"Recently, 43 students in Mexico went missing. Their bodies were found later, gruesomely killed. The Mexican people are in uproar because the government has been inactive. It's just one more example of violence escalating in Mexico. I've seen media coverage of protests and marches in Mexico City, passing by places I used to know well when I lived there. The question, it seems, to all Mexicans is, 'What are you going to do?' And a part of me wants to be there, in the protests, making an immediate different. But I know that my protest, my impact, is occurring through my attendance here, at Notre Dame. I've only been here a year and a half, and I've already seen myself growing. I've become an officer for clubs, started communities, and was accepted to do research over the summer. I know my impact is being made here. Being Mexican is a part of me, but it's not all of me. Some people expect me to be carrying the flag, so to speak--to know, hold, and articulate the positions of all Mexican people. But I don't. It's a part of me that I will hold onto forever, but I'm not one-dimensional. It's one of many things that has made me who I am.
"Solely being Mexican doesn't make diversity--each individual's experiences create diversity. They say two heads are better than one not because of the sheer number of heads, but because of the backgrounds, stories, opinions, knowledge shared by two minds.
"I'm changing and growing and learning through my spectrum of activities here. I've been making connections through clubs and communities, looking outward, making things happen I couldn't have otherwise. And it sets me on fire.
"I have faith that I will be successful just from the privilege of being here. But what I know is that I will be successful not for the sake of retribution, or supremacy, or selfishness. Success is two-way: you give your talents, but you also learn from your situation. Being aware of that, I can just feel it--I know my success will be different."