Celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month with Judith Mendoza
September 26, 2024 —During Hispanic Heritage Month, Kettering College celebrates the contributions Hispanics have made to the world in countless ways. We also want to hear stories from people who work or attend college here to highlight the importance of this month.
Judith Mendoza is the campus chaplain and residence hall director at Kettering College. She works closely with our students to help them grow spiritually, personally, and professionally. She is of Mexican descent, and we asked her to share her story with us to celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month.
Question: What is your family’s country of origin like?
“My family is from Mexico—my mom was born in Mexico City and moved to a small pueblo (town) in Michoacan when she was nine. She lived there until she was 16 when she immigrated to Oregon. My father was born in Puebla but moved to Oaxaca when he was 12 and lived there until he moved to Oregon when he was twenty.
My parents found each other in Oregon, fell in love, and found God in a different church than the one they’d grown up in. My siblings and I joke that we grew up with more Protestant traditions than Mexican traditions as a lot of those stem from Catholicism and the Spanish conquistadores.”
Question: What might people misunderstand about the Hispanic heritage?
“I think people don’t understand how important family is in our Hispanic community. I’m 31 years old and still talk through major life decisions with my parents. When I visit Oregon, my parents will call me if I’m not home by 10 p.m. It’s not really a curfew, but they worry until I’m back under their roof. It’s kind of funny how involved they are, but that’s just how it is.
Both of them and I have had to learn how to navigate our roles in our relationship because parents are heavily involved in their children’s lives in Mexico, even when they’re grown adults. Friends my age don’t always understand that relationship and the respect that’s part of it, but I know that any Hispanic person will get it. We never stop being their child, but boundaries are important and they’re learning what those are and how to respect them.”
Question: What do you love about your heritage?
“I love the community we have; I know I can walk up to any Hispanic person and there’s an unspoken bond between us. We’re not biologically family, but there’s an automatic understanding that we have roots that connect us. When I first moved to Ohio, I made it a mission to find a Spanish-speaking church to meet people who could help me get set up with the basics—a mechanic and a taco hook-up.
Aside from the community, we have amazing food. Mexicans can make 20 dishes with the same three ingredients, and I love every single one of them. But then you travel south a little more and Guatemala can make an additional 20 dishes with those ingredients and the list goes on and on. I may not know how to dance any traditional dances, but I can cook dishes that my grandma and great grandma passed down and feel connected to Mexico in that way.”
Question: Why do you think Hispanic Heritage Month is important?
“There’s been a lot of misconceptions of who Hispanics are, so it’s important to take the time to educate ourselves. There’s been a lot of contributions that Hispanic people have contributed to our society and our way of life. In some cases, history has forgotten them because they were outsiders. Having some time in schools and at work to dedicate ourselves to learning about them is a good thing.
Another reason for that special time set aside is that it allows us to learn what the current challenges the Hispanic community faces. It validates our respective Hispanic experiences here in the United States.
For us in the community, it’s also a chance to reflect, celebrate our wins, and think about how we can improve. One area that I am passionate about is the color bias within the community. I am privileged as a white Mexican woman and try to do my part to educate my family about the unconscious color bias that’s deeply embedded in our Hispanic community. The cycle can end with us if we’re aware of areas of improvement. Additionally, as someone currently working in higher education, I celebrate the jump we’ve made in education. When I graduated in 2016, only 15% of Hispanic adults had graduated with a bachelor’s or higher degree. In 2022, the number went up to 19.1% and that’s a huge win!”
Question: Is there anything else you’d like to add?
“Mexico elected their first female president in this last election, and she gets sworn in next month! They’ve also recently built a new train line that you can take to all major Mayan ruins, and I’m in the process of planning a trip with my family to ride it in March. I’m also personally working on getting dual citizenship so I can buy my grandma’s house at the end of the year.
My parents have a new home in Oaxaca, but Michoacán, where my mom’s from, is my favorite. Plus, there’s a Costco just 20 minutes from my grandma’s house, and I’m a big fan of Costco! I remember my mom once telling me I wasn’t as Mexican as her because I didn’t have my Mexican citizenship, but hopefully in a few months, she’ll be wrong about that.”
Thanks so much to Judith Mendoza for sharing her story with us. We celebrate all our students, faculty, and staff who identify as Hispanic, and we’re grateful you’re at Kettering College.
(Photos Courtesy of Judith Mendoza)
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