capital. However, it had been one of the most transformative experiences, which I credit to our colloquiams and program coordinator, Dr. Ballard, throughout the year, as being an integral support system while finalizing my LIA summer.
My perspective on leadership has changed extremely throughout my Research and Leadership-in-action summer. Specifically, with my LIA, building off the previous leadership growth from my research summer, working with a non-profit, Glasswing, focusing on community-led education, while learning about different sectors in the organization, including program evaluation. Having to deal with different challenges throughout the summer, such as weather disruptions, governmental restrictions on allowed topics within clubs, and cultural differences.
Previously, I’ve perceived leadership to be how, as an individual, I lead in different spaces, but throughout the summer, I’ve learned more about the importance of group-based leadership and approaching challenges. Communication is one of the key aspects of being a leader who truly wants to understand within a new culture. Especially, being raised as a Salvadoran-Mexican-American, I’ve been surrounded by Salvadoran culture, yet I was extremely surprised at the level of culture shock I had faced, never having been in El Salvador before I had been exposed to differences in daily norms. Such as saying Buenos Dias to every individual I pass on the street during my commute to work and proviecho to anyone eating so they enjoy their meal.
To reflect deeper on my LIA, this photo was taken by one of my lovely co-workers while we were preparing materials for Girl’s Club in Agua Agria, roughly around 2 hours from the capital. I remember leaving the office at around 9:30 am in order to arrive before 11:30 to have enough time to ensure we had everything ready and enough time to review our materials. This experience of commuting to rural communities allowed me to see firsthand how challenging it is for individuals without reliable transportation to travel.
With continuing my leadership, I plan to continue to work in international education and legal justice, with a plan to focus on Latin-America. I’ve found my challenges and shocks in adjusting have allowed me to become a global citizen, truly carry my experiences from both El Paso and El Salvador daily. In ways that I plan to continue to carry and apply into my future, the Laidlaw program has changed the trajectory of my life, down to creating my own degree program to continue researching important topics such as immigration policy and educational justice. As a global citizen, I know that I must approach leadership with humility, cross cultural awareness, and a commitment to transforming both academic and institutional privilege into accessible community-led justice through sharing research findings and working within different communities, especially vulnerable ones.
Once again, I’d like to thank the Laidlaw Scholars program from the bottom of my heart for these life-changing experiences, my program coordinator for all the wonderful support Dr. Ballard provides, and my inaugural cohort at Duke.