Yo soy Boricua, pa'que tu lo sepas! by Cecille

Yo soy Boricua, pa'que tu lo sepas! by Cecille - April 2015 Scholarship Essay

“I didn’t think Puerto Ricans were so smart.”

I looked blankly at my co-worker, in slight disbelief at what he had just said.

“I mean, don’t take this the wrong way, but you’re kind of nerdy for a Puerto Rican.”

I paused for a moment, thinking of a witty retort. What is a Puerto Rican supposed to be?

It’s a question I’ve struggled to answer myself. Growing up in the northern suburbs of Chicago, I didn’t have many Puerto Rican, let alone Hispanic, classmates. While my classmates brought in peanut-butter-and-jelly sandwiches, I brought arroz con gandules. I came home to Spanish-speaking parents who weren’t aware of the necessity of brownies and soft-baked cookies in my lunchbox. There was always a tug-of-war inside me fighting over whether I was really Puerto Rican, given my Americanized Spanish, or just passing for one.

Thanks to my parents’ commitment to education, my brothers and I were enrolled at well-respected schools. My parents worked tirelessly to afford private education for us. We thrived, and for me, my parents’ work ethic translated to the academic scene. I excelled in my classes and loved learning.

Fast-forward a few years, and I was telling a co-worker about my plans for graduate school. I plan on completing a master’s degree in theology with the hope of going onto a doctoral program. I envision myself as a professor, steeped in the best environment for learning: a university.

It was then that he made those remarks that took me aback. I was aghast, frustrated, and admittedly speechless as to how I’d respond. For all my education, I myself had encountered few Hispanic scholars. It wasn’t this that frustrated me most, however; it was realizing that stereotypes and racism were still alive and well, even among young people in the twenty-first century.

Combating such generalizations is among the chief tasks of education: to expand and inform students of truth. Education opens the mind to other ideas and to a different way of thinking. Education is the means to make the world a better place in nearly every way imaginable. From my own conversation with my co-worker to the greater task of eliminating discrimination in our world, education can improve the lives of all.

Education will be the path to my future career. It will be the means with which I can share my own love of knowledge and learning with others. Education is more than an institution: it is a way of life, an avenue for bettering oneself and one’s community. It is via learning and education that life-changing and life-saving innovations have been created. There is undoubtedly few more important roles than the one education plays for society.

Education will also allow me the chance to shatter some of the beliefs held of my people; I hope to contribute to the work of Hispanic academics and share this with the world.

And what of my co-worker? I responded with a polite thank-you, embracing the role as a nerd as a badge of pride. I will continue to be proud of my academic achievements, and perhaps through person-to-person conversations, I can help in tearing down stereotypes.

Yo soy Boricua, pa’que tu lo sepas! I am Boricua, just so you know; I am forever proud to represent the island of enchantment.