91制片厂

"In Our Own Voices" is a photo and story gallery celebrating听diversity and the voices that make the听听community a wonderful place to live, learn and grow.听Their stories are our story鈥攁nd we are proud to tell it. Angelina Gillispie '20, '21G, a graduate of the who is now pursuing a , shares her story below.

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"I will always embolden my students to unapologetically embrace and be proud of their kinks, curls, and ancestral histories."

I am a proud African American, Lebanese, Italian, French woman. As a young woman who has grown to embrace her mixed heritage, my curls are鈥攁nd always will be鈥攐n full display. I have had opportunities to become empowered by the African and Arabic histories that are a part of my story during my classes and experiences at 91制片厂 Manchester, an institution that values and fosters cultural awareness. I have been able to connect with the stories of my multiple heritages and feel nothing but love and pride about the intricacies of my existence.

Being born into a predominantly white America as a multiracial young girl, I remember feeling that I never fully belonged to any of the rich worlds and cultures into which I was born. Although I could not quite make sense of it then, I was subject to many insensitive comments and questions, such as, 鈥淲hat are you?鈥� and 鈥淐an I touch your hair?鈥� Even as a young girl, feeling lost and otherized, I wanted nothing more than to suppress my natural cacophony of curls. For numerous years, I destroyed and seared my bountiful curls to try to conform, so I would no longer be gawked at as if I were lesser than anyone else. Now, as a proud multiracial young woman, I aspire to become an English or English language learner teacher in a diverse community such as Manchester, where many underrepresented youth are struggling to come to terms with their own identities. Regardless of where I end up, I will always embolden my students to unapologetically embrace and be proud of their kinks, curls, and ancestral histories.