On Sept. 28, 2020 Elizabethtown College’s Office of Diversity and Inclusion hosted a presentation given by Carlos Ojeda Jr. He was born in New Jersey, but in his childhood moved to Reading, Pa. During his presentation of his story, he explained over the webinar via Zoom he was placed in a bilingual classroom without being asked if he was bilingual. “It’s up to you to rip those labels off. You define you and only you, not anyone else,” he said.
During school he was often labeled as “shy” or “unmotivated,” when really he was struggling from a hearing impairment. He said, “Sometimes all it takes is one person to look and say, ‘you alright,’ or say something nice and reach out. We are a community, a family and need to look out for each other.”
Ojeda talked about how he found his voice and stopped being silent about causes about which he is passionate. Over time he learned how to speak for people who can’t. First, though, he said, “I needed to learn about others to learn about myself.”
To understand other cultures and diverse groups, he spent a lot of time immersing himself in every organization he could become a part of to learn. “In order to be inclusive, you got to be in,” Ojeda said.
He would spend a lot of time seeing different cultures and learning the history behind how it came to be the way it is. To be fully inclusive, he mentioned an individual has to not only explore other cultures, but bring diverse groups into his community to learn about his culture.
Senior Veronica Ruiz moderated the webinar. She is a Mosaic Scholar, a student advocate for diversity on campus. The opportunity to help out with this event was sent out and recommended to her. She decided to do it.
Leading up to the virtual event, she helped with the preparation of getting questions ready to keep the audience engaged and the dialogue going. Having the event virtual had benefits, like less time setting up because there was no lighting or microphones to worry about. “[Virtually] brings more attention to the speaker because there are less distractions in the audience,” Ruiz said.
To her it’s important that people speak their thoughts because she has seen what can happen if nothing is done. She had said via Zoom, “Each person has a voice and a right to say what’s on their mind, but finding your voice doesn’t happen overnight.”
People change and so does the world, so voices must grow with the world too. “Your voice deserves to be heard. Even if you are silent, it makes an impact. Silence can be good, but not always depending on your intended message,”she said.
From Ojeda’s message, Ruiz hopes the attendees receive “more awareness of struggles minorities face and help them build support systems. Minorities doesn’t just refer to race, but even people with learning disabilities that are not being heard.”
For her, the presentation gave her the opportunity to reflect upon the true importance her voice has and to continue to inspire future generations to step out of their comfort zone to find their voice as well.
“Knowledge is my superpower that people try to take away from me by saying you won’t be able to do this or can’t do that, but fuels the fire and sparks the passion to speak up. Passion overpowers your doubts,” Ruiz said.
Even though it wasn’t in person, Ruiz was able to feel Ojeda’s impact and the passion in his heart across the screen. She feels like now is the time for younger generations to hear his message and learn how to stand up for what is right.
Ojeda said over the Zoom webinar, “The world will tell you that you can’t, you won’t do this or that, but you have to pass those barriers and that’s how change happens. Our voices can drown out any oppression, knock down any barrier; all we need to do is be heard.”
