Passion and Purpose
"You have to find your people." – Priscilla Rivera '15
Priscilla Rivera '15 graduated from HCC with her associate degree in visual art. She is the owner of JSD Graphic Designs and a volunteer community organizer for the annual Fiestas Patronales de Holyoke and the Paper City Food Festival. She took part in a Nov. 14 panel discussion sponsored by El Centro, "Intersection of Passion and Purpose," from which these remarks are adapted.
'So, HCC is a two-year college. I was here for five.
I came here with six kids. They were not my kids. They were my nieces and nephew, and I was a dropout. I remember starting with ESL classes from level one all the way to level five, just to get into English 101.
Everybody told me, Priscilla, when you go to English 101, forget about it. It’s scary.
When I went into English 101, I was like, that’s it? And then into English 102 – thank God for Professor Lisa Mahon! Amazing woman. I will never forget her.
I joined the LISA Club, the Latino International Students Association (now the LEA Club – Latinx Empowerment Association). The LISA Club really helped me spread my wings in the community. We did a lot of stuff. I learned so much, thanks to my advisers Miriam Quinoñes (Multicultural Academic Services, now El Centro) and Josie Valentin (Advising Center). These are my true mothers. They pushed me through. They pushed me hard.
It was not easy, juggling six kids. I didn't start having my own kids until I was 30, and I got custody of my nieces and nephew when I was 24-25.
Thank God that I spoke to a lot of my professors, and they were like, oh, Priscilla, it's OK, bring them with you, because I was gonna drop out. I didn't have any family support. I didn't have help after school, no after school programs for them, or anything like that. So I brought them with me to HCC.
I used to run to Miriam or Josie or Denise Salgado (TRIO), and say, I'm quitting. I'm quitting. That is going to be my last day. And they took their time. They would talk to me, calm me down, and, little by little, I did it, one day at a time. I found people that represented me, people who spoke Spanish, so I could felt more comfortable. At HCC, I found my community.
I remember one of the first events that I did with LISA Club. All the HCC clubs got together, and we raised $5,000 for earthquake victims in Haiti. That’s how I started to meet people and get involved in community service. We cleaned up the Victory Theater. That was years ago. I just fell in love. And then Josie and Miriam, the LISA Club advisers, took us to all these places. I'll be honest. I'm a girl that doesn't go out, doesn't do anything fun or anything like that. We went to New York City. We went to Boston. We saw “In the Heights.” I had never been to the theater. I was like, oh my gosh, you know? And I just started signing up for anything that the club was doing.
I got involved, and I fell more deeply in love with helping the community. And this is what I love to do. You have to have the passion. You have to find your people."
PHOTO: Priscilla Rivera '15, during a November visit to HCC
