After four days of intense and fruitful workshops and conversations with faculty fellows at my first ever American Association of Hispanics in Higher Education (AAHHE) conference, I walked out of the hotel doors, onto the shuttle and into the unknown of a pandemic that was beginning to cripple the U.S. This new period of “social distance” is a stark contrast to the space of encuentro provided by the conference, of being together with other mostly first-generation Latinx scholars who were going through similar things at their institutions or in their life journeys. We heard one another’s stories, built trust and planted the seeds of friendship. I am convinced that friendship is one of the things that sustains us in the academy. As feminists of color have written before me, friendship is about nurturing, transparency, solidarity and support. It’s about having each other’s back. It is also about risk, challenge, difference and negotiations. Friendships can be political movidas, to borrow a term from Chicana feminists.

Friendship has always been important to me. My mother says I have always been bien amiguero. It is true. Friends I made in middle school, high school and college continue to nurture me. Similarly, friendships forged in academia have been life affirming. For example, the amistades I made in graduate school, through professional organizations like the National Association for Chicana and Chicano Studies and the Association for Jotería Arts, Activism and Scholarship, and in the institutions where I have taught, have been instrumental in my growth as a scholar, an artist and a person.

At AHHEE, familiar faces brought a sense of comfort to me in a space that was new to me, especially as jotería, as a Queer person. I also made new connections: I’ll be trading classroom Zoom appearances with my AAHHE roommate. Throughout the weekend, I witnessed the mentorship and friendship that is part of AAHHE as folks shared stories of how they first met there, and how their mentorship and friendship continues. I can see why Raquel, another cohort member and new friend, says that “the community built during the fellowship goes beyond the time spent together at the conference.”

While there were highs and lows, moments of learning and growth for everyone, AAHHE served as a reminder of the value of connections, of being able to share our stories and research, and to be a resource to each other. I know that seeds of collaboration and peer mentorship have been sown, and we will continue to grow together as colegas and for some of us, as friends. Some of us created a group called the Fellows Writing Group and have been meeting weekly on Zoom to write together, check in, share resources and provide support to each other. These friendships, especially during this health crisis, will be lifesaving. I am thankful to AAHHE for planting the semilla.