“You are the first person I’ve met from Wyoming!” has been the most common response I receive when asked where I am from. The state’s 307 area code may brand my roots superficially, yet where I call home transcends these three digits.
One of my earliest memories is jumping out of my car seat and into the fresh pine-infused air after a winding, ear-popping, and often queasy drive up to the Rocky Mountains. Colorado: the first backyard I explored and called home. When my family decided to move from Colorado to Wyoming, my new backyard became expansive plains where the sun painted the grasslands a deep gold as far as I could see.
As I grew older, home became more complex than just a terrain I could play in. People’s temporary presence, evolving realities of the world, and labels placed onto my identity seeded internal conflict within me, fueling a desire to explore what home was and could be for me.
Continuing the legacy of fearless exploration I inherited from my Mexican immigrant family, I pursued higher education in Massachusetts, crossed the Atlantic to uncover part of my historical identity in Spain, and chose the Andean Equator as a fresh stage to explore who I could become. While in these corners of the world, I gained clarity on what makes a place dear to me: community. Community through others genuinely and openly embracing me into their lives, sharing their world with me, and showcasing the love they have for their home through overt and subliminal activism.
With an innate desire to lead a life of creating personal and systematic impact, the homes I created fortified the notion of giving back to the communities I love. With extensive family and memories in Colorado, I felt drawn to come back to the first place I called home. As an Intern at El Pomar Foundation, I was eager to be part of an organization that supports initiatives aiding in the enhancement of a diverse community I knew intimately and wanted to explore further. Returning as a full-time Program Associate in 2024, I am guided by a passion to support initiatives that will fortify a safe, inclusive, and resilient Colorado community people can call home.
