Latinx Heritage Month Spotlight: Xitlaly Franquez ’23

Pitzer Affiliations: Robert Redford Conservancy Fellow, Resident Assistant, and President of the First Gen Club

How do your culture, family background, and history influence your work? 

I push myself with the intention to continue empowering my community, who is largely Latinx. There is a long history of environmental injustices, which is why I’m in environmental science. I want to do advocacy around that. My parents are immigrants, so there’s a lot I want to do for everything they have done for me. Their experiences have taught me how to create a sense of belonging away from your place of origin and home.

Tell us about your interest in sustainability in marginalized communities.

My interest came from shock, to put it bluntly. I learned about environmental injustice in a class where we talked about freeway pollution. I thought: “Oh, I live two streets from the freeway. Is this not normal?” I am still just as shocked today. That’s what keeps me in the field. It’s an urgent issue because people’s lives are at stake.

What drew you to Pitzer? 

It’s local and a liberal arts college. Coming with an interest in environmental justice, I knew I had to have an understanding of not only science but also how to engage in community work. Pitzer’s core values in environmental sustainability and intercultural understanding drew me because I was trying to mesh the two together.

How did you get to where you are now?

My parents and teachers encouraged me. I was lucky to join a college access program, Thrive Scholars. Applying to colleges was scary because everything was unknown to me, but the program had so many people helping me. I continue to be where I am now because of friends who share the identities that I hold and keep me grounded.