The University of Utah's Independent Student Voice

The Daily Utah Chronicle

The University of Utah's Independent Student Voice

The Daily Utah Chronicle

The University of Utah's Independent Student Voice

The Daily Utah Chronicle

Write for Us
Want your voice to be heard? Submit a letter to the editor, send us an op-ed pitch or check out our open positions for the chance to be published by the Daily Utah Chronicle.
@TheChrony
Print Issues
Write for Us
Want your voice to be heard? Submit a letter to the editor, send us an op-ed pitch or check out our open positions for the chance to be published by the Daily Utah Chronicle.
@TheChrony
Print Issues

Living in two worlds

By Ana Breton

When Latina/o immigrants come to the United States, they often feel like they are stuck between two worlds. They face a constant struggle to keep their traditions from home alive while trying to adapt to the ways of living in their new county.

Keeping this balance is especially difficult for Latina/o students who are the first in their families to enroll not just at an American college, but in any college, said Rina Benmayor, Latina/o studies professor at the University of California-Monterey Bay.

“It’s a growing phenomenon,” Benmayor said during a lecture in the Union Theatre on Thursday. “There’s a huge wave of new immigrants that have brought first-generation students to this country.”

Benmayor has been studying first-generation students who understand the transition between countries and cultures by interviewing them and holding “testimony” panels in a five-year project based in California.

Benmayor said that during interviews, she tends to focus on students’ cultural citizenship, which is how people organize their values based on their origins and cultural belonging rather than the formal status they hold as citizens of a new nation.

For example, Benmayor said she has noticed that many first-generation students are more concerned about choosing a major that will help provide for their “familia” and tend to overlook a career they are genuinely interested in.

“They’re trying to be in two worlds at the same time,” Benmayor said.

Also, students who come to college in the United States find traditions that might be completely different from those in their home country.

“When you’re in a space where you don’t feel you belong, you’ll do anything to feel you belong,” Benmayor said. “And sometimes this can sever ties with their family.”

Judith Carmona, an education, culture and society major, said living two different lives at the same time can be difficult, especially for college students.

“But it’s important to respect both of the spaces you are in, especially when they might be at odds with each other,” said Carmona, who moved to the United States from Mexico.

Silvia Ibarra-Garcia, an educational leadership and policy graduate student, said educating immigrants about the changes they might be facing in their new country is important to help ease the transition.

“It’s really important to share that knowledge so they don’t feel so alienated,” Ibarra-Garcia said.

Carmona and Ibarra-Garcia are both part of a pilot project at the U, “Telling Latina/o Testimonies,” which spurred from Benmayor’s cultural citizenship project in California.

The group, which is made up of 22 Latina women, meets once a week and will present a panel in April. Time and location for the panel are pending.

Leave a Comment

Comments (0)

The Daily Utah Chronicle welcomes comments from our community. However, the Daily Utah Chronicle reserves the right to accept or deny user comments. A comment may be denied or removed if any of its content meets one or more of the following criteria: obscenity, profanity, racism, sexism, or hateful content; threats or encouragement of violent or illegal behavior; excessively long, off-topic or repetitive content; the use of threatening language or personal attacks against Chronicle members; posts violating copyright or trademark law; and advertisement or promotion of products, services, entities or individuals. Users who habitually post comments that must be removed may be blocked from commenting. In the case of duplicate or near-identical comments by the same user, only the first submission will be accepted. This includes comments posted across multiple articles. You can read more about our comment policy at https://dailyutahchronicle.com/comment-faqs/.
All The Daily Utah Chronicle Picks Reader Picks Sort: Newest

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *