In her memoir, Janet Mock writes, “Being exceptional isn’t revolutionary, it’s lonely.” I am one of two Ph.D. students of color in the Education Policy division at the University of Pennsylvania. There are also no professors of color. Although I am surrounded by world-renowned scholars at the University of Pennsylvania, I have yet to find someone who shares and understands my background. Similarly, when I attended my first academic conference, there were about 300 participants, but there were no Latinx participants. However, many of the waiters and waitresses were Latinx. As a quantitative Latina researcher, these are reoccurring experiences.

When I attended the American Association of Hispanics in Higher Education (AAHHE) Conference, I felt like I belonged for the first time in my graduate career. I was surrounded by hundreds of Latino scholars, many of whom share my background and understand the challenges I face as a woman of color. My fellow AAHHE graduate fellows quickly became family. I was inspired by their triumphs and successes. Attending AAHHE was reaffirming in multiple ways. The featured speakers, Jose Hernandez and Eloy Ortiz Oakley, spoke about their humble beginnings and perseverance. Their stories were the fuel and motivation I needed to finish the year strong.

Over the course of four days, I attended professional development sessions that helped me improve not only my curriculum vitae and cover letter, but also the way I present myself. My AAHHE faculty mentor, Sanjuana Carrillo Rodriguez, and other AAHHE members were helpful and supportive in guiding me through upcoming job interviews. Like many of us (Latinx), I had unknowingly been selling myself short.

I was born and raised in Commerce, California, a small Latinx community in Southeast Los Angeles. According to U.S. Census data, only 6.8 percent of adults from my community have a bachelor’s degree, compared to the national average of 29 percent. My lifelong goal is to provide the Latinx community with more educational opportunities that will allow our community to rise. Attending AAHHE allowed me to gain skills needed to achieve this goal.•