By Osiel Ocampo
Required Reading: Let’s Wait Awhile and Veneno Pa Tu Piel (Remastered)
During my time as a Summer Fellow for the Admissions Office, I often heard the sentiment “Pomona students are not just … but also.” And it’s stuck with me ever since. Prior to Pomona College, my learning never stopped in the classroom, I was always hungry for more. My interests have always been diverse. One day I would be learning about how to make fire by friction using a bow drill and the next I would be learning about how to implement social emotional curriculum to children. I’ve always wanted to… learn, experiment, and mess things up (metaphorically and physically). My biggest fear is not learning, is being just.
And so it was, I was not just a student in Spanish Class (Plants, Magic, Culture), but also a teacher. On the first day of class, we all went on a walking tour of Scripps and Pitzer’s campuses (P,M,C is a Scripps class primarily taught on Pitzer’s campus). During our walk we stopped at Pine trees on Scripps’ campus and learned about the role they played in Mexica beliefs (Aztec). Pine trees were/are connected to giants! As class was ending, I offered to show the class how to make pine needle baskets. Several weeks later, my professor took me up on my offer.
I have never formally taught anything in Spanish. I never really had to, but I do enjoy teaching and learning right alongside others. The entire process was collaborative which I greatly enjoyed. I had borrowed materials from the Hive, the Art Department, and used my own existing basket making materials. I collected pine needles from that same spot at Scripps where our class stopped on our first day. Pine needle baskets are incredibly awesome because they aren’t all that invasive, you use fallen pine needles. In this way, you don’t mistakenly harm the tree.
When it comes to making, I believe it’s almost always pretty intuitive. How do your hands want to move? What are you inclined to do? If there was no right or wrong way, how might you make? We all have different and complex relationships with making, and whenever I’m in the position to teach, my ultimate goal is always to get people to do, do whatever it is they enjoy. Why can’t basket weaving be like writing or playing video games? That day I was not just a teacher, but also a student. I see a teacher in everyone, possessing the ability to teach me something. While I was facilitating, my classmates were actively teaching me and through my interactions with them I quickly learned what wasn’t working and the best ways I could help as many people in a quick manner. This entire experience was a wholesome reminder of the fabulous community I have built for myself here, at Pomona College. I really did enjoy getting to share some of my knowledge with my professor, the class, and actively see everyone “struggle” at some point in the activity. Struggling together is such an intimate activity y soy muy contento de haber compartido eso en comunidad.