Hey Everyone!

We are your GG-Leaders for San Juan de La Maguana! We are so excited to meet you all.

My name is Hagikah (pronounced: Hi-Key-Kah) and my pronouns are she/her/hers. I am a teacher at Impact Academy in Hayward, Ca. I moved around a lot as a kid, but I have spent the longest amount of time (6 years each) in the Bay and in Fresno, Ca, so I often say I am from those places. I am a first-generation college student raised by my mom and my grandma. I enjoy reading and learning about society and baking (I got a huge cookbook collection). This is my first time to the Dominican Republic and I can’t wait to learn and grow and try all the new things with you!

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Hello young-stars! My Name is Roderick-Rael Guadalupe. I like to be called “Guadalupe.” I am on the Special Education Staff at Impact Academy high school in Hayward. I’ve also taught high school in the Fruitvale District of Oakland. I come from a low-income community and am a first generation Filipino and mixed ethnicity. This will be my first time traveling outside of the U.S. Last, I am a singer, poet, and performing artist. Looking forward to meeting you!

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Hello Everyone!

My name is Ms. Kelly and I am a high school special education (Autism) teacher in East San Jose. I grew up in a small town in the Central Valley where I lived until 2011. I grew up in a family of five children of which I am the oldest. I went to Modesto Junior College and then went to CSU East Bay for my degree in speech-language pathology. I just finished my master’s degree in special education at San Jose State University in May (yay!). I have been married to my high school sweetheart for 3 ½ years and we have 2 beautiful black cats named Poe and Bram. Things I like to do in my free time are cooking vegan food, hiking, being active in my community, and reading books about feminism, politics, and various fiction-type novels.

I had not left the country until 4 years ago and I have traveled to quite a few places: London, Paris, Nicaragua, El Salvador, Ireland, Peru, Germany, and Spain. My motivations for traveling are to learn about other cultures, bring that back to my community in San Jose, and hopefully create a more compassionate and understanding world. Growing up in a family of seven, we were pretty poor and I did not have many opportunities that I have now. Whether we come from affluent or impoverished communities, we can get stuck in our bubbles. Traveling and giving back to the communities that we visit is a great opportunity to stretch our understanding (our bubbles) grow as citizens of this world.