Coming of Age through Grassroots Organizing
Hector Acevedo
As a young person my identity is constantly challenged...
As a young person my identity is constantly challenged. Those who have had an impact in my life have left a piece of their identity in my heart and they will live on through me. Through the Posse Foundation I was able to attend Hamilton College. Hamilton gave me the opportunity to learn how to write, speak, analyze and clearly express my self.
I have become a scholar.
Upon my return from my first semester of college I felt alienated from those I had left. I had taken my first steps to becoming a scholar while those in the “hood” had remained stagnant. They had maintained the same “hood” mentality that has kept them poor and oppressed. I felt out of place in my own environment.
I am grateful for my experience at Hamilton and the amazing education I received. My four years at Hamilton allowed me to see the academic opportunities that men and women of color are failing to experience.
Life is so much more than an exam or a twenty-page research paper; life is about helping people and making a difference.
As Americans we are more worried about climbing that corporate ladder and that six figure salary however, “All the money in the world don’t make it painless”. The way we view success has to change in order to survive because sitting in a cubicle working like a machine and being apart of the cycle of oppression is not success.
I will never forget about my humble beginnings or the people I have come across.
