Tag Archives: Student

Cultural Crossroads: Andrea Loredo’s Spanglish Odyssey

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Andrea Loredo is no stranger to Spanglish. After primarily spending the first four years of her life in San Luis de la Paz, Mexico, Andrea was forced to adjust quickly and often between her native language, Spanish, and English, since her father had just moved his family to America full time.

“Our whole lives we had someone helping us with the few things that were in English, but now our whole lives were in English … Some days it’s Spanish. Others it’s English, but most of the time, it’s Spanglish.” This shift in language perfectly mirrored her evolving multicultural identity, where Spanglish became a natural means of communication, reflecting her blended heritage.

Unfortunately, this realization didn’t make things any easier. With the weight of two cultures on her shoulders, Andrea was forced to figure out who she wanted to be. From the moment she stepped into the American school system, she wanted to fit in with the rest of the kids. “I wanted to dress like them and listen to the same music that they would listen to, but deep down I knew I wasn’t like them, and my parents made sure I knew that too,” she said. Whether it be that Andrea was “too Mexican” for her American friends, or “too white-washed” for her Mexican family, she felt that she was at a cultural crossroads and didn’t know which way to turn.

Given that her interests lied on both sides of the border, Andrea found that her likes and dislikes were a blend of both cultures. When it came to music, some days she resonated with pop mixed with reggaeton, others it was banda or bachata. Slowly, she was finding her footing in the world. “The food I like, the clothes I wear, the music I listen to and even the way I talk became a window into my life that showed just how much these two cultures had influenced me.”

As Andrea got older, she started to realize that changing who she was just wasn’t in the cards. “I learned that both of these very different cultures had become a big part of who I am as a person and that I couldn’t live without either side, nor would I want to.” Since this revelation, Andrea has only one thing in mind for the future, and it isn’t a fancy job title or a string of zeroes in her bank account, but happiness. “It was the realization that just because I work for the New York Times, doesn’t mean I’m going to be happy. Maybe I’m making a good amount of money, but that doesn’t mean I’m going to be happy … I learned that I just rather be content and happy with what I have.”

Meet A&M Student, Tommie Ringo

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 Tommie Ringo, a junior here at Texas A&M University – Texarkana, is a Psychology major with a minor in Sociology. Originally from the small town of Pineland, Texas, he was encouraged by a friend who was looking into coming to A&M. Ringo was initially undecided on where to go to college, but his friend and the A&M campus life made it an easy pick. He mentioned in an interview that he admires our campus and appreciates how clean and well kept the buildings and the grounds are. Ringo has had a wonderful time since starting college at A&M. However, this semester has been particularly challenging for Ringo.

   Ringo looked forward to returning to campus for the Fall semester after working hard all summer. He anticipated getting back into the rhythm of day-to-day life before the COVID-19 outbreak, however, he is yet to see that happen. Due to Coronavirus, he says that the atmosphere is “A bit different than usual. A lot has changed in the UC.” The university looks vastly different without its many students heading to and from their classes. Like Ringo, most students are now taking online or hybrid classes this semester.

     For Ringo, he mentioned that online classes can be a bit difficult for him. He would rather have all face-to-face classes, but says, “I understand the necessity for it…” With Ringo not being much of a fan of online classes, he has had to accept the impact COVID has made on the university concerning how classes are being held this semester. He is currently taking four classes, three of those being online and one face-to-face. It is the one face-to-face class with Dr. Murray that has made all the difference for Ringo.

      Ringo is taking Intro to Sociology with Assistant Professor of Sociology, Dr. Murray. Ringo is enjoying the class very much. He mentioned that Dr. Murray has done a great job of handling the class amongst the challenges that the pandemic presents. He also says that she has helped to create “a sense of normalcy in the classroom” which he appreciates. He says that the interactions with his peers and the hands-on learning in the classroom are the highlights of going to class. Currently, Ringo is taking each day as it comes, which is probably the best way to handle a time such as this. Once classes return to normal he plans to get back to campus and enjoy being around other like-minded students.

Walking in Non-Traditional Shoes

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The educational lifestyle of this post-traditional student has been unexpected, to say the least.

I remember telling my 15-year old son at the time, I was going back to college. His response was, “Mom, no offense, but I think you are too old for college.” I tried to explain to him older people go back to school all the time to complete an education.

After all, I had quit as a Sophomore and then went back at 24 to take two more semesters. This was not a huge or noticeable age difference at the time.

My son was right, going back to school at 49 was quite a different challenge. Back in the day, I was used to turning in a hand-written paper, literally, in paper form. Not so anymore.  I had to teach myself the basics of Word, and stayed up many nights crying in frustration because I could not get Word to understand the formatting of APA.

In my first FTF (face-to-face) class, I noticed there was another lady there close to my age, we sat together and talked about class, and about our children, which made it less anxious for me. She ended up taking 15 hours that semester and graduated.

In my next FTF class, I was the oldest.  When we were standing in line to get a research topic from the professor, about three young gentlemen students said to me, “Go ahead, ma’am.”

Ma’am?  That was confirmation, despite their efforts to be kind. I recall a couple of events I attended where I pulled out my student ID and was told to “Go ahead….oh, you’re a student?” I also remember a class where the professor was trying to show us a YouTube video and an ad for soap popped up of a 30-something woman in the shower. The young professor said, “Oh I’m sorry, I’m sure the last thing you wanted to see was an old lady taking a shower!”

In my Public Speaking class, I had chosen to write a press release about the UT sniper in 1966. From the distant looks and the yawning, I realized I needed to consider my younger audience. So, my next speech was about “college hazing”, in which the audience seemed quite interested. So, in presentations, I’ve learned to “young-down”.

I recently asked a professor in class why book titles are no longer underlined. He replied, “Awhile back, typewriters had to use underlines because they were unable to italicize.” Embarrassed, I realized I had just publicly dated myself back to the era of typewriters.

I am very excited, though, because my son will be graduating from high school this same year I graduate from college. I am quite sure he will be relieved I will be done when he starts college this fall!

If there happens to be a “traditional” student reading this, my best advice is not to quit college, finish while you are still young.

Field to Fashion

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Have you ever wondered what it would be like to live the life of a model? To walk down a runway with all eyes on you? Wearing amazing clothes, and your hair and makeup styled to perfection by a professional artist?

Sophomore Julianna Summerlin, a Mass Communication Major from our campus, gives us the inside scoop. However, her story is much bigger than just posing for the camera. She juggles school, modeling, and plays for our women’s soccer team. Activities that certainly take some time management. Both her soccer and modeling stories began long before she graduated from North Hills Preparatory in Dallas, TX.

Julianna began playing soccer at age four. Not surprising, considering her four siblings also played. The first four years were purely recreational, but second grade started to get competitive leading her to college ball. She emphasized the transition by saying “I was playing with girls and coaches I didn’t know, doing drills I had never seen before, making me the most exhausted I had ever been in my young life.”

She began her modeling career in the sixth grade. She has always been on the taller side, and decided to pursue her interest after being persuaded by a friend. She was signed to The Campbell Agency at the age of twelve years old. With a strict 5’8”-5’10” height requirement, and limiting sizes 0-4, this narrows down the number of women that can even begin their process with the agency.

She describes her first impression of modeling as being very intense, but having a sense of “extreme amazement.” She said, “At twelve I was an awkward, gangly, stinky, five foot seven tomboy… and barely spoke.” She used the first few years as opportunity to shed her shy personality, and work towards building up to the confidence level she possesses. Modeling has given her the opportunity to network with “models who grace the covers of “People Magazine” and the Victoria Secret Runway, to makeup artists who create highly successful charity organizations in their free time.” People most young women only dream of interacting with.

Both modeling and soccer require her to maintain a healthy lifestyle, physically and mentally. The overwhelming stereotype that models don’t eat is false. “My agency loves me, they care about me, they want me to be healthy. No one has ever encouraged me to stop eating or hurt my health in any way during my eight years as a model.” The agency is big on girls reaching their body goals in a healthy fashion. She aims for a diet filled with protein and veggies, and an exercise program based off of intense circuits to keep her in shape year round.

However, the older she gets, the more competitive it is with both activities. “Modeling consistently causes you to compare yourself to others; what your measurements are, how many pictures are in your portfolio, how many agencies you are signed to, how big your social media following is.” With soccer it is a lot of comparing times and how much better someone else is at winning the ball. Even though it can be hard to not take these criticisms personally, she said “There are days I may feel a little defeated after a hard practice and an email saying I didn’t get that runway show I interviewed for, but I just have to remember it’s not the end of the world.”

To sum it all up, Julianna stressed how blessed she is for both. With soccer being part of her life for as long as she can remember, it is impossible for her to imagine life without it. As far as modeling goes, she says “I am sure I would have maintained my shy and awkward ways if it were not for modeling– it really pushed me out of my shell.” Juggling school, modeling, and soccer, she has without a doubt become a much stronger person.

Student by Day, Worker by Night

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Alyssa Bertrand

What is free time? What does time to relax actually feel like? For many, this is time to have fun or be able to just sit around the house and not really worry about anything. To an average college student, one may be able to experience this thing called free time. They can go out when they do not have class or have to worry about how they will study for a class. Being a full-time student and a full-time worker, is a different story.

Full time student means someone is taking 15-24 hours in one semester. A full-time worker is working 35 plus hours a week. With these times joined, time is very limited. Priorities is the key word. People have to make a list and know what MUST come first. To the people who are struggling, do not stress too hard.

Many students are also full-time workers and it is hard. It puts everything to the test. Your strengths and your weakness. What is more important to yourself as well as the other people around you. Free time is a rare gift that one gets to experience. This gift is something that is cherished dearly. Between work and school, the free time one gets is actually spent with a date with their bed. It is very exhausted when you go from work to school or from school to work.

Do not think that working and going to school is a bad thing or even the worst thing that could happen but it is actually a privilege. Even though the stress level increases daily, or not having much time to have fun and relax, but it shows the drive in someone. The most important part is to be motivated. The motivation that gives you the extra push is what one needs to look at all the time. Whether it is your past, the current struggle, or family that pushes you to succeed.

Take the no time as a good insight of what the future holds. If you are working and going to school, it means you are trying to make oneself better. The future is bright. Take it a roll with it. It will all pay off when the goal is reached.