I feel super blessed to be working as the Tepeyac Assistant and to be surrounded by all the amazing people in CCM. As the Tepeyac Assistant, I had the opportunity to lead our weekly Cafecito con Tepeyac meetings. I love my job because it gives me the space to lead conversations on topics that I feel deeply passionate about, such as colorism in the Latinx community. Our Tepeyac team works extremely well together and we have become a sweet family. From the start of the quarter, we instantly got along, and we have just gotten closer since then. Tepeyac has genuinely become my home because I feel so welcomed by every person there.
Last year, coming into DePaul I desperately wanted to find community, especially with Latinx people. I was a freshman and commuting, so I felt terrified that I would not find a community or make friends. I immediately started going to Tepeyac and CCM events to find the community I was looking for. Now I am so immersed in the DePaul community, CCM community, and the Latinx community, and it makes me so genuinely happy. There are a few people who have come to our weekly Cafecito meetings consistently and we have created a little community. Everyone is so engaging, and we always have such amazing conversations that could go on for hours. I feel very passionate about creating a loving and welcoming space for POC (People of Color) and Latinx students at DePaul and I think my job gives me a great opportunity to do just that.
We have had some amazing ideas this past quarter despite the pandemic. My favorite idea of ours has been the mail-out packages that we have sent out: Tepeyac Kick-Off, Dia de Los Muertos, and Finals Relaxation. We also have been doing an amazing job with our Instagram by posting a weekly Latinx Lunes and a Ven a Leer Viernes. Every Monday we post a question on our story for Latinx Lunes to engage with our followers and learn more about one another. On Fridays, someone on our team posts a Latinx book that they love and both weekly posts have been very successful and fun! For the rest of the year, I have some Cafecito topic ideas that I would like to include like Machismo in the Latinx community, Afro-Latinidad, Latinx media, and Catholicism in the Latinx community. I am so excited to continue the school year and this position because I think we can continue to grow as a community and come up with more great ideas! I really wish we were meeting in person to see what the Tepeyac community would be like, but I am still so excited and happy to be in this position.
