I’m the child of Cuban immigrants. I grew up mostly in Miami. Early in my life, I had the great fortune to meet a wonderful assistant principal at a junior high school in Miami, who introduced me to the recruiter from a really fancy boarding school. I got a scholarship to go to Phillips Academy in Andover, Massachusetts, and it kind of changed my life. It was the first time I was in a world that wasn’t mostly Latino. I went to undergrad at the University of Miami to study English and Politics and Public Affairs. I was a double major and wanted to go law school, changed my mind and didn’t know what to do.
I don’t really know how I decided I wanted to be a journalist, but I had no experience. So I applied to graduate school, came here to the University of Maryland and got a master’s degree. I got my first job at what was then the Miami Beach neighbors of the Miami Herald, and my first beat was South Beach. I left The Herald, spent the next 10 years at the Sunset Sentinel in Fort Lauderdale, and after about three years they sent me to Washington. I kept teaching part-time. Then in 2005, I came here permanently. I’ve been Associate Dean since 2015, and I become Dean on July 1.
When was your introduction to NAHJ?
I don’t remember. It was almost certainly when I was at The Herald. I was there for the first Unity Conference, which would have been ’94. I don’t remember, so you might have to look that up. I spoke at one of the conferences in Miami a few years back before COVID.
In your introductory experiences as a journalist, did you feel like you felt supported as a Latino reporter or see like a lot of representation for yourself?
At the Miami Herald, yes. At the Sun Sentinel, some. But when I came to Washington, it was almost none. I’m sure there were other Latino regional reporters or national reporters there. I know there were, but not a lot of us. But it’s there in academia, too. It’s there at the university level. There aren’t a lot of Latino associate deans. Actually, you know, we have a Latina Dean, so I will be the second one [at University of Maryland] — which is really a kind of a big deal, since there’s only about a dozen of us.
I’m sure you can speak on this, but I believe there are certainly things of value in that in bringing Latino voices to both journalism and academia.
No doubt. One of the best feelings I’ve had since I was announced is the next dean was when I was speaking to a class last week. One of the students raised her hand and she said, “I’m Latina. How does it feel to be an incoming Latino Dean?” When she said that, I was wondering if I smile or cry. Because you hope that students like her see it. I hope it means something for our students.