MY STORIES:

• Latinx organizations forge alliance in support of sexual violence survivors
• Mindfulness and holistic wellness blossoms in Salt Lake City’s Latinx community
• A Latinx drag artist’s journey and integration of QTBIPOC spaces in Salt Lake City

MY BLOG:

As a child with an unfettered curiosity of the world, I formulated my ideas and discoveries in the form of journaling and writing stories. It felt like a safe place to release my unfiltered thoughts in globs of splattered ink and wrinkled pages from recycled notebooks. At 10 years old, I embarked on a quest to read a thesaurus daily, tricking adults and book publishers into thinking I was smart because I knew big, flowery words. I was convinced I figured out the “formula” for becoming a best-selling novelist, as if raw story telling and speaking your truth was not enough.

I realized over time that writing isn’t about boasting one’s intellectual prowess or a catalyst for an ego trip. It’s how your message resonates with your audience and sparking the change you wish to see in the world, along with a spirit of adaptation. It goes beyond aggrandized wants and transforms into empathy and shared connectedness with others. Voices of Utah has been a pivotal experience that has deepend these values, recognizing the honor and dignity that goes into inclusive journalism.

I was riddled with anxiety going into the class, clinging onto beliefs of the competitiveness and cut-throat nature of the industry. My experience was fortunately the opposite. I had immense support and encouragement from classmates and the instructor, creating an environment of oneness and accountability. Interviews evolved into heartfelt conversations and vulnerability. Engaging with the artists and spiritual leaders of the Latinx community reflected the resilience and passion of their craft. Struggling with a lifetime of toxic perfectionism, I let go of trying to create a Pulitzer Prize-winning story and focused on passing the mic to disenfranchised voices in our community.

Going into these interview spaces was a truly humbling experience. The outsider phenomenon flooded my awareness, and I made a conscious effort to monitor how I interacted in these spaces and the questions I was asking. Instead of bombarding the subject with overwhelming questions and sticking exactly to the outline, I let the conversation flow with gentle guidance and allowed them to tell their stories without restraint. Being part of the majority racial group in Utah, it takes practice to re-evaluate your contribution to relieving social inequalities and challenging your internal biases.

ABOUT ME:

Venturing to my small town’s library as a child was a sacred ritual that opened doorways to imagination, creativity, and a burning passion for artistic expression. Understanding the mighty power of the pen and paper, writing felt like a superpower and a path of liberation. It represented the desire to seek truth and justice while connecting the dots of ideas, nature, and how things work.

My fascination transformed into action as I dove into creative and technical writing opportunities throughout college. Top highlights include published articles for University Study Abroad Consortium (USAC) and a summer editing internship for a local magazine and luxury travel company in Bali, Indonesia. Studying strategic communications strengthened my business mindset and pushed me out of my comfort zone by engaging with the nuances of rhetoric within marketing and branding. My decision to minor in Global Citizenship stoked the fire for international learning, with a study-abroad adventure in Sweden and learning French as a second language.

I am not going to pretend I am all work and no play. I enjoy taking blissful walks, exploring Utah’s natural wonders, sipping every blend of coffee in the city, and implementing yoga and meditation into my daily life.

After graduation, I plan on expanding the skills I learned in Voices of Utah and university studies to pursue full-time travel writing and creating digital content that touches upon the human experience on a global scale.

Filed under: Hispanics & Latinos(as), Student-Journalists |