Luz Matamoros – Blog Podcaster
Luz Matamoros is a SUNY Oneonta student, class of 2028, majoring in Political Science. Born in the United States to Mexican parents, Luz is deeply passionate about spreading the importance of diversity. She is committed to making a meaningful contribution to the understanding of multiculturalism. She values respect of different perspectives. Luz aims to raise awareness about cultural heritage and languages, striving to create an inclusive environment where everyone feels valued.
Melanyn Vargas – Blog Translator & Editor
Melanyn is a student at SUNY Oneonta, class of 2028, majoring in Early Childhood Education (B-6) with a concentration in Spanish. She was born and raised in the Dominican Republic and came to the United States when she was only ten. Since then, she has become a university student who has a passion for teaching. She hopes to inspire her students to be a better version of themselves and appreciate their heritage.
Yasiris Hernandez- Content Translator
Yasiris is a student at SUNY Oneonta who graduated in May 2024 with a major in Adolescent Education. She was born and raised in the Dominican Republic. She spends time at SUNY Oneonta learning about other people’s cultures and traditions to be more mindful and respectful towards others. As a future educator, she would like to help students immerse themselves in different cultures to raise awareness of them so that students learn to appreciate diversity and respect other people’s perspective.
Taylor Wall – Blog Editor
Taylor is a student at SUNY Oneonta who graduated in December 2024 with a major in Psychology, and will graduate in May of 2025 with a Masters in K-12 School Counseling. She comes from a French and Italian background, in which half of her family resides in Canada. She strives to become more knowledgeable of the cultures that she is tied to through furthering her education on heritage and languages. In high school, Taylor was part of her school’s Spanish Honor’s Society, in which she showed great dedication to learning about different cultures and languages.
Emily Ortiz – Content Creator/Translator
Emily is an Exercise science major with a concentration in Pre-PA at SUNY Oneonta and expects to graduate in 2025.
Shannon Dunne – Content Translator
Shannon is majoring in Adolescent Education with a concentration in Spanish at SUNY Oneonta, she expects to graduate in 2024. She is from Kings Park, NY, a small town on Long Island. She wants to be a teacher in the future so she can help more children become bilingual in the United States.
Jocelyn Perez – Content Translator
Jocelyn is dual majoring in Early Childhood/Childhood Education and Spanish at SUNY Oneonta and expects to graduate in 2024. She’s from Bedford Hills, which is located an hour outside of NYC. Although she was born in New York, her parents are both immigrants from Mexico, so working on this project is valuable to her as she grew up bilingual.
Kadidja el-Hadji – Blog Editor
Kadidja is a student at SUNY Oneonta who expects to graduate in 2024. She comes from a French background, and her story begins in Togo, where she found herself struggling to find her voice in her education. Flash forward to the present and she has found herself excelling in her education and her love of languages. Kadidja earned an outstanding award in her English Capstone in high school and served as a community ambassador for her internship “Learn, Eat, Grow”. She has shown great dedication, excitement, and patience when it comes to learning languages, and she continues to try to broaden her knowledge of international studies while continuing to stay in touch with her French heritage.
Nanlyett Yulfo Matos – Blog Editor
Nanlyett is a student at SUNY Oneonta who graduated in 2021. She is a first generation immigrant who was born and raised in Puerto Rico. She spends much of her time at SUNY Oneonta dedicating herself to continuing knowledge about her bilingualism and her heritage.
Dr. Maria Montoya – Blog Supervisor
Dr. M.C. Montoya has been residing in the U.S. since 1993. She studied English as a second language at Bergen Community College, completed her Master’s degree from the Teacher’s College Columbia University, and graduated with her Doctoral degree in Hispanic Linguistics from the University of Albany in 2011. She has been teaching at SUNY Oneonta since 2000. Professor Montoya is the author of the book that started this project: “Mi vida en los Estados Unidos, jovenes de herencia hispanohablante escriben sus experiencias,” and has won two awards – most inspirational non-fiction (first place), and best autobiography (second place) from Latino Literacy Now’s International Latino Book Award.