Sofia Amaya Diaz- A Latinx Student at Glasgow
February 19, 2021
Sofia Amaya Diaz, a Salvadoran and Honduran 6th grader at Glasgow, has lived in Virginia all of her life. She has family members in Richmond VA, El Salvador, and Honduras, and lives with her family in Northern Virginia. When interviewed about some of the origins of her family, she said, “My Grandpa came here to the US and brought my grandma, uncle, and mom. They didn’t have that much money and were kind of poor. They came here to start a new life. They were stable though.” Sofia’s dad left when she was one year old, so when her mom met her stepdad, she said, “She got in a better place, and we’re all happy.”
Since Sofia is a 6th grader at Glasgow, she has never been to school in person here. She says she does like Glasgow. One of her siblings is in 8th grade at Glasgow, so she has been to some school events, and has heard about it through her sibling. Being a newcomer to Glasgow has made it challenging for Sofia though she feels that she can’t connect with people as easily online, and it’s harder for her to learn virtually than in a physical classroom. When asked if she likes virtual or in-person school better, she replied, “I like in-person better. I can learn better and faster that way, and interact with others more easily.” However, she also says, “I do like virtual school so far, I don’t really know why.” She said that some of the reasons why virtual school can be hard were that, “It’s harder for me to learn. A lot of people at my house are distracting. My mom asks me stuff during the day because she works, so sometimes she calls me because she doesn’t know my school schedule.” Not only is her home environment affecting her school, but she’s also having a difficult time socially.
Although there are challenges with virtual learning, Sofia does enjoy some of her classes. Her favorite classes are science and AVID. When asked why, she responded, “Science because my teacher makes it fun to learn.” She likes AVID because, “I thought AVID would be a lot of work, but tutors come in and help us with stuff.” It’s a good resource for her, and more relaxed than she expected. In addition to science, she participated in a robotics club and different clubs outside of school. Unfortunately, due to Covid, she couldn’t do that anymore.
Sofia and her family celebrate many holidays and have many traditions. She celebrates holidays such as Christmas, Cinco de Mayo, and Dia de Los Muertos. When interviewed on how she celebrates these holidays she said, “We go to graveyards to pray for the dead. We gather around with people and celebrate.” Because of quarantine, she says that “Now we can’t really have big parties,” She also added, “We have to have limited gatherings and no parades.” Sofia explained what the parades were like, “They have a lot of music and dancing with traditional foods at the parades. Some parades were far away, so we had to travel to get to them.” She says she enjoys going to these parades because she can see family and gets to travel to other parts of the country; once she went to Los Angeles for a parade. Overall, Sofia likes Glasgow and is looking forward to the rest of the school year. Glasgow is lucky to have her!
Brooke Ehmann - Jones (she/her), an 8th grader at Glasgow MS has been a writer for the Panther Post since the 2020 school year. She has lived in Northern Virginia all of her life and plays on a soccer team, loves playing music on her saxophone and the piano, enjoys reading, writing, cooking, and painting, and loves spending time outdoors on the many hikes she and her family have been on. Brooke is also very passionate about the environment and enjoys learning about nature, and volunteering to protect it. She has two cats at home, and loves traveling to national parks with her family.
