Hispanic-Americans at Yale

PATRICK MCGARVEY/YH La Casa Cultural de Julia de Burgos is the Puerto Rican cultural center.

imagined. As a frosh, I discovered many different undergraduate student organizations. I hopped from Despierta Boricua (DB) meetings at La Casa Cultural Julia de Burgos to Movimiento Estudiantíl Chicano de Aztlán (MEChA) meetings to Latin American Students Organization (LASO) meetings. I had the opportunity to meet people from different cultures and countries and to share interests and interact with them in different settings. DB, MEChA, and the Caribbean Club coordinate cultural, political, and social events that address issues that affect the Latino and Yale/New Haven communities. On the other hand, LASO aims to bring together all Latin-American students in a comfortable social atmosphere.

Yale also provides an enormous breadth of academic diversity and opportunities. As a political science and international studies major, I have taken several courses related to Latino culture, including Latino Migration and Politicization, Sociology of Latino Culture, and Latin American Literature. Furthermore, as a pre-med student, I was a Science, Technology, and Research Scholar (STARS). STARS assists minorities and women who are planning on entering the field of medicine or graduate scientific research. The program also gives students the chance to participate in discussions of science and do paid summer research on campus.

Yale is a place where you have countless opportunities to cultivate your abilities and express your ideas. I have been active in the Latino community in many different ways. For instance, last year I had the opportunity to organize a national Latino Leadership Conference that united students from California, Texas, Puerto Rico, Florida, and the East Coast. Other students are active in other ways, whether it be fundraising for victims of Hurricane Mitch, visiting Chiapas, Mexico, as international human rights observers, throwing a party with La Unidad Latina fraternity, or organizing career forums with the Professional Society of Latinos. All of these activities are strongly supported by cultural Deans and professors.

My Yale experience has been an amazing journey of intellectual enrichment and cultural excitement. There are many ways of approaching your time here, and I invite you to embark on this journey in any way you wish. ¡Hasta pronto!

—Sandra Castejon-Pulliza

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