HaU BLOG Posts
I was very fortunate to join Hermanas Unidas my first year of college and it was honestly the best decision I have ever made. Hermanas has quickly become a safe space for me to go to where I can feel comfort in a school where you don't see much of the Latinx community. At the beginning of my first quarter I wouldn't really come around and at the time I was having a really hard time transitioning from high school to college. But once I started attending events my college life became a lot more bearable, I have finally found a place where I could talk to people about my struggles and not feel alone. Hermanas has given me a new family, shout out to my big Evelyn, even though I low-key forced you to take me in, tambien a mis amigas that always let me tag along to everything and all the new faces that I can say hi to when I'm walking around campus. I now understand why when I would ask my sister about her time at school, all she talked about was this org that gave her everything it has now given me. Dali Jimenez
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Coming to a school with thousands of students and unfamiliar faces can be overwhelming, especially when you’re away from home and have to learn how to navigate through such difficult classes. My first quarter I came into college with the mentality of getting involved in different clubs and extracurriculars. I remember attending my first Hermana meeting, and how welcoming everyone was. However, as we got deeper into the quarter I felt too stressed to be attending meetings and other HaU events. I felt as if I needed to dedicate all my time to studying because I hated feeling completely lost in lectures and not being able to understand the material like other students did. Although, studying is a key component of succeeding in college, I had closed myself off to everyone and put myself into a very depressing environment. So my next two quarters I promised myself I would become more active within HaU, and that’s one of the best decisions I’ve ever made. I started by attending Spring Retreat where I got to meet so many Hermanas that I had never talked to before and whom I am now really close friends with. Since then, I have tried my best to attend all the events I can because nothing makes me happier than spending time with such amazing women who motivate and encourage me to push myself not only in school but in life. Now as I continue my second year at UCLA, I can truly say that HaU has made my college experience amazing. This wonderful organization has provided me with a space full of love, strength, and motivation which continues to push me and never fails to lift me up.
Alma Carrera I’m not sure how deep I should go with this but here I go. I have had the privilege of working with young people in many different capacities. Some of the most impactful jobs I have had were in the Oakland Unified School District where I worked with the Student Services Department, teaching at a middle school for the past 7 summers, volunteering in Watts, and working as an academic advisor with high school students this past school year. Being able to work with these different young people, and holding these different roles, is truly what inspires me to not only graduate but to find a career path that I will not only love, but that will help so many young people. For a while, I would feel discouraged when my pre-med friends would talk about being a doctor; it made me feel like what I wanted to do was so small and not vital because I wanted to be “just a teacher”. However, these different positions have helped me see that what I want to do is so necessary-- young people need adults who believe in them, adults who will push them to succeed, adults who see their potential when they may not see it, adults who just care, and adults who will advocate for them when they do not see that they are being neglected by their education system. My students are who inspire me each and every day to be a better person and to not give up because no matter how frustrating it can be to be in the classroom, the reward has been so much greater. Because when they tell me they want to come to UCLA, I genuinely hope and believe they can achieve these dreams one day <3
Citlali Espinoza Hello! My name is Armida Reyes. I am a third year at UCLA majoring in International Development Studies and a minor in Geography. This quarter is going rough academically because I have finally started upper divisions and it’s been crazy with all the work. However, this quarter has been amazing thus far in my personal life because I have met really amazing friends through Hermanas Unidas. I am extremely grateful for this organization because it saved me from feeling outcasted here at UCLA to it feeling like home and a safe place for myself. Being an intern for the Academic Chair, Heydy Arias, has allowed me to learn more of the backend to the organization and allows me to give more to HaU. I strongly feel the saying “Once an hermana always an hermana” is really present in HaU. I want to welcome anyone and everyone to come to HaU to learn more about themselves even if you feel shy and scared at first, push yourself to just jump. I want to end this with saying: The best is yet to come.
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AuthorThe following posts will be from your fellow Hermanas. Archives
March 2023
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