Hispanic Heritage Month panel celebrates culture, identity and belonging at WPHS

White Plains High School students heard personal stories Friday morning from a panel of educators who shared their varied experiences as Hispanics living, learning and working in the United States.

The Hispanic Heritage Month panel, held in the packed Media Center, was moderated by seniors Camila Delgado and Yajaira Palacios, who posed questions about the panelists' cultural backgrounds, their experiences growing up and the ways those experiences influence their work with students today.

Emory Davis, Coordinator of Social Studies Grades 7-12, organized the event, which brought together teachers, school counselors, administrators and a Board of Education member representing backgrounds from throughout Latin America and the Caribbean.

"We have so many great voices in our school community that work with us each and every day to have a lot to share about their identity and experiences that we think would be valuable for everybody here," Mr. Davis told the students gathered for the discussion.

The conversation began with a question about the traditions and experiences from their cultures that continue to shape their lives.

“Something that we love in our American household is to eat a lot of sancocho, which is like a peasant dish, a combination of a broth soup with vegetables or meats. Food is still the center of our family,” said Social Studies teacher John Orrego, who was born in Colombia.  

School counselor Yanell Andujar, whose family is from the Dominican Republic, also spoke about the importance of food and family.

"Food is something that we value deeply because it brings that sense of togetherness, which I still value very much," she said. "And now as a parent myself, it's something that I think is very important to just be surrounded by family."

Board of Education member Jessica Buck described the importance of music and salsa dancing in her Puerto Rican culture.

"Music and dancing, I feel, makes me happy, makes people happy, and it's a way to bring people together," she said.

The discussion became more personal when Camila and Yajaira asked the panelists what it was like growing up as Latinos and Latinas in school and whether they felt their identities were understood.

ENL/Social Studies teacher Halpaa Duarte recalled arriving in the United States from Guatemala at nearly 14 years old without speaking English and attending a school where she and her siblings were among the only students who did not speak the language.

"It was so hard for me to just get used to the new culture because I grew up in Guatemala," she said. "But now as an adult, I'm proud of being Latina. I'm proud of being Guatemalan, and I'm proud of being here, because we're so diverse."

Ms. Duarte said that diversity is one of the reasons she feels at home at White Plains.

"I feel like I don't have to fit in here," she said. "We don't have to fit in. We just belong."

Mr. Orrego drew applause when he spoke about growing up with both Colombian and American identities after coming to the United States at age 3.
"I think all Latinos here in the U.S. have two homes," he said. "We're living here in the U.S., but you also have that background."

For years, he said, he wondered whether he had to choose between being Colombian and American before realizing that he could embrace both.

"You don't have to choose," he said. "I love being from Colombia, and I grew up in the States, and that has added so much value to who I am."

Ms. Andujar shared another story that drew applause. Before becoming a school counselor, she was a first-grade teacher and had begun embracing her naturally curly hair. One day, a parent told her how much that simple choice meant to her young daughter.

"She said, 'I'm so happy that you wear your curls,'" Ms. Andujar recalled.

The mother explained that she had been trying to teach her daughter to love herself and her appearance and told Ms. Andujar that her daughter happily wore her own hair curly because of her teacher.

"I thought that was so powerful," she said. "That's one of the things that's always stayed with me."

Social studies teacher Barbara Carvalho described a similar connection while student teaching. A Brazilian student in her class had been quiet and shy until she discovered Ms. Carvalho also was Brazilian and spoke Portuguese.

"She just lit up," she said.

The two began speaking Portuguese before and after class, and Ms. Carvalho also was able to communicate with the student's mother.

"Once we knew we had somebody in our corner who spoke Portuguese, who knew the food we were talking about, who understood us, it just felt like you can cope with them and trust them," she said.

The moderators also asked the panelists how their experiences shape the support they provide to young people today.

Mr. Orrego encouraged students, particularly Latino students and other minorities, to view the difficulties they encounter as opportunities to become stronger.

"Don't shy away from the challenge," he told them. "It's going to build you."

Reflecting on his own childhood experience of learning English after arriving in the United States, Mr. Orrego left the students with a final message of encouragement:

"Now you're standing on the other side as evidence that you guys can definitely, definitely achieve anything you put your hearts to," he said. "You got this!"

The other panelists were North House Administrator Juan Herrera, School Counselor Silvana Mazurek-Lazala, Social Studies teacher Nancy Ocampo, Director of Multilingual Programs Yolanda Rodriguez and School Counselor Yolainny Minaya.