Nerding out in RevereDue to our hard work, Women Encouraging Empowerment was able to qualify for a 93k grant on behalf of Nellie Mae. We are the leader nonprofit in the city in charge of conducting a sociological research through surveys, interviews and observations, to better the participation of parents and immigrant students' in the Revere Public School system.
As you can imagine, this is no easy task. It has been a year long process where we have had to be trained on how to best conduct our research and be guided with the support of institutions, such as, the Annenberg Library. You can see how much process we have made so far on the outline attached to the right. This year, I've begun to attend "Community Engagement" meeting with my old high school teachers and principal and been able to brainstorm with them, as a community fellow, about different tactics we can use to not only encourage families to be engaged with the school, but to also teach school staff about how to best address the community. I'm excited to conduct this research because it touches on everything I was able to gain from my time in Pine Manor. Now that my major has enabled me to bring my lived experience as an alumna of the high school and a Revere resident into this research context. |
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Outline for our sociological research
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Spreading the Word
Thanks to the five years I have spent in Pine Manor, I have been able to do some serious self-analysis and think critically about my experiences as an activist . I have been able to create connections in my narrative that relate to my academic studies of politics, economy, culture and even psychology.
Today, even though I am still unable to recognize the magnitude of my own actions, I am someone who is valued for my strength, and for that, I have been invited to speak in universities in order to share my story and my academic opinions. To me, it is a great honor to be recognized in such a way, especially when I still feel like I have not achieve anything and like I need to work harder. Having the opportunity to speak in colleges such as Bates and Bowdoin has given me a new vision of an academic world where I feel self-assured to connect my experiences to their course syllabi, allowing me to share my story and participate in their learning experience. I have attached pictures of my notes that highlight the main points of my story and the syllabus for the last class I spoke to. Here, month's worth of research journals, academic articles and news articles are listed in order for students to get a full grasp of what is currently happening with our broken immigration system. At the same time, I've had the great privilege of knowing truly amazing people, who have supported me through all of this and are a big part of this puzzle. Thanks to the support of the activist community in Boston, I heard about the Dream 9 and had places to couch surf when I arrived here with nothing. Pine Manor offered me the opportunity to finish my degree tuition free, and with it came the support of staff and professors who have always been supportive and understanding of my situation, even when I had to fly all the way to San Diego during finals week in order to help my parents cross the border safely and make sure their process through the detention center is as smooth as possible. Without all this help I don't know where I would be today, except that I would not be happy, back home and finishing my college education.
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Syllabi for Prof. Lopez' Immigration and Politics of Exclusion class
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Formal invitation from Prof. Aburto to Bates
Notes for my talks
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