Week 1

Welcome I am an intern for the Institute for Puerto Rican and Latino Studies at the University of Connecticut. I’m here to present readers with a new perspective of student life, a Latina student’s perspective. The Institute of Puerto Rican and Latino Studies (PRLS) has been in service since fall 1994. It’s a multipurpose program that includes interdisciplinary research and a teaching program. It includes a “comparative focus on the Puerto Rican, Mexican, and other Latin American origin populations in Connecticut, the northeast, and other regions of the continental United States, as well as in Puerto Rico”. More information about PRLS can be found on their website web2.uconn.edu/prls.Throughout the blogs you will also read about the Puerto Rican/ Latin American cultural center (PRLACC). A common misconception is that the two are the same or are an extension from one another, this is not the case. PRLACC is a cultural center offered to the students as a place to go and do school work, relax, or socialize. On the other hand PRLS is a strictly academic institute offering classes teaching experience and resources. The two work hand in hand in helping the Latino culture come forth at the university.

First off let me begin by somewhat introducing myself. I am a 20 year old Latina at the University of Connecticut. I am a student pursuing an English major with a concentration in higher education. Yet most importantly, I am a first generation Latina College student. Having that said I set the example for any relatives younger than myself. I am proof for them that a college education is possible with effort. I pave the way for a new generation in my family that can be full of college educated Latinos. That in itself is a lot of pressure. It all seemed to finally sink in, as I was driving to campus to start off my senior year. This year the move in date was a little earlier for me in comparison to others. I had applied to be a mentor for the M.E.T.A.S mentoring program (volunteer service program) offered at the Puerto Rican/ Latin American Cultural Center (PR/LACC). Luckily for me, my application was accepted. However, along with the acceptance came mandatory training. This meant leaving home that much earlier. Once on campus the reality hit me like a ton of bricks.I’m sure it hit many of my peers similarly. I was about to begin my senior year at the University of Connecticut. I suddenly realized how quickly time had flown by, and if the three years went by in a flash what was to stop my final year from doing the same. Yet the biggest shock was finally accepting that in less than ten months I would be a university graduate. I found comfort at M.E.T.A.S training when I was reunited with friends that had traveled the journey of education with me these last three years. They were expressing the same fear’s, realization’s, and ultimately insecurity towards graduation. It is not that we as students are not prepared to go and show the world what we have been taught. Or that the university education has made us insecure with its level of education; it’s just that we are not ready to go. The Puerto Rican/ Latin American cultural center has created a home environment for the students who have entered the center for the past three years.With the amazing Dr. Perez (previous director) being the wonderful motherly figure for us, a person we could talk to, get advice from, and just count on for help. As students of the center it seems like we are not ready to walk away from that home environment that Dr. Perez had so graciously established for us. With Latinos having an established home environment on campus that is as close to our real homes as can be is very comforting. I have seen firsthand how it has helped many students adapt to the university in an easier manner. So I enter my senior year, with head held high pushing for success in all my endeavors. From events, shows, and academics to prove to myself and all those behind me that although it will be hard at times a Latina college student can come out on top.