My Story
My name is Julian Jacklin Zapata, and my story is characterized by La Brega; the grind, the climb: the struggle. Over the phone, through barred gates, or in harmony with the coquís, generations of Puerto Ricans have described their search for work, the daily walks for bags of ice post-Maria, and the overtime they need to work to afford Jetblue's roundtrip tickets for Christmas, as La Brega. It is both an inherited, and institutionalized experience among people everywhere, and much of my will to succeed stems from this shared experience, and my family's personal relation to it. 
My pursuit of higher education and broader goals in the tech field are deeply rooted in family. I grew up in the housing projects of Arverne, on the outskirts of NYC, with a single mother and older brother. Our relatives all live in Puerto Rico, since my mother was the only one of several siblings to pursue work stateside, singlehandedly providing my brother and me a far better life than we would have had back home in the campos of Ponce. With this decision, came years of La Brega that I witnessed first-hand growing up—and as my career and life aspirations began to emerge, they took the shape of my mother's lifelong dedication and care for me, my brother, and all our relatives abroad that she nevertheless manages to support.
My long-term goals are not only to support my family financially, but to serve as a role model to those who will come after me; those who will come from where I'm from; those who have come so far, and still have nowhere to look but up. I plan on achieving these goals by establishing myself within the tech industry, and eventually working in the field of CS education targeted at low-income students nationwide, and abroad, primarily in Puerto Rico and the Caribbean.
Many of my extracurricular pursuits currently, and since entering high school, have centered themselves around community. Since I grew up without much family, I consistently found myself in communities I had the agency of deeming my own. School became a "second home", and the friends I've made along the way—who are just as ambitious and driven as I am—have bonded into brothers and sisters.
Having this particular connection to the concept of community, I felt especially compelled to help create spaces at my current institution, Reed College(which is predominately white and high-income), where students who have similar backgrounds to mine, can feel empowered in not only these but all the spaces they wish to occupy. So, to act on this inclination, I applied to become a general intern at the Reed College Office of Admissions. By being able to interact with prospective students, especially those of marginalized backgrounds and identities, through conducting tours, interviews, and talks, I was able to create a community among applicants who felt as nervous and aimless as I was during the college application process. Now, as a Lead Intern, I supervise student work in the office to ensure that families and students are treated with care, and that the community I sought to create here is being continually developed by those I now train and prepare for the role.
I am grateful for everyone who has supported me on my journey so far, including my mother, my teachers, my mentors, and my friends. Without you all, La Brega would soley charactrize me and my story. Instead, I am a collection of efforts, strengths, and voices, defined by its parts: the people, places, and stories that make this life and struggle, worth it.
Updated: 06/05/23
