Author name: Buffalo Latino Village

INTRODUCTION: When I was growing up, we were poor, but we were rich in human capital. What do I mean by human capital? Well, according to Investpedia, human capital can be classified as the economic value of a person’s experience. This includes assets like education, training, intelligence, skills, health, and other things employers value such as loyalty and punctuality. The people who raised me did not have much formal education but boy, did they have high human capital. They were bright and had skills that life taught them rather than a textbook. They had lessons to teach and I absorbed them. And in those rare moments when I was “out of the house” and alone to decide what kind of person I was- I thought of those lessons. What I learned literally helped me survive urban poverty and the side effects of being Puerto Rican and under-resourced – if you know what I mean. It took a village for me- comprised mostly of my cousins and father’s six brothers and sisters. Sprinkle some neighbors on top, between my porch and the corner store, that was my entire life. But that foundation bred, resilience in me and in countless other children. Your family builds the first wall for your village. Your community builds the outer wall for your village, and if you are lucky, people like Ms. Ichiery Rivera of Say Yes Buffalo add to the journey. People like her are bridge builders. Those who connect our children to resources within the school setting that are designed to change the trajectory of a life. Impossible to leave out, advocates like Ms. Rivera are an essential part of urban education. Ms. Rivera has a laugh that resonates down the halls of even the busiest high school hallway- I have had the privilege of hearing it myself. Her mission is to fight for every student. Her advocacy is an ode to her father whose commitment to community was well known to Puerto Ricans in Rochester, New York — her hometown. Her vibrant energy and storytelling connect people. Ms. Rivera shows up for work highly present, motivated, and authentic; leading by example and rising early in the morning while texting students to get ready for the day. Ms. Rivera of Say Yes Buffalo has motivated and comforted students on their toughest days and hugged them as they sailed across the stage on graduation days. Interview with ICHIERY RIVERA In this interview, she will tell us why she has dedicated her energies to children and what her journey through education has taught her: 1.     What motivated you to work with youth?  I have always been motivated since a young age to work with youth. My mom had in-home daycare when I was very little. So, in my first job, I was like 5 and it was my responsibility to fan the babies when they would cry. I would get paid 50 cents. Lol After that I was hooked and absolute the joy in taking care of another little human. I spent the rest of my childhood growing my experience in the field so that I could pinpoint what I wanted to do in the future. I babysat, worked in daycares, summer programs, etc.   2. What was your experience like as a student? As a student, I struggled academically often. Math was my enemy, spelling was a villain, and grammar was the devil himself. And attending catholic school my whole life- I was sure I knew what the devil was. In high school, science crept tear, the rest of my academic confidence down. After struggling in math 1 and science 1 realized my hopes of being a NICU nurse were never going to happen. So, like Elsa I let it go. I was always very adamant that I did not want to teach. I did not want to be a social worker either. I knew him I wanted to encourage and support youth through the ups and downs of life.  The beginning of my life I often describe as straight out of a sitcom. 2 parents who fell in love in High School. Got married at 19 and left PR for Rochester NY. They busted their butt working to get everything that they had. They built a family out of pure love. That love was the foundation of that family and life they created. My Father went from a 19-year-old newlywed to a man with 2 kids, a public investigator with the public defender’s office, and a big social activist in the Latino community. Which in turn led me on a path to be conscious of social justice issues and added another layer of youth activism to my path.  But at the age of 13, my foundation was shaking to the core. My Father my rock my everything the light of our community died. Like any sitcom story, there was a shift in the whole dynamic of the show and the main character left behind. My life is changed although our life was never extravagant it was stable. It’s hard to feel stable when half of your heart is missing.   3.     Did you like school/learning?  As I said before I struggled in school. It was later discovered that I could have benefited from ESL education, but it was not offered at any of my schools. Due to speaking two languages and the way my brain processed everything. I was unable to be a strong speller in any language but being bilingual allowed me to be able to use my decoding skills and have a high level of reading comprehension. Once I figured that being bilingual made me stronger in other areas during my junior year of high school. I was able to figure out my learning style and be a much more successful student. So, when I hit college, I LOVED school. Let alone going to school for Child and Youth services studying a topic I was passionate about made it