I was raised in northeast Los Angeles, in the vibrant working class Latin@ town El Sereno. I am a first-generation college student who stepped onto the UCI campus with great ambitions. Coming to UC Irvine was a big change in my life, since I am the first daughter in my family to move away to college. Living in the dorms was a new experience and I was one of the very few Latinas in the entire building. I remember at first feeling out of place and doubting whether I belonged at UCI.
I learned quickly that I needed to find my place in college and thankfully a friend introduced me to the Pan American Latin@ Society (PALS), which became my family for the next two years of college. PALS made me feel connected to UCI because this organization allowed me to grow as a person as well as to meet new friends. Through my experiences in PALS, I was able to continue my involvement in other organizations and programs that have impacted my college experience.
Moreover, I found ways to grow consciously and to be inspired by new knowledge about my community and about myself. As a psychology major, I did not feel like anything I learned was reflective of my life, my family, and the community that I am a part of. I feel lucky to have been able to major in Chican@/Latin@ Studies, which has connected me to my roots and has allowed me to recognize and cultivate honor in my culture’s stories and struggles. Together, my majors have helped shaped my values and strengthened my passion towards Chican@/Latin@ mental health.
As a result of learning more about myself and my roots, I was intrigued to find myself as a Chicana at UCI, to embrace the mujer inside of me. One particular space where I was able to celebrate and explore my identity was through the organization, Feminine Leaders in Outreach for La Raza (FLOR), which later became Phi Lambda Rho, a Chicana/Latina based sorority. One of my biggest accomplishments at UCI has been the establishment of this organization on campus. Phi Lambda Rho strives towards helping our fellow Latina peers, as well as future Latina students navigate college successfully. As students, we support one another in reaching our academic and professional goals by utilizing the resources we have in college, and by encouraging one another in our pursuits of higher education. This organization is very special to me because we envisioned a space for Latinas on this campus to be proud of their culture, to feel understood, and most importantly to feel supported.
I will be starting my last year at UCI this fall and it is definitely a bittersweet feeling. I am excited to move forward, but I am sad to leave, as UCI is a place that has allowed me to discover myself, surprisingly, as a woman of color. I am thankful for the people that I had the opportunity to meet here at UCI and for the knowledge that I am privileged to have learned.
Denise Leon
Psychology | Chicano/Latino Studies
Phi Lambda Rho, Inc. President 2012-2013
Class of 2013