Maria Monsserat De La Cruz Mora
Latin American Studies Center -
University of Florida
Campus Engagement:
NaviGators:
2022-2023 has been my first year with NaviGators, an on-campus organization whose mission is to help international students find themselves at the University of Florida through current students as their mentors. This is a mentor-mentee program that is so beneficial and rewarding. For this academic school year, I was paired with a student from Ecuador, however, I also integrated with other group participants within our group.
CHISPAS:
The Coalition of Hispanics Integrating Spanish Speakers through Advocacy and Service
The work I do through CHISPAS is very important to me because I firsthand have lived through the obstacles of navigating through PWI and being first-generation. The highlight of my training with CHISPAS has been leading a workshop to help mixed-status individuals living in Alachua County who would like to pursue higher education have more information in navigating resources that often are concentrated in Gainesville and not scattered among the rural communities. My team is thrilled to be able to start the conversation to reach more individuals and not just stop at education workshops but continue with financial literacy workshops and know your rights.
MASA:
Mexican-American Student Association
I have been involved in MASA since I transferred to the University of Florida. I began my time as a member and slowly became the Community Director. I have been a part of many projects that have been with the goal of bridging communities and helping our campus community as a whole.
In the fall I spear-headed our annual "Noche de Loteria" event, where we ended up raising funds for the "Si se Puede scholarship", which was meant to help alleviate the financial burden for a student of mixed documentation status experiences. This was done by hosting a game night at Loteria, otherwise known as Mexican bingo.
Additionally, as a whole body, we participate in being able to events that center around important topics that affect our community here in the US., and in Mexico. As well as cultural showcases where we can share our culture with other individuals and have fun social events where we can collaborate with other diverse organizations on campus.
