Back, in action
"A dream deferred is not a dream forgotten or unattainable. It is possible to be successful here even amongst all the challenges and chaos of your lives." – Naiomi Robles '20
Naiomi Robles graduated from HCC in 2020 with her associate degree in Latinx Studies. She later graduated with a bachelor's degree from Mount Holyoke College. A Holyoke native, she recently returned to work as a student success counselor for the El Centro, the college's bilingual student support program. She gave the following remarks on Sept. 13 during El Centro's annual Bienvenidos event for new students.
'Hola y bienvenidos,
Mi nombre es Naiomi Robles, boricua en diáspora.
Estamos aqui presente. I am a graduate of HCC. I entered HCC in 2012 after graduating high school. I got here and I wasn’t ready. Back then no había espacios como El Centro. Without a community to lean on I had to make the decision to step away from school.
My personal life consisted of supporting my family and at the same time working and going to school became difficult as I know many of our students today can relate to. I found myself at times homeless, couch surfing, and overall, I knew that I was using up my financial aid and not being successful academically, which is a recipe for disaster.
After a few years away during which time I was working and trying to expand my professional skills, I returned to HCC and found my people. The Irma Medinas, Raul Gutiérrezes, and Monica Torregrósas of the campus. They saw in me something that I didn’t see in myself. I became committed to making it to Mount Holyoke College, hoping to get into the Frances Perkins Program. I worked hard and applied. The letter arrived and I was told that at this time it wasn’t a yes for me.
Realizing that my GPA was holding me back, I paid out of pocket for a couple of extra classes, transferred to Mount Holyoke with a completed associate degree in Latinx Studies from HCC and received my letter of acceptance.
Not only had I been the first person in my family to graduate high school, I would also be the first to go on to a four-year college and graduate with my bachelor’s degree in critical race theory and political economy and a minor in Latinx Studies.
After working for Holyoke Public Schools for about six years, I found an opportunity to return to the place that helped me start on a journey that seemed unattainable. I am now your student success counselor at El Centro. Visit us for all the things, academic support, a place to build community amongst peers, and to strengthen your identity as the scholar that you are and can become.
I share this all to say that a dream deferred is not a dream forgotten or unattainable. It is possible to be successful here even amongst all the challenges and the chaos in your lives. I want you all to walk away from this talk knowing that you are not an empty vessel. You enter this space as a scholar and a knowledge producer. We need all those parts of you that make you who you are.
Bienvenidos!"
PHOTO: Naiomi Robles '20 talks to students at El Centro's annual Bienvenidos event Sept 13.
