My Global & Environmental Identity
I feel like I've been a global citizen since birth. I was raised in a Mexican household in the United States. Growing up in Denver, Colorado, I was surrounded by a large Mexican community. I'd spend all my school breaks in Mexico visiting my family in Chihuahua and Hidalgo. I was very familiar with my parts of the world, Colorado and Mexico, but it wasn't until high school that I got to travel in the usa and abroad. Coming to boarding school on the east coast I've experienced a different American culture. I've become familiar with New England and the differences between the west and east usa. During my junior year I spent six months in Europe where I got to experience more of the world. I spent three weeks in Dublin, Ireland studying Global Entrepreneurship and Irish culture. Then I spent a month in Spain and Portugal. I gotta visit the hometown of my paternal great grandfather and understand his immigration from Spain to mexico. Finally, I spent a semester living in Viterbo, Italy with a School Year Abroad. Joining a new language and culture and way of life made me reflect on my own upbringing and understand the differences between my home and Italy. A large reflection during my semester was how sustainable my Italian lifestyle was compared to my American one. I would walk and take trains everywhere, recycle very strictly, and use much less water and energy because it was harder to come by. Now, I've been to ~12 countries and I am very grateful to know some pieces of the world, but I'm always seeking to better understand our planet and the people that shape it. I hope through GESC I will become a more engaged citizen in the Loomis community, and apply my global knowledge to making the island a better place, and less of a cultural bubble.
Global & Environmental Resume
GESC-designated Courses
- World History
- Arabic I, II, III, IV
- Middle East: History of Peace and Conflict
- Spanish V: Latin American Civilization
- Spanish V: Cinema
- Local Global Perspectives at SYA Italy
- Ancient History Through Art at SYA Italy
- Ancient Philosophy
- CL English IV: Writing from the Arab World
- CL English IV: Literature and the Environment
Elective Courses
- I participated in Debate afterschool for four years. I learned public speaking and creative thinking which helped me express myself in my classes. I also learned about a range current events and global history through our debate topics.
GESC Experiential Education
I spent a semester abroad in Italy with School Year Abroad, where I got to live with an Italian host family and fully immerse in the Italian language and culture. I lived in Viterbo, a small town in central Italy, and traveled often to Rome by train, as well as Bologna and Florence on school trips. My entire semester was spent understanding how Italy is different from my home in terms of way of life and history, but also realising how similar people are even across continents.
If applicable ...
- I spent three weeks learning Global Entrepreneurship in Dublin Ireland through CIEE High School Summer Abroad. I learned entrepreneurship by creating a restaurant from the ground up while simultaneously living in Dublin immersing in Irish culture. I found the Irish sprit of resilience through centuries of British oppression inspiring.
Learning Artifacts
GESC Coursework
- In my CL Literature and the Environment class, we did a poetry project based on the book Winter Morning Walks by Ted Kooser. In the class, we took our own winter walks, exploring campus in a very observational manner, making sure to admire and understand the space around us. We then wrote poems based on our observations of the natural world. This assignment fit well with the "Develop Skills" portion of the Alford Center Matrix, since it allowed me to really listen to and reflect on my environment in a way id never given myself time to before. I gained a deeper appreciation for the place where I've lived for four years, and see Nature as an active part of my community which id never done before.
GESC Seminars
- The museum visit has enhanced my understanding of the people that live in Connecticut, how they got here, and their impact on the state. Before my visit, I never saw Connecticut as a diverse place, but afterwards, I understood the presence of Puerto Ricans, Jamaicans, and a variety of Europeans that came to the USA for its opportunities. I found the Jamaican workers in tobacco fields especially interesting, since they are the second-largest country of origin in the state and came through the H2A visa. The large presence of Puerto Ricans has also shaped the landscape and culture of the place. Learning about families' immigration stories first hand made me more empathetic of their journeys, since I saw immigrants from their firsthand accounts and not just as numbers in an article. This trip made me reflect on my Latin American civilization class, where we studied the relationship between the USA and many Latin American countries, including the large presence of Hispanic immigrants in the USA. I also connected directly with the Alvord Center Matrix, understanding how local stories echo the experiences of people all over the globe. It made me realize that understanding the place you're in is essential in understanding the world as a whole.
- Ana Alicia from Nourish My Soul took action by seeing a problem with unhealthy food consumption in the USA, and created her own organization to help promote healthy eating and agriculture. She presented solutions for the common good by involving her local community, especially the youth in Connecticut, to participate in her organization. She did this by creating her own community farm, creating positive change by feeding her community. Her work has inspired me to learn more about where my own food comes from, and how to make sure it's ethically sourced. Ana Alicia's work also reminds me of my Literature and the Environment class, where we've learned to cherish the environment around us and realize all it gives for our survival. Ana Alicia's approach to helping her community also reminded me of the “Enhance Understanding” portion of the Alvord Center Engaged Citizenship Matrix, since she analyzed an issue she saw in her local community, working as a nutritionist and seeing a trend of poor eating leading to diseases, and connected that to a wider issue of lack of availability of healthy food. I learned that I can make real change if I see a problem like Ana Alicia did, since she made a free farm. She also taught me that you can start small and grow your impact, since she's grown her organization gradually over the years. Finally this seminar taught me that environmental issues are all around us, and are an unavoidable part of our life, so we must do our part to make sure we are helping the environment whether it be through ethical agricultural practices or advocating for healthy foods to build a healthy community.
- Attending the Shultz open meeting on Environmental policy taught me about the way the government plays a role in environmental efforts and conservation. the debate was interesting because there were many ways to take action, like in the Matrix, to solve environmental problems, and many countries and political parties had different ideas on the right approach. I think this meeting showed me the difficulty of creating change in society, because it takes a lot of people agreeing to do one thing, but it also showed hope because many people are taking environmental initiatives even if it isn't popular with the entire country at the moment. I also learned the various ways change is happening at the moment, with pushed towards green technology and modern innovation. Regardless of governmental support, I think people are always innovating themselves and that was inspiring to learn as an environmental scholar.
GESC Electives
GESC Experiential Education
Capstone Project
A Revival of the Loomis Journaling Tradition
Project rationale
This project centered around transcribing 20 pages of one of Loomis' founders, Osbert Loomis' travel journal from his year spent in Europe during 1871. Working with the archives, I wanted to connect Loomis to a global context, and helped by Ms. Parsons, discovered a literal trace of Loomis abroad. Reading Osbert's observations and reflections on American and European life was an incredible way to connect with school history and how Loomis' footsteps are felt all over the world.
Target Audience
The entire school is welcome to engage in this project! Students going on Alvord Center trips were given a pamphlet (pictured on the left) to encourage them to journal in the tradition of Osbert Loomis, and a display on the first floor of the library is up mapping Osbert's journey, as well as highlighting some transcribed excerpts from his journal for all to see. The archives has received my 20 pages of transcriptions as well to add to the Loomis collection. This project sheds light on some unknown Loomis history, and inspires students to engage with both journaling and the history of Loomis- both of which are global endeavours!
Project Process
I worked with Ms. Parsons in the Archives as a Alvord Center sponsored capstone, but with an entirely open path to take within the Archives. I wanted to focus on the Global aspect of GESC, and Ms. Parsons suggested Osbert Loomis' journal. I was initially interested in his time in Italy, having spent time there myself, but was unable to find remaining journal entries of his time there. Instead, I focused on his time in Paris, France, reading through and transcribing 20 pages of his time there. It was quite difficult and time consuming to transcribe this since his handwriting was in cursive, but the more I read the more I got used to his wiring style. Another challenge I found was figuring out the order of his journal entries, since his journal wasn't preserved whole but instead came in loose pages or chapters, but I was able to piece together some order through his writing and mapping his path. Once my transcription was done, I moved onto creating a pamphlet for students traveling with Alvord Center trips, and the spring trip to Morrocco used my pamphlet while they were abroad to document their experience. finally, I created a display in the library for more engagement with the entire school. The part that was most daunting and exciting about this project was the fact that it was totally original research, and there was no one I could ask about Osbert's travels, or search it up online. But it is what kept me interested and inspired throughout the process, because it felt like I was leaving a true mark on Loomis and learning a lot through Osbert at the same time! I also couldn't have done it without Ms. Parsons guidance and endless historical knowledge!
Visual Interests
Project Reflection
I am super proud of completing my capstone! Spending all winter and into the beginning of the spring term on this project, going down to the Archives every Wednesday afternoon, I dedicated a lot of time and effort into discovering and building this project and I am happy with the final results. When I began thinking about my project, I could've never imagined where it would lead me and the ways I would be able to engage the Loomis community in this project. Through my capstone, I feel like I am engaged with every portion of the Alvord Center Matrix. I sought new knowledge by researching an unexplored part of Loomis history, took action by engaging with this new knowledge and educating the school community in what I learned, discovered skills from researching to reading old cursive handwriting and creating pamphlets, and through it all enhanced my understanding of Europe in 1871 and how it compared to my experiences in Europe in 2023. I hope that in the future, if someone is curious about Osbert Loomis, they can go into the Archives and use my transcriptions to help them—and that all future Alvord Center trips include a bit of Osbert-inspired journaling! Maybe one day we can even expand the Loomis archive from Osbert’s journals to all Loomis students’ journals from trips and even life on the Island!
GESC Reflection
"I am interested in the GESC program because it challenges and orients students into exploring cultures outside of their own. I am very passionate about learning anything and everything I can about different perspectives. I think that one of the best ways to learn and understand the world is by learning from other groups of people and being aware of the entire planet you inhabit beyond your community. In my time studying abroad in Italy I realized how much there’s to learn from another culture. For example, I learned about eating locally grown foods, minding my water and energy use and intensely recycling while living abroad, something I am taking back to the USA. Italians lead a more environmentally friendly life and that is an important mindset to have. In the USA I've always been abundantly free to use resources but when I experienced the impact of dwindling resources and had to be aware of my consumption I finally grasped how the majority of the world is living with limited resources and I especially have to be aware of using them when they are so easy to waste. Culturally too, I understood the importance and influence of the Italian peninsula, for example, how the Roman Empire was used as inspiration for the American government. This was just one culture I was able to learn from and I think being able to understand as many other people's views and beliefs as well as your own can shape you into a better person who values all people’s well-being as well as your own. I want to continue learning as much as I can from other people and aim my GESC courses towards broadening my understanding of others. Through this I hope to become a better and more understanding citizen of the world."
I stated I wanted to "continue learning as much as I can from other people" and while I never would've thought that person I learned from would be from 1871, connecting with Osbert Loomis through his journals has allowed me to deepen my cultural and world knowledge which was my aim for the GESC! I got to explore a new area of the world through someone else's eyes, fully immersing in their perspective and coming to know their worldview, travel and era in history closely. Through this I achieved a greater appreciation for the power of traveling and going beyond what's familiar, and reflect fondly on the opportunities I've had to see the world and the ease of travel in comparison to how things were in 1871. I also understand more of the historical nuances between the US and Europe, and have spent time analysing them in tandem with reflections I made while studying abroad. I am pleased that I was able to accomplish what I set out to do, even if it wasn't in a way I expected!