Our very own Department of English Aluma, Prisca Dorcas, recently spoke at the University of Portland during their Diversity Dialogues event hosted by the universities Diversity and Inclusion program.
Prisca Dorcas, who received her Bachelor’s Degree in English from FIU in 2010, used the event as a platform to share her graduate school experience as a Latina in a predominantly white university.
During her discussion, she explained the sense of culture shock she experienced while attending Vanderbilt University. “I started to experience things that I had never experienced before, and it altered me drastically,” Dorcas said. “I began writing to heal from all these experiences of being in a (predominantly white institution).” That was when she created Latina Rebels, a now multi-platform account (Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, and Tumblr) that combines humor, Latinx culture, and activism to unveil the complexities of what it means to be Latinx today.
She went on to share with the audience personal stories of having panic attacks in social situations due to racism, her relationships with white men and the pressure to get married she felt growing up.
The Beacon, the University of Portlands’ news site, reported that at the beginning of her presentation, Dorcas emphasized that her experiences do not necessarily reflect those of all members of the Latinx community. But many audience members said they did relate to Dorcas’ stories.
Read The Beacon’s full story to learn more about our inspiring Alumna.
