Esperanza Academy – Institute for Recruitment of Teachers

Hope As a Practice

Viviana Cordero García, IRT ’15
Chief Alumni Success Officer, Esperanza Academy

Seven years ago, I walked through the doors of Esperanza Academy with big dreams and bigger questions. I was building my life as an educator and leader, a leader in a community that reminded me of my own—where stories of strength often begin with sacrifice. Since then, I’ve grown a program, a family, a team, and, most importantly, a deeper sense of what it means to sustain hope in times that test it.

Hope, esperanza, for me, is not wishful thinking. It is a practice. A verb. A discipline of presence.

I sustain hope by staying rooted in relationships—with my students and alumni, with their mothers and abuelitas, with my team, with fellow nonprofit leaders and board members who share in the long-haul work of justice, with my ancestors, and with the younger version of me who needed someone to say, “You belong here.” I hold space for grief and joy to exist at the same table because, in our community, they always do.

Reconnecting with our Community

IRT staff have been busy meeting up with alumni and educators at conferences and events. Highlights from the team’s travels are below.

The American Educational Research Association (AERA) Annual Meeting

The AERA Annual Meeting was held in Philadelphia this past April bringing together education researchers and scholars. The meeting’s theme was Dismantling Racial Injustice and Constructing Educational Possibilities: A Call to Action. IRT Executive Director LaShawnda Brooks and Arts & Sciences Specialist Brittany Zorn, IRT ’13 attended and had the chance to connect with many IRT alumni during the week. The IRT hosted an alumni social gathering while in Philly at the PHS Pop Up Garden South Street.

Viviana Cordero Garcia, IRT ’15 on Becoming a Social Justice Educator

Life in Color

I see most spaces I walk into in color first. I walk into classrooms, the supermarket, doctor offices and check for representation. I often count the number of Black and Brown folk in the room with me. I examine spaces thoroughly. I ask myself: What are the norms in this space? Have I dressed appropriately? Can I speak Spanish out loud? Do I have to enunciate? Will I have to use my “White English”?

These are some of the questions I was able to unpack and process throughout my master’s program at the University of Maryland College Park (UMD). The Higher Education, Student Affairs and International Education Policy (HESI) program not only challenged me to be more critical of our education systems, but also provided the foundation for my diversity, equity, and inclusion practice. At UMD and through my work at Partners in Print and the Office of Diversity and Inclusion on campus, I found the language, read scholars of color, and embraced my social justice educator identity. With the help of my advisor, professors, colleagues-turned-friends, sister scholars, and my Institute for Recruitment of Teachers (IRT) network, I earned a degree that otherwise would not have been possible for me.