INTERVIEW #2: FEATURING ICHIERY RIVERA

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 a great experience It was also the 1st I left home. Leaving Rochester and going to school at Medaille College gave me an opportunity to breathe, leaving behind the shadow of my father’s death. I was able to see the world through a new lens a brighter one at that.  

4. How did your experience as a student form your leadership style as a youth advocate?  

Hugely I went to a very prestigious private school from 7-12grade. I was one of 3 Latinas in my graduating class of 110 students. There was no other student/teacher or even admin who understood me and all that came with me and my identity. Being Latina growing up in the hood, I was raised in a single-parent, home-based out of tragedy. My mother was very strong, but I lost my father, who much of our community knew and loved, at a young age. I was impacted tremendously because of my father’s death. Losing him motivated me to want to be a person that students could relate to and count on. I hoped that they could respect me and know that I would support them from a very nurturing, genuine, and sincere place. The crazy part after working with students is when it hit me, how much I was lacking in my high school experience. I was lacking support and someone to relate to. As a young person, It’s really hard to find yourself when you don’t have people encouraging you and you have no role models who have achieved the goal that you dream of. I am fortunate that my family felt that if I wanted something it was their job to help create a way for me to achieve it. So, I made it to where I am now, understanding that if you want something YOU have to do the work. YOU have to want it. YOU have to push yourself. But in the end, it’s on you.  

5, When did you start your work in the education field, and what was your role?

I worked in high school in a daycare as a floater. My mother worked in the daycare too so I would go after school and work during school breaks. I loved it and just continued to solidify the gift I had been given to able to connect with children.  

6.     What was your favorite/most informative role?

My most Informative role was when I was the ASSISTANT DIRECTOR OF OPERATIONS of a chain of daycare centers. I accomplished so many things I never would ever have imagined. Working with one of my closest friends and teaming up to turn a gym into daycare, a bar into daycare, and an ex technical school into daycare was mind-blowing. But it was so gratifying to help build something from the ground up and make spaces for families and their children. But my favorite is my current role at Say Yes Buffalo as the Near Peer Mentoring supervisor. 1st the organization is a place like I have never worked in before. The level of mutual respect that everyone has for each other is mind-blowing. The passion, which each of us carries into our positions, to support and encourage students- from birth to beyond college is transformative. I get to fulfill my wish to be a part of a full support system that serves thousands of students. But at Say Yes Buffalo -the fact that I can honestly say the work that I do, I do not do it alone. Because so many of my colleagues carry that same desire and wish every day into work and it’s humbling. I feel like my personal values are aligned with my roles at Say Yes Buffalo and that makes “work” not feel like “work”.  Being able to support students and connect them with individuals who also want to connect, being able to create relationships and support them is more fulfilling than I could have ever imagined.  I am so blessed.

7. What advice do you have for educators today?

The biggest thing I tell anyone who works with youth in any capacity is to be genuine. I tell my mentors and mentees I work with: “I don’t do Fake”, and I do not want to see it in this program. Just because you cannot relate to someone’s experience does not mean you cannot be supportive. I say that because in my own educational experience I was surrounded by people who could not relate but still tried. Their effort meant more to me than anything. Those efforts gave me hope in humanity. I also tell Mentees and Mentors- if you can relate to a situation then share your story. We often hide in our own progress and forget what got us to the point of success. The fact that we made it and that we do have a story to share, is what will inspire the next generation to go even further than us.  

8. What is your theory on human potential?

Everyone has the capability to tap into their own potential just must do the work. There is a lot of self-reflection involved in that. You must be willing to grow as a person even when it hurts, and it is uncomfortable to move forward. There is so much that youth today face, so many obstacles and trauma even. But you must deal with those things to move forward. If you do not, they will creep up. Later and get in the way of you reaching your goals. 

9. What is the single most important value/thing to keep in mind when working with students?  

That if you want to create an environment, where kids can learn and grow, then you as a person have to wake up every day and try your best, to create a world that can reciprocate that to them. There are certain things that each generation has continued to repeat and if we do not continue to break cycles and make strides for our communities, we have no business putting expectations on our youth. In the end, when working with youth you must realize it all starts with you. You must value and appreciate the opportunity you have been given to make a life-lasting impression on a child life. Make It Count!  

10. What is the most important thing a student taught you?  

That I am enough. My work, my students have provided me with so much self-worth and fulfillment. That they have given me and my life so much more meaning. I could not imagine my life without them.