Growing up in the Bronx as a first-generation college student, I rarely saw my community reflected in the history I learned in school. Studying anthropology and history showed me that our stories were always there, just often overlooked. I became a teacher so students could see themselves in the narratives we study and understand that their voices, experiences, and communities are part of the history shaping our world.

One of my most memorable experiences was leading students on a study abroad program in the Dominican Republic. Many had never traveled outside New York City. During a visit to an under-resourced migrant community once built for sugarcane laborers, students saw firsthand how history and inequality still shape everyday life. Their reflections afterward were profound, as many said they understood realities they could never grasp from reading or watching from afar.

I would create a student pathway program connecting local environmental stewardship in New York City with sustainability work in the Caribbean. Students would begin with urban ecology projects in their own neighborhoods and build toward study abroad experiences focused on environmental learning. By exploring how history, race, and climate shape communities, the program would show students how caring for the environment is also about social justice and community.