My platform is called “Juntos Somos Más”, which translates to "Together We Are More." In an environment that was not traditionally created for us, the lack of knowledge and support can often lead first-generation students to not pursue higher education. The mission of Juntos Somos Más is to serve students of the Hispanic/Latine community by providing resources that will help them prepare and learn how to navigate through the college admission process and after. These resources include a PDF College Guide highlighting five areas (financial aid, community service, standardized test, involvement, college applications) and collaborating with other organizations to give seminars throughout the year.

I remember being hesitant about applying to the pageant because I was only a freshman. I had just got to campus, no one really knew me, and I had not had the opportunity to make a name for myself on campus. Growing up in a predominantly white town, I never had much exposure to people who looked like me or came from the same background as me. When coming to OU, I longed for that sense of community and belonging and I found comfort in organizations for Latine students. I want to be able to give a sense of belonging to all Latine students, incoming or current. 

After experiencing the college admissions process myself and seeing how difficult it was despite the thousands of first-gen students, like myself, who have already gone through it, I knew I wanted to dedicate my platform towards pursuing higher education. Although this may be a topic talked about quite often, it will continue to remain relevant because it is still a problem. There is an educational gap and a lack of resources for Latine students and this is often why people in our community decide to not pursue higher education. I believe there are many variables we view as a disadvantage that we can actually use to our advantage. I hope that my platform will allow young students from my community to see their potential and the many opportunities offered to them if they are considering attending college.

Music has always played a big part in my life. I have sang for as long as I can remember and have played the flute for 8+ years. For the talent portion of the pageant, I settled on singing. My parents always taught me, from a young age, about my Mexican roots and where I come from. Along with that came the exposure to the different genres of music within our Mexican culture, specifically a genre called Rancheras. This is a difficult genre to master as it is characterized by dramatic emotions, rich, deep vocal tones, and the use of falsetto; completely opposite of what I was used to singing. My dad was the one who taught me to sing this genre and although it was outside of my comfort zone, I wanted to pay tribute to him for allowing me to grow closer to my culture through my favorite art form, music. So, I chose to sing "La Cigarra" by Linda Ronstadt.

My platform is called “Rompiendo Fronteras”, and it focuses on bridging the gap between emergent bilingual students and higher education. I chose this platform because I currently work with these students and I hope to work with them after graduation. I see the desperate need for support, representation, and advocacy within this community. I am also a native Spanish speaker and I consider being bilingual my biggest superpower. I would love for other people in my community to feel empowered within their own language system just like I do! I believe language is the biggest connection to our diverse cultural backgrounds.

I saw the need for work specifically within the emergent bilingual community. I am already a part of various organizations within the Hispanic/Latine community, and I try to gear those same organizations toward emergent bilingual students as well. I am aware that this is not the most efficient way to serve them, so I thought that serving as Hispanic Royalty would give me a clear path to enact my platform, as well as a great way to honor my culture.

I sang “Paloma Negra" in honor of my abuelita Leti who passed in 2016. As a little girl, she always motivated me to sing. I chose to sing in Spanish specifically because I think that my language is beautiful, and it is a direct connection to my Mexican roots.

I will establish a mentorship program between bilingual students at OU and emergent bilingual students at primarily white high schools. Overall, I hope to inform people on the importance of linguistic diversity and diminish linguistic discrimination within our community while empowering emergent bilingual students to apply and thrive within higher education.