otoño 2019

Senior Seminar

Este semestre trabajé con otra estudiante, Rebecca Davis, para crear un video de introducción a Amherst College en español. La idea para este proyecto vino de la experiencia que tienen muchos adolescentes en la comunidad Latinx de solicitar a universidades sin el ayudo de sus familias que no hablan inglés o prefieren materiales en español. Como Amherst College sólo ofrece sus materiales de introducción en inglés, Rebecca y yo queríamos añadir a estos recursos para que estas familias hispanohablantes pudieran ser involucradas en el proceso de solicitar a universidades con sus hijos. En este video, entrevistamos a profesores y estudiantes Latinx sobre sus experiencias con sus identidades aquí en Amherst y los recursos que están disponibles para estudiantes Latinx.

En este video de cuatro minutos y medio, los entrevistados hablan de las oportunidades de ser parte de la comunidad Latinx en este campus como La Casa, Spanish House y La Causa. Además, los profesores hablan de los majors del Spanish y Latinx y Latin American Studies (LLAS). Durante el proceso de crear este video, aprendí mucho. Mi parte favorita del proyecto fue conocer a gente nueva y escuchar sus opiniones sobre este tema. Incluso si Amherst College no quiere usar nuestro video, creo que es un buen ejemplo de algo que la universidad debe desarrollar, como un prototipo. Al final, decidimos a traducir el texto del video a inglés para promocionar el tema del video a un público más amplio. Pueden leer la transcripción traducida y ver el video aquí:

Transcripción en inglés:

Voces Latinx

Opening title 1: For this project, we asked Latinx professors and students about Amherst College…

Opening title 2: This is what they had to say about the Latinx community at Amherst.

Screen (Question): What makes Amherst unique?

Rick Lopez: I was a student here at Amherst College. I graduated in 1993. I loved the new idea that Liberal Arts offered; to study something out of pure interest instead of to prepare me for a professional career.

Paul Schroeder Rodríguez: The attention given to students is much more individualized. The classes are smaller, the professors are on the campus more frequently than at larger institutions. The college is completely residential. So, all of the students live here at Amherst College, which gives it an atmosphere that is very different from the other schools that I have worked at. So, my experience up until this point at Amherst College has been one-of-a-kind.

Lexy Garcia: My experience here at Amherst has been excellent. I have a very strong community that is wonderful. I have loved my time here at Amherst. And, nevertheless, I think that I have strengthened my identity as a Cuban woman and a Latina.

Camila Villagra-Riquelme: For me, the Hispanic community that I have formed here has been very important. It has certainly helped me to expand the Hispanic community that I have. So, when I came to Amherst and I started to connect with Hispanic people, it really was an experience that changed my life.

PSR: Through our curriculum, we also have class offerings that are particularly interesting for Latinx students.

Screen: Concentrations in Spanish and Latinx and Latin American Studies (LLAS)

PSR: The Spanish department played an instrumental role in the creation of a new major at the college that is called Latinx and Latin American Studies.

RL: The students who decide to major in LLAS take classes about various parts of Latin-American and Latinx world. They tackle their course material from the point of view of many academic disciplines.

Screen: Resources

RL: Here at Amherst, students have many resources. There is casa, for example, that is a dormitory for those who have an interest in the American Latinx culture. There is Spanish House, a dormitory where students speak in Spanish all the time, which is ideal for those who want to practice Spanish.

PSR: Here there is a community of Latinx students that takes form, or gets together, through clubs. The most famous is called La Causa.

Telmo Gonzalez: Those of us in La Causa are trying to unite the Latinx community here so that Latinx students feel supported. So that they feel like they have a home here at Amherst. So, what we have events where we eat as a community or having interesting conversations within the community. I am also part of La Casa, and we have conversations as a community. We try to get to know each other, and sometimes we organize events.

Screen: Advice

PSR: My primary recommendation for Latinx parents and students is to come with an open mind.

RL: Here, we do not want students to leave their culture at home. Rather, we want them to use their cultural understandings as a basis to form questions during their studies.

Jennifer Garcia: I would say to have pride in who you are here. If you lift your head or raise your flag that will help you a lot here.

LG: I agree that it is very important to be proud.

TG: Call your families, cook your foods, and definitely join La Causa.

CVR: Really take advantage of the Hispanic community at Amherst.

PSR: It is a challenge to go to Amherst College as a student. For me it is challenging as a professor because the students push me. So, if this is something you are looking for, you will find it here.

Screen: Visit www.amherst.edu for more information about the resources in this video

Credit Screen: Voces Latinx. For the course Spanish 495. A video by Rebecca Davis and Sophia Maldonado. Featuring Rick Lopez, Paul Schroeder Rodríguez, Lexy Garcia, Camila Villagra-Riquelme, Telmo Gonzalez, and Jennifer Garcia. Music by Scott Holmes. Edited by Rebecca Davis and Sophia Maldonado. With the support of the Amherst College Communications Office.