Meet Our Scholars
Hilary Cruz
Skyline College
Spanish Language and Literature
She/Her/Hers
Community College
Paul C . Phillips Scholarship
Hilary Cruz Mejia, a 19-year old Latinx immigrant from Puerto de Iztapa, Guatemala, a first-generation college student, and a queer poet, sometimes is unable to find meaning in logical language, though poetry with its rhythms and alliterations has been a healing process through her transition in the U.S. She came to the U.S. as a refugee with her sister on August 18, 2016, for the dream to get a higher education and live with her mother, who migrated to the U.S. when she was 6 years old. Growing up in an evangelical belief household, she discovered that her sexual orientation was not at all what her loved ones described her to be. She learned that choosing to be truly herself comes with a high cost, the process becomes challenging, and at some point, all she could wish was for it stop, but she did not go back because the arms wide-open energy went deeply rooted in her self-trust, which has allowed life to unfold, to be what it is, and embrace the emotional blocks, and find trust within herself. In order to maintain a connection with her ancestors, to free herself from all the guilt of choosing to be truly herself, to appreciate every sight of reality, to respect the legacy, and to allow her soul and the soul of the newcomers, she is aspiring to become a Spanish Literature Professor. Now, Hilary is working on her first poetry book, where she encourages her readers to find the guidance of self-transcendence in their lives, and to wear the colors of a pride soul.