We Are the Bridge
We Are the Bridge was written by the students of M.E.Ch.A at Venice High School.
Foreword
Alejandro Arroyo & Maria Lopez Zamudio
The main reason I became an educator was to help students with similar backgrounds to mine find their voice. I am a first-generation, working class Xicano. There is a lot that comes with those labels, most of which we do not ask for. We have to navigate institutions without the support many of our peers have. When most teenagers are making mistakes on their way to finding out who they are, most of us have had our parents and families lay expectations on us with no room for error. Having been a Venice High Gondolier myself who grew up in Mar Vista Gardens, I know that a large part of our student population is facing these same expectations. These labels and pressures can make us feel like imposters, like we don't belong in a lot of spaces or, as some students have told me, we are doing something wrong or there is something wrong with US. What I want our students to know is that their experiences and their identities are their SUPER POWERS. Yes, navigating this path will be hard and sometimes feel lonely. The truth is there are so many of us who have already walked this path. What we need to practice is how to ask for and be ok with receiving help, love and support. I think that's what being a M.E.Chista is all about. “La unión hace la fuerza.”
– Alejandro Arroyo
When I was a high school student I knew that higher education was the goal.
However, the path for me as an undocumented first generation student looked very uncertain.
Questions like:
“How am I going to pay for college?”
“How do I pick a major?”
“What if I am not good enough?”
They were always running through my head. I would create a false narrative of insufficientness in my young mind. This is a story that I see repeating amongst our M.E.Chistas every year.
What I would forget about then is that what I may have lacked in financial resources I made up for bendiciones from my family. As a first-generation student I carried so lessons from my parents, like being grateful and never giving up. Most importantly, my parents taught me to be proud of myself. While they understood that I faced extra challenges due to my brown skin, they grounded me by reminding me that I was enough. That my story matters, which is what I center in the conversations with my students. M.E.Chistas carry so much cultural richness. Yes, there is grief and pain that we have had to overcome. However, with that there is also pride in the resilience and strength we have to reach the goals we are trying to achieve. One thing I will say is don’t forget to rest while you're achieving your goals. Our parents have worked hard so we have the privilege to have options and choices. One of them is working hard while knowing when to…
REST.
– Maria Lopez Zamudio
We always grew up hearing that our parents sacrificed everything to come to this country so we could be educated, wealthy, and successful. But somewhere along the way we chose to believe something else. Our parents rejected conditions that would have constrained them to make sure their children had OPTIONS. The best way we feel we can honor the sacrifices our parents, grandparents, tíos, tías, and siblings have made is by helping others find their voices and strengths. If our M.E.Ch.A students can leave our campus with options that their parents didn't have, grandparents didn't have, or even we didn't have, we believe we did our job as first-gen educators.
– Alejandro Arroyo & Maria Lopez Zamudio