Young Eastern Oregon Latinos find connection at networking event

La Grande School District Superintendent George Mendoza told the audience assembled at Eastern Oregon University that he was going to get vulnerable for a moment.

He recounted his family immigrating from Mexico to the Yakima Valley in Central Washington in the 1980s, his parents divorcing and the feelings of abandonment that followed, and his teachers instructing him to write his name as “George” rather than his given name of Jorge.

Those experiences were formative.

“I went from dreaming and thinking only in Spanish to now shifting over to dreaming and thinking mainly in English,” he said.

Mendoza made his keynote speech earlier this month to a few dozen students, faculty and community members at Conéctate, a Latino networking event. Co-organized by EOU, Blue Mountain Community College in Pendleton and Treasure Valley Community College in Ontario, this year’s event was held on Eastern’s campus in La Grande.

The 2024 theme was “Building Wealth,” and although there was programming built around growing assets and saving money, a lot of discussions revolved around the formation of identity. Eastern Oregon and Washington have some of the largest Latino populations in the Northwest, communities defined not just by immigrants but the second and third generation Latinos that were born and raised there.

Latinos are becoming a larger economic and cultural force in Eastern Oregon. Local institutions are starting to take notice and Conéctate is is one way EOU is trying to reach out to the community.

At a panel discussion featuring EOU students and staff, Cassandra Sanchez spoke about how she navigates the cultural differences in her own family.

An EOU alum who now works as an admissions counselor for the university, Sanchez said there was a disconnect with her Mexican immigrant parents when she was growing up.

“They were raised in a different culture than the one I’m being raised in,” she said. “There were certain rules or things or standards that they were setting for me that I just simply didn’t understand.”

Sanchez prioritized fitting in during her formative years, even as she felt like she “sacrificed most of herself” in the process. EOU student Claudia Juarez had a similar experience when she moved from Ontario to La Grande. Although both are small towns in Eastern Oregon, Juarez said she felt “culture shock” after her move.

“I was super scared to come here at first because everything was so different,” she said. “So I just assimilated. Even though I didn’t want to, I just felt like I needed to in order to have a fun year.”

Sanchez said she feels more comfortable in her own skin now that she’s firmly in adulthood, making it a point to call her mom every day to speak to her in Spanish.

Mendoza said local institutions are better equipped to serve Latino students than when he was growing up. And despite the challenges that still exist, many of those students choose to stay in the region after graduating.

EOU senior Juan Avalos helped emcee Conéctate. After he graduates, he said he plans to return to his home in the Yakima Valley near the small town of Zillah, Washington. The move will allow him to start a career as a teacher while watching his younger siblings grow up, he said.

Jose Abrego Melendez emceed Conéctate before graduating from EOU in 2020 and has continued to help organize the event. Abrego Melendez said he sympathized with the speakers because he also went through periods of isolation during his time on campus.

In an effort to turn around his experience, he made a conscious effort to express and share his culture with his fellow Latino students.

“There may not be many of us here, but at least the few that are here, I can help them represent and help bring them up instead of bringing them down,” he said.

Abrego Melendez grew up in Milton-Freewater in Umatilla County but decided to stick in La Grande, where he feels like he can continue the work he started as a student.