Escrito por: Dulce Ortiz 🇬🇹 Headshot of Mitzly Barrios. (Emelyn Gomez) Una buena maestra alegra la clase con lecciones memorables. Mitzly Barrios Sanchez espera hacer exactamente eso con sus futuros estudiantes. Having lived many unique experiences, she hopes these stories show the importance of embracing culture. Barrios, the middle of six siblings, grew up constantly moving around the U.S. alongside her single mother. When circumstances got hard, she moved to Mexico with

Written by: Dulce Ortiz 🇬🇹 Headshot of Owen Kramer. (Emelyn Gomez) Owen Kramer has had many conversations that have shaped his view on life. One evening with his grandfather, he discussed his internal thoughts regarding his background. As a half-Cuban, half-Western European, he always questioned where he stood culturally. “How do I interact with the world?” he asked. “I don't want to say that I have had the same experience as other people, because I haven't… but I do also

Written by: Dulce Ortiz 🇬🇹 Headshot of Ariana Tsegai. (Emelyn Gomez) In a family of trailblazers, Ariana Tsegai was destined to accomplish her dreams. After her parents and two older siblings immigrated to the U.S. from Eritrea with no money or idea of what to do next, she knew she had big shoes to fill. Coming from a low-income household, Tsegai struggled to have the academic and financial support that her classmates had. As an outlook, she would volunteer in political cam

Escrito por: Dulce Ortiz 🇬🇹 Headshot of Jury Medrano. (Emelyn Gomez) After many of her high school friends decided not to pursue higher education, Jury Medrano naturally wanted to follow in their footsteps. Creendo que no era capaz, intentó ser estudiante en Montgomery College durante unos semestres. “I didn’t even know I was gonna pursue higher education… Not seeing Latinos like myself, especially that came from underserved backgrounds, that came from a similar background,

Escrito por: Alexa Figueroa 🇸🇻 Headshot of Dulce Ortiz. (Emelyn Gomez) 65 miles from College Park is Harpers Ferry, a historic district full of rivers and hiking trails. It’s where Dulce Ortiz grew up y es uno de los primeros lugares que consideró su hogar. Ortiz grew up in a predominantly-white town in West Virginia and attended private catholic schools, one being in Frederick, Md., to find a better education. “In West Virginia, it's more rural and the people are a little

Escrito por: Dulce Ortiz 🇬🇹 Headshot of Emely Miranda-Aguilar. (Emelyn Gomez) Emely Miranda-Aguilar siempre ha tenido un ojo para historias únicas, siendo responsable de la cobertura del ‘Pogo Stick Guy’ de la Universidad de Maryland, Clarke Bedford de Hyattsville, una nueva iniciativa para prevenir la violencia escolar en Frederick County, y muchas más. With dreams of becoming a journalist for topics in art and culture, it took lots of courage to get to where she is today

Escrito por: Dulce Ortiz 🇬🇹 Headshot of Manuel Alejandro Custodio. (Emelyn Gomez) Creciendo en una casa con otros 16 familiares, Manuel Alejandro Custodio tuvo que buscar nuevas maneras de enfrentar sus desafíos. “My mom finished middle school. My dad, I'm not even sure if my dad finished high school, but you know, the expectation was always college. And I wasn't sure I was gonna get there, but I knew I had to be there,” he said. In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, Pfize

Written by: Dulce Ortiz 🇬🇹 Headshot of Isabel Polanco. (Emelyn Gomez) As Isabel Polanco practiced for her lifelong dream of completing a marathon before 22, she reflected on how much of her college journey was a race of its own. Beginning the race wasn't easy. Coming from a low-income background, her parents valued and encouraged her to pursue a higher education, just like her mom did in the Philippines. Though the mindset was instilled in her, the financial means to attain

Escrito por: Dulce Ortiz 🇬🇹 Headshot of Kendra Jimenez. (Emelyn Gomez) Kendra Jimenez knew she wanted to make a change in the Latino community, but “the how” was the hard part. Mientras vivía en el condado de Montgomery, notó que su ambiente era culturalmente diverso, pero no estaba académicamente avanzado. "My dad has always emphasized the importance and privilege it is to go to school,” said Jimenez. “Thankfully, I kept that in mind and have always tried pushing myself f

Escrito por: Dulce Ortiz 🇬🇹 Emily Nava uses she/they pronouns interchangeably, and they will be referred to as both throughout the profile. Headshot of Emily Nava. (Emelyn Gomez) Growing up, Emily Nava wasn't sure where she fit in. Being the middle child in their family, she often rebelled in search of herself. Le costaba conectar su identidad mexicana con la personalidad que enseñaba en la escuela, especialmente cuando su vida en casa estaba tan llena de varias tradiciones

Escrito por: Dulce Ortiz 🇬🇹 Headshot of Jennifer Mangandi-Sibrian. (Sanya Wason) Being the only daughter and the middle child of her...

Escrito por: Dulce Ortiz 🇬🇹 Headshot of Mark Aguilar. (Ashley Neyra) Whenever the latest film comes to theaters, Mark Aguilar is the...

Escrito por: Dulce Ortiz 🇬🇹 Headshot of Raquel Chaupiz. (Sanya Wason) Whether dancing on the biggest performance stage or racing to...

Escrito por: Dulce Ortiz 🇬🇹 Headshot of Jhennifer Celestino Alva. (Sanya Wason) After fulfilling her dreams to strengthen her...

Escrito por Dulce Or tiz 🇬🇹 Headshot of Randi Whitehurst. (Sanya Wason) When Randi Whitehurst was forced to sell a product for a class,...

Escrito por: Dulce Ortiz 🇬🇹 Headshot of Salma Gonzalez Ramirez. (Ashley Neyra) A través de sus intereses y metas profesionales, la...

Escrito por: Dulce Ort iz 🇬🇹 Headshot of Alexa Figueroa. (Diana Rivera) After being gifted a broken tripod, 14-year-old Alexa Figueroa...

Escrito por: Dulce Orti z 🇬🇹 Headshot of Justin Guzman. (Ashley Neyra) During his sixth grade year, a teacher brought her husband, who...

Escrito por: Dulce Ortiz 🇬🇹 Headshot of Mirna Araujo. (Diana Rivera) Through Mirna Araujo’s unique journey thus far, the graduating...

Escrito por: Dulce Ortiz 🇬🇹 Headshot of Michelle Castro. (Diana Rivera) At nine years-old, Michelle Castro was asked a question that...