D.C. Here I Come!
The time I have spent with NMSHSA as an intern has been so impactful and moving. As a recent graduate, joining NMSHSA during the summer before starting my professional career was the perfect timing. It felt like a homecoming, where I was able to reconnect with the people and program that gave me the foundation for my education.
A memorable moment from my time with NMSHSA, was meeting and talking with current MSHS parents where they shared with us their hopes and dreams for their children. This meeting brought back so many emotions and memories. It reminded me that I was once that little girl getting picked up from my center by my parents after they had worked all day picking tomatoes. It emphasized the importance of MSHS and the impact it has on the children and families – for a lifetime.
Another memorable moment with my NMSHSA cohort and team was the weekend we spent in NYC. That was my first time ever visiting the city and it meant the world to be able to experience it with my peers who understood exactly what that moment meant to us all. We had found ourselves miles away from the fields our families knew so well and were getting to experience a lifelong dream of exploring NYC.
Additionally, the time we spent in D.C. was just as impactful. We were in the city we had always heard about but hardly ever saw ourselves reflected or represented in. The most memorable moment was visiting the memorials at nights with my cohort and just taking in all of the buildings, realizing how far we had come and how much farther we could still go.
This experience has been life changing in many ways, as well as reaffirming and empowering. We learned to find power in our stories and resilience in our shared experiences. Additionally, thanks to the guidance of the NMSHSA team I will soon be moving to D.C. to begin my professional career as a research assistant. I am so grateful and proud to have been able to experience this internship with my cohort and the NMSHSA team.