The journey to becoming Latino with my students: Navigating labels and identity in the United States

From introduction: “You are the first Latino professor I had in college,” a student in my class said a few years ago. What exactly does that mean for a man who was born and raised in Chile and only immigrated to the United States as an adult? How did I become a Latino professor? This reflexión pedagógica is inspired by my classroom experiences as an immigrant from Chile and offers an exploration of labels used in the United States as identifiers, both self-claimed and externally imposed. There are two parts to this essay: first, I reflect on my own educational experiences, leaving Chile to pursue studies in the United States, and becoming, as the students recognized, a Latino professor. It is in this context that I experienced a transformation in my identity, which has informed my teaching, research, and pedagogy. Secondly, I share my experiences teaching Introduction to Latino Studies (LAL 109) at Illinois State University (ISU) as a joint hire between the School of Communications and the Latin American and Latino Studies Program. This reflection examines the intersection of these processes for me and my students. I offer a caveat for this reflection. Some of the examples, quotes, and recollections of memories provided here are not verbatim or precisely as they were said, but rather as I remember them, a reconstruction from memory.