Lyan Joan Velez Soto
My full name is Lyan Joan Velez Soto and I was born on July 16, 1999 in Humacao, Puerto Rico. Raised by my parents, Carmen Soto and Juan Velez, in the middle of the rural area of Pasto Viejo. The most important characteristic about me is the condition of Albinism with which I was born. The condition does not define who I am, but it makes me as unique as I can be. I started studying at the age of 5 in the public school S.U. José Toro Ríos and from that moment my biggest challenges began. I was considered and accepted in the Special Education program due to my visual condition and the interferences it provoked in my learning process. However, I stood up, finishing the grades 4th to 6th with honors. Achieving one goal at a time, I claimed “La Escalera” in both 5th and 8th grade with a 4.00 GPA.
At the age of 11, my parents noticed that I was obsessed with paint and drawings, so they paid art classes for me. That’s where I discovered I had a talent, a passion, despite my visual difficulties; I still practice acrylic painting, pencil, and ink drawing. I won a few local contests from the same school, and I was rewarded after painting a mural for the school’s lunchroom. Moving on through my life briefly, I reached 9th grade and graduated with Academic Excellence and a reckoning as a Counseling Student, Student’s Spokesperson, and Favorite Classmate, which I really wasn’t expecting. Following this finished goal, I was accepted in Manuel Mediavilla Negrón Vocational High school in Humacao, as a student in the Architectural Design workshop. During my years in that school, I made a friend who is still in my life, and I built a very comfortable relationship with the English teacher, Geidy Colón. I didn’t participate in any club or student association in this school, but I volunteered cleansing the campus twice; I was part of the Honor Students during these three years. I graduated in 2017 with honors and certified as an AutoCad Designer.
In 2018 I went through a plastic surgery that was recommended by my orthodontists in order to fix the discrepancy between my jaw and my mandibula. Later that year, in August, I started my first year at the University of Puerto Rico in Humacao as a 19-year-old young adult. Accepted in the Department of Humanities, then reclassified to the BA program in Arts and English Education. Today, I’m coursing my fourth year in the program; I make money selling small art pieces and tutoring virtually; I spend my time writing, reading, and studying. I still live in Pasto Viejo, Humacao with my parents and my young brother, only two years of difference. I’m 22 years old and still very passionate about children’s movies and cartoons. I consider myself very vulnerable to changes, sensitive and obsessed with organization. I’m thankful for everything that I’ve had to this moment. I want to travel to a lot of places, and I hope to become the teacher that students look up to as a mentor. I want my students to be excited to visit my classroom and participate in my activities, for everything I do, I do it with love and meaning.