By Amber Plumer
(Photo by Alex Rostro)
Growing up with a Mexican-American mother and a Caucasian father has its struggles, especially when it comes to checking the ethnicity box on any official form, according to Goah Diversity Scholar Anneke Snyder.
“My father thinks we are not defined by the boxes the government makes us check,” says Snyder. “But when you don’t fit into any of the boxes—no matter how hard you try to—then I think it matters a great deal.”
The small check boxes seem minute, but are a constant struggle for Snyder and her two siblings. This is one of the various struggles about diversity that will be represented in a new show on Milligan’s campus.
Goah Diversity Scholars are presenting a photo-essay exhibit on March 2, from 2-4 p.m. in the McMahan Student Center.
This exhibit, titled “Picture Your Life As…” will feature photographic portraits of about 25 Goah scholars, as well as brief autobiographical essays.
Interim Director Pat Magness said there are two main purposes for this exhibit. One purpose is to celebrate the diverse cultures and individuals at Milligan College. Another is to help the entire college community get a glimpse into the eyes and lives of some of these students.
“Once I started writing, I couldn’t stop,” said Luis M. Treviño, Goah president who grew up living in Texas. “I wrote about what it was like for me growing up on the border. I had an identity crisis and didn’t know what side I fell on.”
In her essay, Goah Vice President Şazıye Gourley-Özhayta, describes her experience of growing up with a Muslim father and a Christian mother, her survival of bacterial meningitis and intense grade school years.
“All of us have moments that make us who we are today,” said Gourley-Özhayta. “These stories alongside the pictures in the exhibit are just a sample of the diversity you find at Milligan.”
Junior Raquel Velasco, born in the Amazonian jungle, moved to the United States with her family of five, carrying only eight bags of their belongings.
“In the American society it is so hard not to get caught up in perfecting everything, owning everything, and having a surplus of everything just because it is accessible,” said Velasco. “I do not want to live like this. I want a humble and serving lifestyle.”
These stories are just scraping the surface of the diversity at Milligan. Visit the exhibit to read and learn more.
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