Juan

In New York’s Financial District, Juan says, his “sharp jawline, prominent cheekbones and brown skin make me an outcast.” One look at him causes some people to make assumptions. When they ask him to name his favorite sport, “more often than not they answer the question themselves: soccer. I stare at them with a blank face and respond, ‘I play tennis.’” These people reduce his identity “to a single word, something that is completely unrepresentative of me.” 

He says it’s when he’s in Mexico, the country of his family’s origin, that his identity is “praised.” Younger cousins “admire my trilingual identity and passion for a sport many consider uncommon,” he writes. No matter how many people “marginalize me, my family has embedded that my differences make me… me.”

Praise for Juan is also plentiful at his high school. One of his teachers called him “a great young man” who “loves his family with all of his heart and soul. He’s driven and motivated to achieve all of his biggest hopes and dreams. He’s always making the right choices and has impeccable character.” He has taken on multiple advanced-placement courses, as well as college-level classes, been recognized as a National Education Equity Lab Scholar and earned multiple spots on the principal’s honor roll..

Juan plans to major in finance, with an eye toward helping “minority groups of all ethnicities throughout the U.S.” break the cycle of generational poverty.

The teacher/mentor that has made the greatest difference in my life is Daniel Hew, my English teacher. Mr. Hew’s genuine character made me feel acknowledged; whether he asked about my day or said a simple hi, Mr. Hew always cared for his students. Mr. Hew allowed me to confine myself to the good in life; he reminded me of the importance of having a strong and unique character, as it ultimately drives and pushes me every day to do better.