Rocío Pulido and Jesús Payán at LULAC of IL State Convention

The first day at LULAC of IL in Cicero was full of surprises. I learned about the history of the oldest Hispanic serving institute in the nation dating back to 1929. As I sat in the office of only one staff member, Blanca Vargas, I felt the presence of autonomy and definitely one-on-one mentorship. I knew that I would be in good hands because I would be working directly with the Deputy State Director of LULAC of IL.

However, as we go over the constitution and bylaws of LULAC, she throws a curve ball at me. Blanca mentions that the following day we are both going to present a financial literacy seminar to elementary parents in Spanish. My heart dropped! I was worried and anxious because of what was requested of me on the first day. I had less than 24 hours to prepare myself. It was crunch time again, as if it were finals week. And on top of that, she said we would be heading out to Navy Pier to attend a Chicago Public School college fair. The worriedness slowly began to fade away as she comforted me that she would be leading the seminar. It was amazing to know that I would be meeting motivated individuals that are down for the cause and ready for action. And that is exactly how it went the following day! I meet college representatives that came from all over the nation and connected with many young adults preparing for their own journey through college.

After that, Blanca and I worked together to organize the LULAC of IL State Convention that was held in the Instituto de Progreso in Little Village. It was a weeklong process of creating the agenda and making sure councils around Illinois were informed of the convention because elections for state positions were also going to take place. Also, I knew Rocio Pulido is a CAPS fellow working with LULAC in Aurora, IL. So, I contacted her, and was extremely excited to know that she will be attending the conference too.

When we saw each other at the conference, it brought back old (not that old) memories of when we were both undergraduates attending conferences that had transformed our lives and molded us both into the successful and social justice life-long learners that we are today. However, this time was different. We were the ones helping others reach their goals by organizing such conferences like the ones we attended.

I am looking forward to regrouping with Rocio at the National Convention in Salt Lake City, Utah., and continue transforming lives and being transformed. I hope to continue learning valuable things from Blanca, LULAC, and the community.