Hello, my name is Mariana Perez. I am a young Dominican woman that was born and raised in Lawrence, Massachusetts. I have been surrounded by Latinx and Hispanics all my life while living there with my two younger brothers and parents. My whole family immigrated from the Dominican Republic in the 90s. My culture has a major influence on me but so does the American culture through assimilation because I am not part of the dominant culture here. I speak English, Spanish, and Spanglish. I studied at a public high school that was predominantly white and affluent. I was away from home for four years through a national non-profit organizational program called A Better Chance. I was always interested in the visual arts growing up but my passion for drawing and painting did not develop until freshman year. I prefer acrylic painting on canvases and I enjoy taking film pictures on my film camera. I prefer capturing people through my artwork and photos, especially people of color. I am interested in studying Sociology at Trinity and furthering my skills as an artist. I stand for social justice and learning about social and cultural issues/concepts. I am really excited to be a part of this class and to spend the next four years of my life at Trinity because of the exposure to the Hartford community that resembles the city of Lawrence and Santiago, Dominican Republic. I hope to learn and share the beauty, culture, and resources that the Hartford community embraces and has to offer. As a new Trinity student, I feel responsible to go out of my way to explore the Hartford community and engage with people and places in ways that interest me socially, artistically, and culturally.