Story by Dayana Montoya and Lizeth Valdez | Design by Dayana Montoya and Lizeth Valdez | Photos by Jakob Burnham

“Just make something Filipino, it's that easy” - Kyra Sleigh

Being a multicultural student can come with its own set of unique challenges, especially once reaching university and paving the way for one's future. For some, this means suddenly having one's norm become the outlier as one steps out of their community and into unknown challenges. Students shed further light onto the trials and tribulations of multicultural students here at CWU, and the different ways in which they navigate university life.

Growing up Multicultural

When one grows up multicultural, one inevitably comes face to face with this burning question of whether or not one is enough of either cultures one belongs to. This can be especially noticed as a child, when trying to find one's place in life. Marcus Guien, a freshman transfer student and physical education and health major who identifies as half white and half Black, describes this feeling.

Guien says, “I think a feeling of belonging comes from an internal sense of security, but certainly as a kid when I didn't have that myself and I needed external validation in that way, but I definitely didn't feel like I fit in really with either side and wasn't necessarily being embraced by either side.”

This is a sentiment that has been shared among many other multicultural students here at CWU when recalling how they grew up. It is a feeling that is internalized in childhood and carried throughout everyday life. This feeling of longing to be able to fit oneself neatly into a single label is a universal one, and it feels much harder as a child learning how to navigate the world. Even if it may become easier to answer the question of ‘what are you?’ with a straightforward response as one grows older, it's something that can still take some time to fully embrace the answer.

Donna Marie Harris, a sophomore education and history student, mirrors this sentiment as she herself is half Black and half Filipino. Harris says, “I feel like growing up was just me trying to learn more about myself, but also heal at the same time.”

Experiencing both cultures

The cultures experienced as one grows up vary from one multicultural household to the next. Multicultural individuals are often asked if they ever feel like they are more of one culture than the other they belong to because of this. Answers vary, and are dependent on the way in which individuals were exposed to both cultures growing up. For Kyra Sleigh, a sophomore art education student, her cultural experiences consisted of primarily Filipino practices, despite also being Mexican.

Sleigh describes the struggles that came with not being fully in touch with her Mexican heritage. “I felt uncomfortable with my Mexican identity, because I was separated from that part of my life. I don't know anything about it,” Sleigh says. Often people don’t get to experience both of their cultures, much like in the case of Sleigh and her Mexican identity. However, it is important to realize that this discrepancy doesn't erase and remove them from this part of themselves.

At the end of the day, multicultural individuals are still multicultural, even if they don't know all there is to know about each of their ethnicities. In fact, active exploration of multiple cultures actually encourages them to truly dig deep into their families’ ancestry and become closer to their heritage than ever before. As Sleigh states, “It's only just recently that I've gotten comfortable being like, no, I'm two things…Yeah, I am genetically Mexican. I just don't know anything about it. And my boyfriend's part Mexican, and it's been nice learning the culture through him.”

Potential Mistreatment

Not long ago, those of mixed ethnicities were considered strange by many. Over time, however, this way of thinking has improved, as newer generations continue to become more and more accepting of these differences than ever before. This shift in thinking hasn't come easily in every case, and because of this, many people of mixed ethnicities and cultures continue to experience discrimination. This discrimination ranges from outright hate to subtle microaggressions.

This unfortunate inevitability can lead some students to feeling uncomfortable with identifying themselves as two or more different ethnicities. They wish to avoid being interrogated by a myriad of different questions, being asked to prove to others their identity and having to pass tests to fall under their personalized definitions of these identities.

Many multicultural individuals have actually been born or primarily raised in the U.S. This is done for a variety of different reasons, though one major motivation is often that the parents of these individuals consider the U.S. to be the best opportunity for their children. These individuals are both American and multicultural, but they are at times placed under one ethnic umbrella term for the sake of others who wish to distill their identity down to attributes like their outward appearances or spoken languages.

Many multicultural individuals then feel pressure to explain or justify their background as a result of this. Harris is half Filipino and Black, and has come across her fair share of experiences with this line of thinking. As Harris says, “Everyone looks at me and they just see Black. Because in my personal experience, I haven't really seen both sides get along very well, solely because of race. But that doesn't mean that they both don't come with their own hardships.”

Harris has used this to her advantage, turning the negative situation into a positive one. “That just empowers me more to do something about it, because I understand both sides, and I'm able to because I'm a mix of both.” Harris wants to make a change in this world by embracing both ethnicities, and being the best of both worlds, a sentiment echoed by others with this experience.

Balancing Family and College Life

Being a college student can feel like being placed on a seesaw, when forced to balance both class and family responsibilities. This is especially true if one's parents have high expectations for their college career, and especially more nerve wracking when they have risked so much to provide the opportunity of reaching higher education. This is the case for many multicultural families.

Because of these dynamics, multicultural parents often want their children to be a doctor, scientist or some other high paying salary career. Some multicultural parents may say that the only reason they came to this country was to give their children an even better life. Because of this, one can only begin to imagine the inevitable pressure this type of sentiment can place on the minds of their children while they attempt to navigate classes and be successful in the eyes of their family. Angela Eustaquio, a junior majoring in math secondary education, provides her experience on this topic.

Eustaquio states, “I did consider a lot about what [my family] wanted. But I think when I really found my happiness and my purpose was when I evaluated what I wanted, and what was going to be fulfilling for me in life.” Just because one decides to take a stand and defend what they want to study as opposed to what their family wants them to study, that doesn't mean they don't want to make their family proud on their own terms.

Eustaquio maintains a busy schedule here at CWU in order to maintain connection with other multicultural individuals. Eustaquio is involved on campus as an Equity and Services Council (ESC) senator, a co-chair in Movimiento Estudiantil Chicana/o de Aztlan (MEChA), as well as working at her two jobs and internship. All of this is on top of her class load.

The main reason as to why she joined these multicultural organizations, despite her already busy work and school schedule, is so she can further connect with her identities and the communities that surround them at CWU. Eustaquio does not want to lose sight of these priorities, even among the busyness of her schedule and being away from home.

Eustaquio identifies as half Mexican and half Chamorro, an indigenous group of people of the Mariana Islands. She believes her culture is being lost to time, which is one of her motivations for striving to build a legacy for herself and her family through the work she is doing at CWU. Eustaquio goes on to describe this feeling. She says, “There is kind of…a pressure to continue those traditions and make sure they're not lost.” Eustaquio states that this is not out of pure obligation, but out of love for her culture and a want to see it continue after her. “If I myself or my people don't continue those traditions, then we can't rely on anyone else to, and then it's lost.”

The life of a multicultural student here at CWU can at times be hectic, chaotic and overall astonishing. Students’ experiences range from trying to continue a legacy, breaking out of family molds and conventions, establishing an identity for oneself or even taking the time to get to know more about oneself and the cultures they belong in. These struggles are something that is shared and understood by many here on campus. However, regardless of what one's goal on campus is as a multicultural student, it's important to remember and keep in mind that one can very well still establish an identity of one's own while still acknowledging and upholding the beliefs of the cultures and ethnicities one belongs to. It is important to get to know oneself without losing or erasing any parts of one's identity, no matter what anybody says.

The Mixed Race Experience