Featured Student: Angie Barrera Gonzalez

Meet Angie Barrera Gonzalez! Angie will be a senior in high school this year and is the co-founder, treasurer and social media manager for the Latinx Club at her school. Angie was a 2024 high school summer intern at WIDA. In this article, she tells us about herself, her dreams and her work at WIDA.

Hannah Haynes: Tell me a little about yourself: Where did you grow up? What high school do you attend?

Angie Barrera Gonzalez: I grew up in Madison, Wisconsin and I’m going to be a senior this year at La Follette High School. During the summer, I interned for WIDA through Centro Hispano. I volunteer at the Dane County Humane Society. I was in the Badger Precollege program for philosophy of law. I got to stay in the dorms and get the real college experience, it was fun!

Hannah: Can you tell me about your experience and work in the Latinx club at your school?

Angie: I am the co-founder, treasurer and social media manager for the Latinx club (Union Latina). My sisters were in the club, and I would attend meetings with my mom. I was really inspired and wanted to be a part of it. We started meetings and planning events. Our first event was for Day of the Dead. We had conchas, hot chocolate and a station to make papel picado or flowers with tissue paper.

It got a lot of attention from students and staff. People were excited to see what else we had planned and more students joined the club. Since then, we’ve done bake sales, sold our own shirts and volunteered with elementary schools. You can check out what we do on our Instagram page, @lhsunionlatina.

Hannah: What do you like to do during your free time?

Angie: I love to hike, walk and kayak with my dog, a Siberian Husky named Mochi. I love to bake and cook. My favorite thing to prepare is cake pops or chocolate covered strawberries. I also love to read, watch movies and shows and listen to music. My favorite book is “The Bell Jar” by Sylvia Plath. My favorite movie is probably Little Women, and my favorite shows are either Shameless, Killing Eve or Grey's Anatomy. My favorite artists at the moment are The Maria's, Clario and Role Model. I enjoy volunteering with organizations, like the Boys & Girls Club, Nuestro Mundo, Dane County Humane Society, and the Kohl Center.

Hannah: What languages do you speak at home versus outside your home?

Angie: I speak English and Spanish at home and outside of my house. I mainly speak English with my sisters or cousins, and Spanish with my parents, aunts and uncles. In school I speak both. I’ve been in the DLI [dual language immersion] program for about 12 years and most of my classes are in Spanish and English. I learned Spanish at home and slowly learned English through my older sisters and in elementary school. It was a fun experience because at Nuestro Mundo I learned a new language with other students, and I wasn't the only one learning a new language. There were students who knew English and were learning Spanish and some like me, learning English. Most of my friends are bilingual and I speak both English and Spanish with them.

Hannah: What are some of the classes you enjoy in school? Why?  

Angie: I really enjoy math, history and English. Math has always been fun for me. It can be hard, but it's kind of a game with patterns that you need to figure out. I also like it because it challenges me, and I have memories of my father making me learn my times table at an early age at the dining table and it was fun but also stressful. I like history because it’s an interesting subject. I really like modern U.S. history, which I took last year. The teacher was fun and that made the class enjoyable. English is also cool because I like to read but the classes can be annoying, especially the AP classes because they can stress me out, but I enjoy it since I’m learning how to improve my writing and how to read more complex stuff.

Hannah: As you head into your senior year, what aspirations do you have for after you graduate?

Angie: I'd like to work in immigration law. I'm really interested in that because I really want to help people struggling with those legal issues. I'm inspired to help the Latino community as much as I can but I’m also not so sure. I wish I could pursue it but with law school and the university costs I’m not sure if I will be able to complete that dream. I'd like to go to the University of Wisconsin—Madison and major in legal studies and get a certificate in Chicano/Latino studies.

Hannah: What does being multilingual mean to you? What are some of the ups and downs?

Angie: Being multilingual means connecting and communicating with a wider range of people. It has led me to numerous opportunities and experiences. It’s also a way of representing my Mexican culture and heritage. Some upsides are the opportunities it brings me, cultural understanding and being able to connect with Spanish-speaking people or English-speaking people. One downside is the interference of both. I mess up a lot and say something in Spanglish instead of English or Spanish and can forget words sometimes. Another downside is the expectations. I feel pressure to be perfect at it or to be a translator for people. Sometimes I feel like I can’t speak Spanish in front of everyone. In my school, some kids will stare at my friends and me when we speak Spanish. It annoys me because it’s not their business and can make me feel unsafe and just doubt talking in Spanish, it's sad but it’s the truth.

Hannah: What projects are you working on while you are at WIDA?  

Angie: I got the opportunity to interview the WIDA staff. I had to research the staff and decide who I wanted to interview. I spoke with people on the WIDA Español team and the WIDA Social Justice Change Team. I chose them because I wanted to work with teams that mainly focused on working with bilingual students. Then I came up with questions that revolved around youth involvement and how WIDA incorporates youth into their work. I communicated and contacted people through emails and scheduled the interviews. Then I conducted the interviews. Lastly, I learned/developed organization, communication, writing and speaking skills by engaging with WIDA staff. I gave them some feedback. I also had to present at the staff retreat in front of a bunch of adults, but it was fun. I was nervous but enjoyed it. I never did that at school or anywhere else and it helped me with my fear of public speaking.

Hannah: Having wrapped up your internship, have you learned anything about WIDA and the work we do that surprised you? Is there anything you learned that you would share with others?

Angie: I didn’t know that WIDA did the ACCESS for ELLs tests, so it was surprising to find out who makes those. But overall, the staff is wonderful and amazing. Andrea, Tara, Mari, Kathy and Isa were wonderful to work with and they showed me a lot, from coding to interpretational skills and writing and speaking proficiently in a professional workplace. It was amazing, and I’m thankful to everyone who helped and supported me throughout my internship.