Cinthia’s Journey
Name
Cinthia Romo
Major
Sociology & French
Hometown
Lenexa, Kansas
I matched to Grinnell through QuestBridge, a national college access nonprofit, in 2016. Thinking that I would probably not get the National Match Scholarship, I felt discouraged about looking into schools. When I was matched to Grinnell, I didn't even know where it was on the map!
Despite that, I wouldn't change a thing about my journey. I am extremely fortunate to have matched with Grinnell, and would do it all over again! There are so many things I love about Grinnell, but if I had to narrow it down, the most meaningful aspects of my college experience have been the people and the opportunities.
No Barriers
This is a photo taken my last day at VoteSmart. Coworkers and I are holding the cacti that we kept on our desks. We bonded over our love of plants, and by the end of my internship we were naming each other's plants. I gifted the office a bromeliad plant as my parting gift, and three years later it is still there. They named it Cinthia!
After my first year at Grinnell, I was able to complete an unpaid internship thanks to funding from the Center for Careers, Life and Service (CLS). I interned at VoteSmart, a Des Moines-based non-partisan nonprofit that conducts unbiased research on political candidates and officials to help voters make informed decisions. Financial barriers to opportunities were a big part of my experience growing up, so I am super grateful for all of Grinnell's support, which allowed me to not have to worry about that anymore!
Spring Break Service
Each year, Grinnell funds student-organized Alternative Break service trips over our two-week spring break. In my second year, I was able to co-lead an Alt Break trip to Chicago with one of my friends. We led a group of 12 peers to complete service at Centro Romero, which supports undocumented immigrants by providing legal and educational services as well as assistance for victims/survivors of domestic violence.
We were also able to visit different ethnic enclaves to explore the impact that immigration has had on Chicago's urban space.
Photo 1: Students gather in front of street art at a cultural site.. Photo 2: My Alt-Break group poses in the Loop area of downtown Chicago.
Global Grinnellian
The summer after my second year, I was able to travel to Paris, Berlin, and Strasbourg through the Global Learning Program (GLP)!
GLP classes offer first- and second-year students the opportunity to explore specific global issues from an interdisciplinary, experiential perspective. Students learn from a pair of professors (in my case, French and German) and travel with them during a spring break and the beginning of the summer.
My class was called Tolerance and Intolerance: What Does the Enlightenment Mean Today? When we traveled to Europe, we went to different museums, went on street art tours, and also visited memorial sites to explore how different injustices have had an impact on the modern world.
This photo of my classmates looking up at a Protestant church was taken on a street tour of Berlin, Germany.
On our off time, we were able to explore the abundance of museums and cultural sites across Paris, Berlin, and Strasbourg.
This photo of me in front of a Claude Monet painting was taken at l'Orangerie, an art gallery of impressionist and post-impressionist paintings in Paris.
One of my favorite museums to explore was the Louvre. I was surprised to see how small the Mona Lisa is in real life!
On another excursion, a group of friends and I visited the Sacré-Cœur, a Roman Catholic church perched atop the highest point in Paris.
How many photo-bombers can you find?
The most fun part of our trip was going dancing with my classmates and professors. We went salsa dancing by the Seine and swing dancing in Berlin!
Restorative Justice
The summer after my third year, I did another CLS-funded internship, this time with the Restorative Justice Project (RJP) in Belfast, ME. In this capacity, I worked with youth who had recently been arrested to find alternative ways of addressing harm without going through the criminal justice system. I also worked with incarcerated men to help them navigate re-entry into civilian life. On my off time, I loved exploring the beautiful mountains and seascapes of mid-coast Maine!
Photo 1: All smiles atop Beehive Summit in Bar Harbor, Maine Photo 2: My RJP colleagues and friends
Discovering Myself
After having a powerful experience volunteering as a paralegal at the South Texas Family Residential Facility, the largest immigration detention center in the country, I was compelled to dive deeper into the work.
In the spring of 2020, I took a semester off to conduct ethnographic research on the lived experiences of asylum seekers. As part of this experience, I interned at El Proyecto Corazon, one of the only nonprofits providing pro bono legal representation for asylum seekers living at a refugee camp in Matamoros, Tamaulipas, Mexico.
Every day for five months, I crossed the border from Brownsville, Texas into Matamoros to work at the camp. This was the most profound experience I have had as a Grinnellian, and I know I will carry it with me for the rest of my life.
Onwards and Upwards
The networks of support and experiences I encountered throughout my time at Grinnell have shaped me into a confident and passionate scholar, activist, and friend. Below are some of the people and organizations who have inspired me along the way!
I will take the lessons, love, and laughter I have been gifted with me wherever I go.
Post-Grad
After graduating from Grinnell, I headed straight to Washington University in St. Louis for my Ph.D. in sociology, studying race, immigration, and criminal justice — otherwise known as "crimigration." I'm a Spencer T. and Ann Olin Fellow at WashU. Through my training, I aspire to become an activist scholar, professor, and public sociologist engaged in my local community.
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