Be Proud of Your Roots: Stories of Culture, Faith, and Belonging

Isaias Miranda: Good morning.
My name is Isaías Miranda, and I'm the director at the Center for Student Success.
Last week, you heard from Aubriana, and she shared her story.
Today, we're going to continue talking about Hispanic Heritage Month.
I'm excited to have you hear from some of your peers.
It sounds like these students are highly regarded and have some fans out there.
We appreciate y'all's support.
Hispanic Heritage Month happens between September 15th and October 15th.
And it's a time where we celebrate traditions,
cultures,
and traditions that have been passed down,
you know, for generations from people from Mexico,
the Caribbean,
South America,
Spain.
And so we get to celebrate and we get to highlight these cultures.
So I'm excited to do that this morning and I'm excited for you to hear from some of your peers.
Today we have Pablo Ossabal.
Ossabal,
yeah.
Pablo Ossabal: Hello.
There we go.
Isaias Miranda: Brandon Palacios.
Hello.
Hola.
And Marisol Bernal.
And so I'm going to just give them an opportunity to introduce themselves and share why Hispanic Heritage Month is meaningful to you.
So we can go ahead and start here with Marisol.
Marisol Bernal: Hi,
guys.
My name is Marisol Bernal,
and I'm a Youth and Family Ministry major here.
And I think Hispanic Heritage Month is important because I get to look back at my family and our culture
and question my family and get to learn more about my family heritage.
Brandon Palacios: Hello, everybody.
My name is Brandon Palacios.
I'm a Digital Media major.
And also,
I'm a photographer around here sometimes.
And one thing that I like about Hispanic Heritage Month,
it represents a lot.
It's just not just,
oh, just a regular month,
but it is a representation of hard work, dignity,
and a lot more.
Pablo Ossabal: Hi,
everybody.
My name is Pablo.
I am originally from Colombia.
I am a digital...
I am a creative writing major.
And Hispanic Heritage Month is very important for me because it allows us to have a conscious
recognition of our culture and of our history.
So I think it's very important to be rooted in our culture.
Isaias Miranda: Awesome.
All right.
So I've had the opportunity to meet with them individually and I wish I had 30,
45 minutes
for each student's story.
I think sharing our stories is important.
Sharing your story is important.
So if you get that opportunity,
do that with your friends, with a faculty member.
Stories are powerful.
But the first question that I have is for Marisol.
So in our conversation,
you mentioned your grandmother played a significant role in your life.
So what values or beliefs or traditions did she pass along,
and what impact did that have on your life?
Marisol Bernal: Yeah,
growing up,
my parents were always at work,
so my grandma took care of me.
But the most important thing is hard work.
My grandma took care of her brothers and sisters growing up,
so she wasn't able to attend school.
But she always taught me what it means to have a servant heart and to put others before yourself.
Isaias Miranda: Awesome.
And I think there's pictures up there of your grandmother,
so if we can put that on the screen.
It's really neat to see that there was an impact there.
Can you talk a little bit about faith and what got passed down from your grandmother concerning faith?
Marisol Bernal: Yeah.
Well,
first,
my grandma always told me to put God first.
And the first thing to do is to pray.
Ever since I was little, that's what I was told to do.
And I continue to do now.
And,
of course, she passed down to me how to make tortillas and all the good food,
but also what it means to be a good, godly woman.
Isaias Miranda: Awesome.
Thank you.
So,
gentlemen,
what about you?
What are some beliefs,
values,
traditions that got passed down just through family?
Brandon Palacios: So one thing about my family is that they came from really rough areas in Central America.
And throughout time when I was growing up, my family taught me about gratefulness.
I mean, I'm pretty sure everybody is grateful here.
But it's good to be reminded that we should be grateful even for the smallest things in our lives.
Pablo Ossabal: for me one of the biggest values that my family instilled in me even when I was young was of hard
work you know I believe that Hispanics are incredibly hard working and I think that's one
of the biggest things that I took away from my family growing up and also just a sense of
community that we have even within our family unit you know taking care of each other whether
be grandma taking care of a granddaughter or a family friend or a neighbor,
you know.
So I just think the sense of community is one of the biggest things as well.
Isaias Miranda: Awesome.
And so,
you know, as we were talking,
we talked about language.
We talked about Spanish specifically and how that plays an impact in our lives.
So Brandon,
this question is for you.
You know, learning and navigating two languages is something that you do well.
But what challenges did you experience,
and what did you learn from that experience?
Brandon Palacios: Well,
for me, it was a struggle for me growing up because I was like,
my mom would force me into translate government documents,
taxes,
and all that stuff.
And it was like, I was like eight years old and my mom handed me, oh yeah,
translate this.
And it was like just a bill and I'm like, this is beyond my skills.
But it helped me a lot because it was a blessing in a way.
But another reason it was a little bit tough on me is because it was really hard for me to fit in for,
for example,
pop culture.
For me,
like, I remember this specific moment when I was little.
It's a funny story is that I think I would believe I was in second grade,
and I think Justin Bieber was a little popular during that time.
Well, he was popping off during that time.
And throughout that time,
my classmates were talking about him and everything.
I was like, oh,
who's this Justin Bieber?
Is he,
like, a beaver?
Because I didn't know who he was.
And I was like, is that a natural talking beaver?
But then I realized, oh,
he's a natural human being,
and I just didn't know about him.
But that was a really funny story about me struggling with understanding pop culture when English was my second language.
But,
yeah.
Isaias Miranda: Wow, what a blessing to be able to speak English and Spanish.
But I can relate with you,
right?
Being the oldest,
I had to translate for my parents quite a bit, and then kind of being stuck in the middle in a cultural divide can be a challenge.
Marisol, Pablo,
how has being bilingual or growing up around Spanish speakers shaped or impacted your life?
Pablo Ossabal: Well, I can agree with Brandon on the legal document basis that we have to translate everything.
and at least when we first got here,
I had to translate everything
because me and my sister went into school and my older sisters were back in Colombia.
So my parents were just learning English and we were just the mediators essentially for everything.
So I think honestly that being bilingual is a blessing like you said
because it has allowed me to create a lot of meaningful relationships,
not only with people from my culture but people from here as well
and it helped me to really feel a sense of belonging very quickly in any place that I'm in
because I can relate to somebody that's from Spain,
from Argentina,
or the same as from England or here.
Marisol Bernal: So for me,
I don't speak Spanish,
but I can understand it.
So growing up, my dad's a pastor at a bilingual church,
So that's been helpful to be able to understand and sing songs and hymns with the church and to make, like he said, relationships with people who speak a different language.
I just can't speak it well.
Isaias Miranda: Awesome.
Well, yeah,
the Spanish language is a bridge, right?
So I know Dr. Mata is probably out there, so I'll do a little plug for him.
Join that Spanish class.
Get that experience under your belt.
And get bilingual.
Even if you're not fluent,
I think sometimes just knowing some of the basics will get you a long way.
So Pablo, you already mentioned moving to the States when you were nine.
And so can you tell us a little bit about how that transition was?
So as a child,
it's a hard transition to make at the age of nine.
But how is that experience for you and your family in coming to the States at that time?
Pablo Ossabal: Yeah, of course.
I think when you're little,
you really just go along with what your parents tell you to do, and you just follow them,
obviously.
You're not going to be like, no, I'm going to stay here.
So I came here.
I know my parents are searching for better job opportunities,
more safety.
And I think it was a weird transition because I thought I was going into a very familiar climate that I was already in in Colombia.
But when I got here, I realized that there's people from all over the world.
There's people from India.
There's people from Brazil.
There's people from Russia.
There's people from everywhere.
And so for me, at least in elementary school, it was a bit difficult the first couple months
because I was just like, what am I doing here?
I don't know anybody.
I don't know the language.
I don't know half the people here.
But I think it was a good transition in the long run
because it's allowed all my family to,
you know, to build a life here.
You know,
each one of my sisters, as you can see, I have four.
Sorry, three sisters.
I'm the third of four.
And it has allowed them to,
you know,
reach their goals
or,
you know,
find potential wherever they may.
You know, my sister,
she has two beautiful baby boys.
They're my nephews.
And they live here,
and they're just an extension of that family that we've been able to create here.
Isaias Miranda: Awesome.
So do you mind speaking a little bit to education and what that means to you?
Pablo Ossabal: Can I repeat that again?
Isaias Miranda: Yeah, can you talk a little bit about education and what's the meaning of that for you?
Pablo Ossabal: Yeah, education is huge.
I mean,
not only out here, you know, like in school,
but I think in any social group that you're in,
even within the family unit, like I've said before.
Especially when you're in a new culture,
learning is essential because you want to fit in,
right?
You want to be able to do the things,
simple everyday things,
you know, normally.
But I think learning is super essential.
And you should be courageous enough to go out and seek it.
You should be bold to take action,
to want to learn,
want to experience new things,
relate to new people,
talk with people you've never met before.
You know, I think that is one of the most essential things
that we as not only Hispanics,
but we as humans should strive to do
is just try to connect with as many people as possible
because that way you just learn
and that will just help you get along really well.
Isaias Miranda: Awesome.
Well, I have one more question for you.
And so it's on the topic of belonging.
And so I know the three of y'all
have found your place here on campus.
But what advice would you give to someone who feels like they don't belong
or somebody who's trying to find their place here at LCU?
So what advice do you have for students?
Pablo Ossabal: Yeah,
no, like I mentioned before,
I think it's just reaching out,
you know,
being courageous to reach out and try to find a club,
try to find a team or just a group of people that you connect with
and,
you know, that your values align,
that you have the same kind of goals and aspirations.
And I think that's very important.
Just be bold, be courageous,
and go out there,
talk with people,
connect.
Brandon Palacios: Well,
for me,
it's the same as Paulo,
but I'm just going to add on to it.
But for me,
it's just go out there and just meet new people.
One reason I'm here is because I was just walking around campus,
and I met with Olivia, and she told me,
want to be in chapel?" I was like, "Sure." And overall,
even that it just represents a lot because
like I wouldn't be here because I mean I reached out and I just like met more people and
like this is like it just shows where I'm at right now.
Marisol Bernal: I would say I mean even college is getting
out of your comfort zone.
So get out of your comfort zone and I mean I've never lived on campus
before,
but this year I'm an RA at Gullo,
so that was completely out of my comfort zone and stuff
like that,
but just get out of your comfort zone and shine for Jesus,
and you'll meet people,
and God
will put people in your life.
Isaias Miranda: Awesome.
Well, that's my hope and my prayer for each one of you. I know
these students are leaders on campus,
and they're involved on campus,
but my hope for each one of
you is that you find a place where you belong and find a place where this becomes home.
And today you heard from students,
and today we were focusing on Hispanic Heritage Month,
but all of you have a story to share.
And so I know that when I meet with students, I ask, hey, tell me about your story.
Where are you from?
What got you to LCU?
And so as you're going on these next couple of weeks, if a faculty member or a staff member
asks a little bit more, share that story,
because it's powerful,
and also share that story,
have those conversations with your peers,
because that's how you get to know them.
And so today,
those are the questions I had,
so can y'all give these students a round of a hand
for participating?
Pablo Ossabal: Can I add on one thing?
Can I add on something?
Isaias Miranda: Yes.
Pablo Ossabal: Be proud of your roots.
you know,
be proud
you know,
everybody
up until today
you know,
everything around you, your culture
your family, your friends, you know, it's all built
to the person you are today
so just be proud of that
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You are dismissed
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