In honor of Hispanic Heritage Month, Kaylee Moreno-Gomez reflects on her relationship with her culture and what it means to be Latina. Kaylee is a student at Cristo Rey Jesuit High School and Marketing Intern with Goodwill Industries of the Chesapeake, Inc.
I don’t remember growing up knowing exactly who I was.
I think I formed myself from bits and pieces that never seemed to match or fit me because they belonged to others first. From comments that were meant to be jokes but still somehow managed to stay with me years later.
I remember straightening my hair and doing everything I could to kill my father’s curls after a girl ran her fingers through my hair and called it “too thick” to play with. Then she made me feel her own honey gold straight hair, as if to learn firsthand what “good hair” was supposed to feel like.
So, I “learned.”
I learned that thick and wavy hair was too much. Straight hair was what was better. I learned that the parts of me, the parts that I had inherited from my family and my ancestors were things that I wasn’t supposed to like or be proud of. They were things that needed to be altered. My skin, that had seemed to be kissed by the sun the day I was born, was now something that I Googled how to change. I waited for winter to arrive, for the loving sun to go away and not be able to paint my skin gold any more than it already had seemed to do, in hopes that I would lose that color in the harsh winter.
Now, when I think about my hair, the hair that I killed for many years, damaged by years and years of heat and mistreatment, and my skin, which I have tainted with many creams and attempts, I realize that it wasn’t just about how I looked. I was trying to make it easier to understand and accept. I had started to believe that being Hispanic and Latina was something too difficult and messy to be, when it isn’t. To be Hispanic is to be different entirely. To find your footing in foreign land and leave your footprint.
We shouldn’t have to fit in with an image that is ‘comfortable’ just because it is safe. We should be able to stand out freely and shine just as much as those around us as well, with every part of our culture, our music, nuestra lengua madre, no matter how different it is, and no matter what anyone else tries to say, we belong here and we have left our footprints in this land.
How Goodwill Honors Our Latino Community
At Goodwill Industries of the Chesapeake, we believe every person should feel seen, valued, and empowered to show up as their full self. As a diverse employer, we are proud to work alongside many talented Latino team members whose experiences, perspectives, and contributions strengthen our organization every day.
We are equally committed to serving the Latino community through programs designed to expand opportunity, including the Buena Alianza program, which was designed to help Spanish-speakers build stable, sustainable careers in Baltimore. Kaylee’s essay is a powerful reminder of why representation, belonging, and access matter, and why Goodwill remains dedicated to creating pathways for every member of our community to thrive.
About Kaylee
Kaylee Moreno-Gomez (pronounced MOH-REH-NOH) is a first gen Latina and a junior scholarship student attending Cristo Rey Jesuit High School. She loves to read books ranging from young adult books to literature, as well as spending the afternoon out with friends taking pictures on her one of many digital cameras to staying inside with iced coffee and a good movie, journaling and keeping her planner full. She’s always involved in something whether it’s being in her school’s peer ministry, a cohort at Art of Leadership where she learns about social injustice and how to advocate for it & also a young leader at The Young Leaders Leadership summit presented by Towson University. She interns at Goodwill as a marketing intern through Cristo Rey’s Corporate Work Study Program (CWSP), where students can intern in different parts in job industry and learn and make connections.
FAQs
Q: Is Cristo Rey just in MD?
A: No! Cristo Rey Jesuit School has locations across the country.
Q: What is Cristo Rey’s Work Study Program?
A: The program places each student in a professional job, one day a week during the school year, all four years of high school.
Q: What is Goodwill’s role in the program?
A: As a Corporate Study Site, Goodwill Industries of the Chesapeake hosts 2 Baltimore-Based student interns in its Headquarters!
