Elisa Niño-Sears

In 1975, my mom, dad and I moved from Colombia to Philadelphia where we were welcomed by a Quaker single mom named Marian who happily housed us for a time, helped my parents get settled in their new jobs as physicians, helped us all work on our English, and cared for me for years like I was her own granddaughter-- complete with homemade birthday cakes and abundant Thanksgivings. Her care packages of brownies travelled across the miles when we moved to California to work at Stanford (my parents) and eventually study at Stanford and UC Berkeley (me). For many years, Grandma Marian was the only "family" I had in the states. Fast forward 45 years, I now feel very lucky to live within the San Carlos/Redwood City community surrounded by more family-- just as caring, but now larger in number-- including my husband, son, daughter, mom, sister and her family, and a whole "school family" of talented colleagues, parents, and students at Sequoia High School where I work and volunteer.

When I hear the cheer "Viva Latinx!," my heart fills with hope that we as a community are deepening our appreciation and understanding of the Latin American diaspora-- it's complex breadth and depth of beauty, culture, stories, struggles and successes. "Viva" reminds me that, despite our differences, all Latinx families want the same thing as everyone else: a long life full of good health, kindness and joy, and the opportunity to pursue goals with passion, humor and grace, surrounded by the caring support of family (in all the forms family can take). That has guided me in my collaborative work over the past years teaching and facilitating art, cooking and enrichment classes, creating the organic edible schoolyard at Arroyo School, and organizing volunteers, fundraising and support for teachers, families and students at Sequoia High School. I am deeply grateful for the people who have supported me on my journey, cheering, "Viva! You can do this! Si se puede. And I'm here to help!" If someone has helped you towards your goals, and you're ready to pay that forward, please reach out! We'd love to welcome you at Sequoia: elisa@atlashs.org