ALICIA GRANTO, MAKING OUR COMMUNITY PROUD

December 18, 2023 Buffalo Latino Village

I struggled to learn to read in both languages. I always felt old-fashioned red, white, and blue smart but with spelling, I wasn’t a winner. After 46 months of Latinaherstory as a published “columnist”, the Doctorate, etc., I still remember STARING at the page: BLANK, SAD, MAD, and Tiny. Mrs. Gilbert knew I was smart and her 6:30 AM prep period was dedicated to helping us both prove it to the world, all before school breakfast at 7:30 AM.

When I didn’t feel good enough, down to my bones, I thought about God. Abuela was Pentecostal, You y’all know I wasn’t ever the first one to the passage when Pastor called it, but I got the message. I tell my son who is in first grade now. God makes us all perfect, it’s the journey that shows your gumption, and that’s if you have any.

I call myself a “folk writer” because I write to talk to people, directly, like my neighbors. That’s why “AI’ and “Chat GPT’ didn’t sit right with me, at first. Till someone pointed out, the very real fact, I would be toast, with and without a cafe, but for SPELLCHECK. He said spellcheck was “artificial intelligence” and I started hearing differently because, I know, I know, a lot of words I cannot spell.

For the “kids” (with their little backpacks) It’s a new ball game, and it’s faster. They don’t know what it feels like to WONDER, they don’t know the world without instant answers, or the fear of them. I remember the sound of AOL Dial-up.

We all need We all need guidance, and a living example for me was Alicia Granto, in a skirt suit, at the Hispanic Women’s League brunch and other places. Always upright, a vision of civility, and the perfect mix of business attire and warmness, I needed, to feel like my cardigan would someday be a blazer. Undeterred, I missed the deadline for the Hispanic Women’s League’s scholarship that year but within days of research, I found AAUW and later the confidence to apply for a grant. Dedication to a persistent call to excellence powered by empathy is what she embodied for me as a student.

She reflects on the values she learned as a child. The values that I acquired as a child were much more modeled by my parents than taught to me per se. No one sat with me and said, “This is what you do, and this is what you do not!” That inculcated in me the importance of showing our youth how to empower themselves as happy, productive human beings by role-modeling that behavior rather than preaching to them.

I have worn numerous hats in my life career-wise and professionally. I started in the educational field and after dabbling in other areas, here I am today still pursuing my passion and what I believe I am really good at which is helping others maximize their potential. I am convinced no other endeavor would make me feel as fulfilled as being an educator and a provider of overall wellness.

When asked to define a leader she states: “A leader to me is someone that others tend to follow spontaneously not necessarily because they brand themselves as leaders.”

Alicia Granto is one single person whose investment in WNY is felt globally through the work of her family and through the thousands of hands belonging to students whose hearts she shaped. Alicia has served as a counselor and academic advisor at SUNY College at Buffalo. Ms. Granto, born and raised in Santiago de Cuba, has a master’s degree from Long Island University in Education/Counseling and Bilingual Education, and a Bachelor of Science from Empire State College in Educational Studies. Alicia Granto has a teaching, administration, and counseling background. She has served as Co-chair of the Educational Committee of the Western New York Hispanic and Friends Civic Association; a member of the Board of Directors of the Hispanic Women’s League and chair of the membership committee; and a member of the Board of Directors of Los Taino Senior Citizens – and this is just a short list of her achievements and accomplishments.

Oh and think of me, and give a kid some space, a calculator, and spell check (and a snack if you’ve got one handy), and see what happens next.

Genius – is my guess. #gloriadios for the world is better because of teachers and nourishing souls like Alicia.

Oh, and thank you, Mrs. Gilbert, I guess you were right!