Plática Entre Familia — a safe space for students to share struggles and celebrate achievements

July’s Plática Entre Familia meeting

Upward Scholars student Luis was recovering from COVID-19 when he decided to attend the Upward Scholars Plática Entre Familia, a monthly student-staff gathering over Zoom whose purpose is to provide a safe and welcoming space for Upward Scholars students to share struggles, seek support from one another and staff, and celebrate each other's achievements.

At his first meeting, Luis didn’t plan to discuss his illness. But when one of the other participants mentioned her challenges recovering from COVID-19 and another student chimed in as well, Luis shared his experiences, too. Now, Luis rarely misses a meeting. “Plática Entre Familia is a shelter for us, a place where we find that we’re all struggling with similar things and can get support from each other,” Luis says.

While the group initially focused on COVID-related issues, it has grown into a forum where students share a variety of concerns, from immigration to employment injustices to academic challenges and successes, too. Because meetings are conducted in Spanish, students can express themselves more freely than in English.

A few months after Plática Entre Familia was launched, Upward Scholars Executive Director Dr. Linda Prieto invited Reverend Gerardo García-Palacios, a chaplain fellow at Stanford Health Care, to attend the meetings as well. In explaining his role, Rev. Gerardo says, “As a spiritual care provider, my job is to listen. What we are providing students is the opportunity, in a safe place, to express feelings that are not easy to express to their families. Then, they can say, ’OK, now I can continue with my studies. Now I feel light.’”

Students who attend Plática Entre Familia often mention the spiritual grounding that Rev. Gerardo brings to these nondenominational meetings. Luis says, “The majority of us come from a religious background. When we see someone who is representing God, we feel that spiritual support.”

Rev. Gerardo came to the U.S. from Mexico at age 17. Like many Upward Scholars students, he attended Cañada College. After receiving his associate’s and bachelor’s degrees, he began his master’s degree in divinity, which took ten years to complete since, like so many Upward Scholars students, he could afford only one class per semester. Rev. Gerardo rarely brings his personal experiences into conversations with students, but his background gives him an uncanny ability to empathize with the challenges Upward Scholars students face.

While most students get sufficient sustenance from attending Plática Entre Familia group meetings, students can also request to meet individually either by phone or Zoom with Rev. Gerardo — an opportunity that a number of Upward Scholars students take advantage of. One of those students, María, sought out Rev. Gerardo because of the feelings associated with being fired from a job she had held for many years while also struggling with the loss of a close friend. “I feel very blessed,” she says. “Gerardo helped me to feel more safe and to feel that I have more of a connection with God.”