Written by: Joseph Nocua, Caminos al Futuro 2019
Buenos días. My name is Joseph Nocua and I am from San Juan, Puerto Rico. At the beginning of this program, I was given the option of choosing any day I wanted to do my blog post, so I chose July 16th since it’s my father’s birthday (Happy Birthday, Dad)! Today was an exciting day: we woke up at 7 in the morning and went to Pelham Commons at 7:30 to grab breakfast. Afterward, we hopped on the Vernon Express (VEX) at 8:15 to get to Monroe Hall before 9. We had some extra time so we decided to also grab some coffee to start the day fully energized. Finally, we met with Trey and Andrea in the classroom and departed to our destination.
The plan was to go to the National Museum of American History and for that to happen, we had to take the Foggy Bottom/GWU Metro. At around 9:20 we arrived at the museum and started our search for exhibits featuring Latino figures in US history. Within the first 5 minutes, we had already seen over 45 Latino figures in the museum, and that was only on the first floor. Later, after having explored all 4 floors of the place, we rendezvoused on the second floor near the entrance. After coming back from the museum we had a workshop/talk about financial aid and learned about new ways to be able to afford college.
I arrived at this program with a very clear path of what I wanted to do in the near future in college. It turns out that my path was not as clear as I thought. I do know that I want to study biology, but I think a minor in public health might not be my thing. We had a speaker come talk to us about the public health field, and it made me realize that I am probably not made for that field. Meanwhile, I also have had the chance to spend some time around people with the ability to speak more than two languages, and it made me understand that I want to learn languages as a hobby during my time in college. This program has changed my perspective on what are the things I enjoy and it helped me discover a potential new hobby.
Also during this trip, I got the chance to spend most of my Monday in the Science and Engineering Hall, which made me decide that I want to apply to GWU because I fell in love with the installations. I saw firsthand all the opportunities students have in the field of biology and ecology, and I came out those doors screaming to my peers that I was going to apply here because the place was amazing and so were the people in it.
Finally, these last two weeks have been a chance to meditate about my future, my ideals, and most importantly, myself. These two weeks have allowed me to determine what I want to do in the future, and that is that no matter in which field I am, I have a commitment to help my community.
Josephn Nocua is a Caminos al Futuro 2019 scholar. Joseph’s views are his own and not necessarily reflective of the Cisneros Institute.