The Healing Process Has Begun

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Paulina Zamarripa Miranda

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Paulina Zamarripa Miranda

<i>"Hello" in your host country's language:</i> Hola <i>Home Institution (your U.S. University/College):</i> University of Nevada at Reno <i>Expected graduation year:</i> 2023 <i>Destination city & country:</i> Alicante, Spain <i>Program provider:</i> USAC <i>Major/minor:</i> Social Work / Human Development and Family Studies <i>Demographics:</i> Hispanic/Latinx, First-Generation American, First-Generation College Student <i>Future career aspirations:</i> The knowledge I have gained about counseling has inspired me to work in the Washoe County School District to create programs that help educate parents and students early on about the benefits of counseling. I can see myself creating focus groups with just Hispanic parents to ensure they are informed about the different ways counseling can be helpful when in need of assistance. Once I have spread awareness within the school district, I hope to become a clinical social worker to ensure this field can expand with the number of social workers who speak Spanish. This ensures that these individuals can use this resource confidently. Therefore, helping students and parents understand early on what counseling is can help break the stigma the Hispanic culture holds towards this resource. <i>Top 3 goals for your time abroad:</i> Expand my food palate, create lifelong connections, and be open minded about new experiences

When organizing my study abroad trip, I decided to take one class because this would help me balance school work while still enjoying my time in Spain. What is unique about the class I have selected is that it talks about a topic that has always impacted my life growing up and to this day. Therefore, unlike the usual scenario where students choose classes based on the credits needed for their undergrad, I have had the flexibility to select a class I have always hoped to educate myself on. I am taking Spanish Gender Studies at the Universidad de Alicante with Professor Pilar. My selection of Spanish Gender Studies resulted from not being able to fully correlate my experiences based on the content of gender taught within my K-12 and higher education. The content of the course covers how the history of gender has led to where women are today in Spain.

I am incredibly grateful to have a supportive professor because it allows a safe space within the classroom to talk about our personal experiences in connection to the content of the class. Despite Spain and Mexico having different cultural norms, my professor and I have been able to correlate our experiences within our gender. I feel comfortable being able to express my frustrations about what my life is like as a 21-year-old Chicana. This frustration has led me to choose this class to find an answer as to why my parents are as strict as they are with me, even though we are farther along in women’s progress. Based on the content taught in this class, Professor Pilar has helped me understand that adults grow up within different generations. Despite the progress, they will continue to see gender based on the lens through which they grew up to see as being normal. She has helped me accept that there is no way of changing my parents into becoming more flexible within my roles as a female. She also has helped me see how this is their form of showing the love and care they have for me. When she explained these important topics to me, our eyes filled with tears. She has helped me begin the healing process I have been searching for, and she knows how much this will help me in the long run because she too has experienced listening to this obstacle from her mothers perspective.