On home…

My mom was born in Chicago and was raised in Guatemala with her sister. They have a lot of family in Guatemala, and I grew up going there at least every other year. My dad was born in Mexico and moved to Chicago when he was 7. Growing up in Chicago, I felt very connected to my Mexican family, but the first time I went to my father's town was when I was 16. I'm an only child, and I have no pets.

 

On Emma…

In Chicago, it's very normal to talk about the high school application process, similar to the college one.  A friend and I had been researching schools in 7th grade and I had known I personally was open to, and might even prefer, a catholic high school or a private day school in the city. Our counselor told us about a scholarship for kids in Chicago, and they had many partner schools. This friend and I spent much of our time that summer researching within that partner list, and Emma Willard soon became our preferred school from the boarding list. I ended up getting the scholarship, but I was the only one of my friends who continued with the process, and the Daniel Murphy Scholarship Fund helped me apply to six boarding schools.

The idea of a co-ed boarding school seemed a little daunting to me because while I went to a very small school in the city, I felt more comfortable with the idea of going to an all-girls school. Emma seemed very welcoming, and even though I had never visited before attending, I tend to have a very good gut feeling about things. I had taken some tours and shadow days in Chicago schools, but none of them felt like the right match with me. Some schools were too big, some too rigorous. I later realized that Catholic schools weren't a good direction for me. And I could not shake off the good feeling about Emma.

 

Emma is sooo special to me in many ways. I think the people make it feel so special, but for me, something that I just couldn't live without is the teachers. If Ms. Utterback has no fans, I'm dead because she has been a support system for me just as an affiliate for two years; my advisor, Ms. Halfi, is my favorite person on campus. All of the faculty are amazing, hardworking, and so understanding. 

 

The theatre directors are my go-to to troubleshoot, and every houseparent I've had has been so welcoming and the perfect fit with the hall. Even people I've never had as teachers make an effort to get to know me and who I am as a person without even stepping into the classroom. My junior year, I was faced with a hard decision of being an assistant director in the winter play and possibly struggling with my course load like I had in the fall. I went to so many people that day before getting back to the director because I knew there were people who were going to tell me their honest feelings.

 

On theatre…

OMG, this is such a hard question…

Okay, I really fell in love with theatre at Emma. I mean that I had never done theatre before Emma, so I fell in love with the theatre and what it means to do it at Emma. I started doing scenic, which I reached for because I grew up with my dad in construction, so it felt really familiar. Then, I quickly realized I had a lot of the traits that make a person good at theatre, and I had a lot left that I want to learn. 

 

 

By my second show, I was the deck crew chief, which is a small but time-consuming position. By that show, I really grew to love the community-building, the inside jokes, and how limitless the theatre can be. That show was probably one of the most scenic heavy shows we've done in my time so far. We built a fake truck, choreographed scenic shifts, and laughed backstage as the actors sang Adele and did a silly dance. It was addicting; the tiring tech week, the adrenaline rush before the show, the nerves, and the strike when we realized everything ended. I've done four more shows, each in a different role: stage management, sound, scenic (again, but this time designing), and assistant directing. 

The people in the theatre are just top-tier; they're silly and thoughtful, and aren't afraid to sound or look weird. Without them, I wouldn't have kept going—especially in a school like Emma, where everyone does so much else already. I have become friends with the most random group of people, yet it is so perfect. Any teacher who has had me knows that this takes so much of my time, but they also know that they are welcome to sit in the front row on opening night.

 

Theatre has taught me to manage time, focus when possible, multitask, be friends with everyone, call the shots, design, build, delegate, make deadlines, give grace, rest, know when to push myself and others, prioritize safety, read the room, project, be really, really quiet, have fun, and take things seriously. Some of these don't make sense together, but with the range of things that I've done, these are all the lessons that come to mind. 

In the past year, I've shifted to taking theatre classes, too, and I'm working on directing a show in the Spring. Taking classes has really pushed me in ways I would have never done. I've learned how to act from the ground up, organize a full show, and source ideas thoughtfully. I've never touched a light board, never made props or costumes, and those are things that I will do. I hope my journey with theatre doesn't end, so I know that I need to become the very best I possibly can now that I have the resources. 

 

On hiking…

Since I grew up in Chicago, there were never any chances for hiking, and since living at Emma, I have pushed myself on a couple of hikes and I would love to keep doing it. I also recently (yeah, like a month ago) learned to ride a bike for a trip I'm planning, and I've actually never realized how much I was missing out on, so biking is definitely going to become a hobby I continue exploring. At Emma, I tried rowing as a sophomore, and I definitely want to push myself to do that far into the future because being in the water is a feeling like no other.

On Ring Week (and May Day)...

Honestly, Ring Week and May Day are tied. I love Revels for what it can do to connect alumnae, but as a student, Ring Week is so funny, and is a beautiful tradition of having an upperclassman feel like a sibling. Every year, watching the juniors in costumes is a laugh until you are the one in them. It's also nice to feel like you are becoming an upperclassman when you start talking about it. Planning the proposals, being surprised by the costumes, and anxiously awaiting the ring at dinner is so exciting and a little more intimate than Revels. 

 

 

 

May Day also feels really special to me; the celebration of Spring on campus feels so exciting and beautiful. I was in the dance as a freshman, and my dance partner has become one of my really close friends. Voting for the May Day court is also exciting because you don't know who is in it until it happens. I just love how cutesy it feels, and it reminds me of how quickly the year goes by.

 

 

 

Really, some of my favorite traditions are my personal ones. For three years, I convinced a senior to let me on the triangle just to enjoy the first snow. Flying kites with my friends. I've carried bubbles around campus since I was a sophomore, and the happiness of them throughout the day is what makes Emma fun. Going to the Hispanic Heritage party at the Egg, watching all the interesting plays at REP. Going to the Clark and MASS MoCA every year. The first Farmer's Market in May, the first day it's warm in the spring, and everyone enjoys the inner campus. The day the cherry blossoms bloom in the front loop—those are the little traditions that mark my school year.