As one of the few Latinx who self-identify as a woman in engineering, navigating higher education typically occurs for me in isolation and with a great deal of strategy. The constant pressures of being in a male-dominated and hegemonic space also creates a constant state of insecurity and worry. I thought I was alone until I went to the American Association of Hispanics in Higher Education (AAHHE) conference. At the AAHHE conference, I learned that regardless of discipline, many Latinx faculty struggle to make their voices heard and experience similar isolations and barriers to their success in academia. It was a revelation to me that despite the background, walk of life or paradigms, each faculty fellow at this conference was part of a larger familia, a group that shares experiences and struggles, and provides tips and advice in a safe space.

I also learned how these pervasive and negative hidden messages trickle down to our Latinx youth who also struggle to find their place in higher education. It was an eye-opening realization for me that behind the masks of academia, we are essentially the same heart, mind and soul. My participation in the AAHHE Faculty Fellows program served and continues to serve as an evolving reminder that everyone in their own way seeks to find their purpose and place in life. It also helped me understand why I am through my research in hidden curriculum in engineering, seeking to highlight the social injustices and assumptions of normality that hinder our progression as living members of this world.

Being part of AAHHE also helped me become more enlightened about how systemic structures, norms, procedures and implicit assumptions can deter the educational progression of our youth and of other educational spaces, like community colleges and four-year institutions. I learned about how everyone’s unique positionalities and experiences can join together to build a cornerstone that other Latinx individuals can rely on for hope, strength and inspiration. This was especially prevalent in the stories shared by retired NASA astronaut José Hernandez and Chancellor Eloy Ortiz Oakley.

Finally, I learned about my own inner strength of character and wisdom. While I am not a person of many spoken words, I can say with hope that my written words and moments of shared verbal communication helped bring new perspectives, ideas and a sense of liberation to many at the conference. Hearing their stories and sharing elements of my own helped me realize how much we need each other and, at the same time, how much we as a community can accomplish with the proper tools, strategies and approaches. AAHHE was a conference that allowed for spaces of interaction and communication, as well as encouraged strategic networks to transpire.

Being in AAHHE was both an eye-opening and a teaching experience for me. A year after the conference, I still reflect upon what I learned and with a grateful and humble heart acknowledge the voices and insights of every faculty fellow, postdoctoral fellow, graduate student and other members in higher education who attended this conference. •