“Hello everyone! My name is Dayla Longoria. I was born and raised in Mission, Texas in the Rio Grand Valley. I am a first-generation senior attending St. Edward’s University majoring in Psychology and minoring in Spanish. My parents were both born in Rio Grande City, Texas, but were raised in Miguel Aleman, Tamaulipas, a small town in Mexico. I am grateful to have inherited Spanish as my first language, until the age of 4 where I was enrolled into pre-kinder and learned English. I am grateful to have had teachers such as Mrs. Sandborn who had the patience to teach me.

After learning English, I felt a little disconnected from my native tongue. I would only speak Spanish at home and felt like it wasn’t as important anymore. I remember telling my family that I hated speaking Spanish and would often ask them to speak to me in English. Reflecting back on those moments, I understand why I felt hatred toward my native tongue. I wasn’t publicly accepted in my surroundings. Although it was a common language spoken in my town, it wasn’t accepted in my elementary school. To this day, I feel a grand amount of remorse for telling my loved ones there was no point in speaking Spanish. So a piece of advice I give to you all is to please be proud of who you are, we all come from generations who have fought wars, injustices, genocides, and oppression. These past generations fought for a better future, a place for us to be able to have opportunities and share their stories. As much as we are often unwelcome, never feel like you have to let go of your language. Use your language at home, teach it to your children, to your friends, share with them the beauty of our Spanish language because that is who you are.

I had the privilege to fully immerse myself in the Spanish language and studied abroad in Spain. It was a grand experience where I spoke Spanish 24/7. It was a big change for me, but I definitely felt like I grew from this experience. If you have the opportunity to study abroad I would definitely recommend you to take it! You become someone completely unrecognizable, but in the best way possible!

Along with strengthening my Spanish writing abilities, my Spanish minor has brought me a greater appreciation for our Latin American cultures. Growing up, I was only exposed to my Mexican roots, so having the opportunity to learn about other Latin American cultures brought a lot of perspective. Along with these enrichments, I have learned some hardships our communities face on a daily basis. Most Hispanics unfortunately are not presented with the right resources and are left in the dark. Especially in the medical field, they aren’t provided with how to apply to medical insurance or who to refer to when feeling unwell. It’s an outrage to see this inequity and everyone should be able to have the same right to medical care. I have the privilege to be able to have these resources be accessible to me, yet there are definitely needs to be a change in the system immediately. I want to be able to give back to my community that has strengthened me and has brought so much. Speech Pathology has been an interest of mine and I apply to apply to a bilingual graduate program and be able to help out Hispanic communities have more clinics available to them.”

Gracias, Dayla—¡Muchas felicidades!