“I was born and raised in Perú, and I was never conscious about it until I came to the United States. Everyone would ask, and some in a good way, and some in a bad way.

I’m more aware of it now, and I feel more connected to my identity. I’ve compared things to my past, and I realized how I’ve changed.

When I was back home, I was surrounded by Peruvian songs like Cumbia, but I never listened to them until I came here. My sister realized I don’t speak Spanish anymore when I’m dreaming, now I speak in English, and it surprised me. I mostly still speak Spanish all the time, and the language [barrier] was difficult for me when I came here. I could barely speak English, and it was hard.

I was really scared to go into higher education because I am a first-generation student, and I didn’t know what to do or where to go. I felt lost. My amazing mentors, like Kathy Tran-Peters and Michael Young, helped me navigate through all of it and motivated me to keep going and to graduate from Salt Lake Community College.

Now this is my first semester at the U, and I feel that I belong here. It’s my goal to be more involved in the Honors College and in the Crimson [Transfer Honors Society]. I want to make connections, friendships and build my community here. That’s what helps me to keep going.

I feel proud of myself, too. I couldn’t even speak when I started college, but now I can talk to people and put myself out there. I couldn’t even imagine myself doing that, but now even if I’m scared—I still do it.

I’m looking toward graduating with honors, then pursuing a Ph.D and becoming a therapist. Then maybe in the far future, I’ll go back to my home country and apply what I’ve learned. There are mental health issues in my country, but people try to solve them on their own. I wish it weren’t a stigma and that everyone knew that caring about it is a good thing. It changed my life.

Even though it’s been a few years, I feel like I’m still there. I feel like everything, the memories, my family and my experiences are all still back there.”

—Natalie Cabrera Mansilla, a junior studying psychology with a minor in educational psychology, from Lima, Perú.