Edith Gonzalez
M.Ed. Student in Marriage and Family Counseling
When I hear the word diversity, I think multicultural. It means having different views, values, perspectives, and beliefs and can mean many things including gender, race, age, location, and socioeconomic status. I most strongly identify as a first-generation, Mexican American student as I was the first one in my family to attend college. I recognize that there is no universal way to celebrate something or do something, and I find it important for everyone to have awareness.
Now that I am at William and Mary, I am able to reflect upon my experiences from the past and put those to use in my future work with multicultural families. Being a minority in classes has actually helped me grow and reflect on my individuality - I recognize my diversity, and it allows me to provide differing viewpoints in class discussions. Understanding my diversity and privileges, I became passionate about immigrant families. If I continue with doctoral work in the future, I would like to explore some of the much needed literature on mixed-status families (where at least one member is undocumented) to better support those families.
