Reflection on my First Loretto Justice Semester

By Giulianna Alcantarapalai, Loretto Justice Fellow 

The first day of orientation, I felt very excited for the opportunity to become a part of the Loretto Community. I had heard wonderful things about the program through one of my best friends, Arantza, who is a previous Justice Fellow. She had always spoken so highly of the program, so I was excited to become a part of such a wonderful community that had helped her grow and had supported her in many ways, something I thought was only capable through family. Coming to the end of this semester, I see that support doesn’t necessarily have to come through blood-related family but can be found in the communities we create.  

During orientation, I wrote down in my journal a lot of goals I had for myself through the Fellowship. The most important one, to me, was to heal wounds from childhood that had seemingly never gone away. I had always looked to take the painful experiences of childhood and transform that pain into motivation to create a just and better community. For me, through the community life as well as my internship placement through Estrella del Paso, I feel that I am able to come to terms with the pain of these experiences through the work I am able to do at Estrella, as well as the staff and clients I have met at Estrella. To be able to help others legally in a way that was not accessible in my childhood has been something so incredible to experience. I feel as if I am finally giving that inner child the power she desperately sought.

At Estrella, I work closely with Pearl Chavez, who works in the Crime Victims Unit. Pearl has been an incredible teacher, showing me through so much kindness and patience how to appropriately fill out applications, how to conduct intakes and showing me that we should be personable and kind with clients in a process that can be so cold and daunting. Through all of these experiences, I have learned resilience, determination and faith that there can be a better and just world. Through each U Visa application we submit for a family that has experienced a traumatic event, through each Violence Against Women Act immigration application we submit for someone in an abusive situation, we are making a difference for people, no matter how small it may seem at the moment.

Through the Loretto program, I have come closer to people to whom I had not previously been close. I have loved every moment of the community meals, since I am able to create a bond with the other Fellows through our shared experiences, and hearing about their hardships has helped me heal mine as well. It’s been so beautiful being able to share such personal things so openly, and for everyone to genuinely listen and care. It’s also put a lot of things into perspective, including to take care of myself so I am able to care for others in my community.

I am grateful as well for the Loretto Justice Fellowship retreat at the Motherhouse where we were able to escape from hectic everyday life and learn from others who have dedicated their lives to serving various communities. It was such a transformative experience, something that reaffirmed my commitment and love to social justice. When it may feel that the world is against us or falling apart, we have a community that we can fall back on that can uplift us. It was so refreshing to laugh and cry and experience the beauty of the sisterhood together.

There are not enough words to express the gratitude I feel to have found the Loretto Community, where I feel loved, seen, heard and taken care of in a time of my life where I need it the most. Thanks to their support, I am able to chase my dream of helping immigrant communities through healing, something I thought would not be possible through the work I chose to do. I cannot wait to continue to be a part of this community for the rest of my life, and seeing how my place in the community evolves through time. 

(Photos courtesy of Annie Rosenkranz and Giulianna Alcantarapalai. The top photo is of the Fellows on a retreat at the Motherhouse.)