Category: Themes

Ana Hernandez, who was born and raised a San Diego native, speaks about her experience with the Barrio Logan College Institute (BLCI), and how the program has profoundly impacted her and shaped her life in many ways. She went to high school in San Diego, and shares with us the different encounters she has faced as a current college student who decided to stay in her hometown. This interview covers the different obstacles Ana faced during her transition from high school to college, the most rewarding experiences she’s had, how she feels BLCI helped prepare her for college, as well as what she feels the BLCI can do to go above and beyond to continue to improve the program for future students. The interviewer met Ana through one of the instructors at BLCI who stated her opinion would be great since she had been in the program since the fourth grade. The interview was conducted at BLCI. The interviewer wanted to interview Ana because they wanted to hear her perspective on how her college experience was, since she was able to be a part of such a wonderful program like the BLCI. The interviewer is Sonia Valadez, a 4th year Political Science and Ethnic Studies major student at UCSD who is also a first generation college student who grew up in Fresno, CA. Sonia felt deeply connected to the interviewee and the Barrio Logan community, which reminded her of her roots and her community that is predominantly Hispanic with higher crime rates and low income households. Sonia wanted the interviewee’s perspective on her college experience and how BLCI has helped her as the interviewer also faced much hardship trying to attend college without any support from the community. The interviewer is deeply engaged and passionate about working with BLCI and interviewing their alum to hear about what they’re up to now, their experiences, and how they can better the program.