A Holy Cross education centers around the question: who am I for and with others? This question continues to swim through my head as I quickly approach the end of my first semester. Since starting school so many social justice issues and question have come to fruition on an off campus. In fact my Montserrat class centers around Social Justice in conjunction with the Christian faith. I am proud to proclaim my Catholic faith; it is very much a part of my identity and how I choose to exist in the world
Upon my arrival at Holy Cross, I immediately involved myself in Pax Christi, a Christian social justice group here on campus. Through this group, I accepted the opportunity to go to DC for a weekend conference called the Ignatian Family Teach for Justice. There I engaged with high school and college students to learn about the issues that still plague our society in a Christian context. The two main issues from the conference root themselves in racism. Mass incarceration is a structural form of anti-black racism in the United States and Family Separation at the border is a major act of Anti-immigrant racism.
What I learned through this enriching experience was that I am called to be an active warrior for social justice in this world. Holy Cross makes this tangible. We recently participated in an on campus conference called the Engage Summit where our community came together to discuss how we can engage we social justice issues spanning from LGBTQIA+ to Sexual Assault on and off campus.
I want to be a woman for others and at this point in the semester I think I am a woman for others. But who am I with others? That’s the real question. I will stand with those who have been oppressed before me. I will give them a voice. The last semester made me realize that I can make a change in this world as long as I keep remembering that I am a woman for and with others.
I’m looking forward to a future in politics or law. Perhaps I’ll be a civil rights attorney fighting for the ones who can’t always fight for themselves. I’ll always remember, however, that the best work is done for the other. Helping people and standing next to them: that is who I am for and with others.
