On the dance floor, Natalie Suaste escapes the thoughts that cloud her mind during the day. As she moves her body to the music, she experiences a familiar wave of exhilaration and joy but once the music stops, she can sense the tension return. The remarks about who she is are whispered among peers and the sting is enough for her to decide that still brings anguish to her soul.
Suaste, who identifies as Chicanx, is now a sophomore at the University of Idaho double majoring in psychology and philosophy and is one of the many Hispanic and Latinx community members in Idaho who has grown up in the region with both positive and negative experiences.
To clarify, Hispanic refers to any of the peoples in the Americas and Spain who speak Spanish or are descended from Spanish-speaking communities. Meanwhile Chicanx is a gender-neutral term for someone of Mexican origin or descent living in America, and Latinx is a gender-neutral term of Latin American origin or descent.
Suaste has many accomplishments under her belt that would make any parent proud, but they weren’t achieved without challenges. She said the time spent as a dancer in high school led to the realization on the amount of discrimination and mistreatment young Chicanx or Latinx students face.
“I was the only Chicanx member on the team and got made fun of a lot,” Suaste said. “Dance was something that I loved, but I slowly started to hate the sport because of how I was treated and labeled. Clearly, I was being marginalized and there were oppressions that were going on towards me that weren’t happening to anyone else, so I quit before senior year.”
As she began navigating through the process of applying for scholarships, she utilized her role as President of Latinos in Action (LIA) to help her peers find aid and support. According to its website, LIA has a mission to empower Latino youth to lead and strengthen their communities through college and career readiness. Jerome students involved with the program traveled across southern Idaho with Suaste to support other Latinx/Chicanx students who may benefit from the program.
“We relied on each other to get information about what was available to us,” Suaste said. “It made us realize how much harder it is for us to have access to information, we basically had to fight for it.”
Already having family ties in the area, the Suaste family made the decision to move from California to Idaho where they grew to make connections with other Latinx people through the Catholic Church. Over the years they took notice in the strength within their community, often finding networking opportunities and even finding English classes to take with their new friends.
In November 2021, Suaste played a key role in the passing resolution calling for the implementation of a Chicanx and Latinx major, which has been in the works for the last 20 years at the University of Idaho. Along with this, her older sister Ariana Suaste, now alumni, worked on the project while acting as the Director of Diversity and Inclusion for Associated Student University of Idaho and is now passing the bouton to her younger sister.
This is just the first step forward Suaste has taken to bring further development in the state of Idaho for her community. Currently she is contemplating pursuing a law degree or entering politics.
“I think Idaho lacks a lot of political representation for the Latinx population and I believe I would be a great person to represent my community here,” Suaste said.
Another aspiring lawyer is Yasmine Tovar, who plans to focus on immigration or health law after earning her degrees in political science, international studies and Spanish at UI. She has also been working with Suaste to pass the Latinx and Chicanx major.
“I saw this degree as an opportunity for young Latinx members to connect with themselves and their interest about our culture,” Tovar said. “When I came to school here, I was able to be more open to my culture due to the support system already installed on campus.”
UI has two fraternities and four sororities that are governed by the Multicultural Greek Council. Additional support is the Office of Multicultural Affairs, which seeks to broaden UI’s commitment to cultural enrichment on campus.
Tovar, who grew up in Nampa, has also taken a notice in how much the Latinx community has grown across the gem state. According to the 2020 census, 13% of Idaho’s population indicated to be Hispanic – an increase 1.5% from 2010.
Nampa falls in one of the hot spots for Latinx population rates in the state. The Hispanic Profile Databook 2021 reports Hispanics are heavily concentrated in the southern part of the state with southwestern Idaho having the most Hispanic residents: about 116,000 in 2019.
Tovar said while there is more diversity in Nampa there is not as much access to organizations for young Latinx students to get involved in, compared to what she’s experienced at UI. Therefore she believes having this study available will allow students,who didn’t have that foundation early on to make that cultural connection.
Lucia Carbajal also noticed there is a lack of Spanish speaking or Latinx medical experts in Idaho, which is one of the many reasons she made the decision to enter the medical field. Currently she is a fourth-year medical student in the Idaho WWAMI program through the University of Washington.
When Carbajal was eight years old, her family relocated from Los Angeles, California to Weiser, a small town located one hour north of Boise. The Hispanic population was noticeably smaller than where they originated from, but the Hispanic Profile Databook places Washington county as one of the top 15 counties with the highest share of Hispanic residents, sitting at 17%.
However, there was only one Spanish-speaking medical provider, Dr. Lore Wootton, accessible to the community. Carbajal said while her mom understands English, she would gravitate towards providers who spoke Spanish and would seek medical care outside of Weiser. She felt she could create a better relationship and cultural understanding with someone who obtained that skill.
At age 16, Carbajal went on a mission to Honduras with the Weiser Community Church and Dr. Wootton, who provided her medical services to the community.
“We traveled to small rural communities and watching Dr. Wootton interact with these individuals, who didn’t even have Advil, was just so wonderful to witness,” Carbajal said. “I was able to help translate and since that experience I’ve been interested in science with healthcare in the back of my mind.”
During her time in medical school, Carbajal has noticed the low presence in diversity among students. Out of 40 students she was the only Hispanic female involved in Targeted Rural Undeserved Track (TRUST) – a program to prepare students for future practice in underserved rural communities. A 2018 report by the Association of American Medical Colleges shows 5.8% of active physicians identified as Hispanic in the US, and indicator that there is opportunity for diversity growth in this field.
Carbajal noted she was fortunate to have been able to be supported by parents who encouraged her to take dual credit courses in high school and study medicine, however she knows there can be barriers when it comes to education.
Looking forward, she plans to complete her fourth year in Seattle, Washington and return to Idaho as a physician in order provided for underserved rural communities and be the Spanish speaking provider someone else’s parents may be in need for.
“My experiences in Honduras and Peru were very under resourced,” Carbajal said. “It taught me to be creative and think on my feet because there’s a lack of resources. After having done a few rotations in Idaho I realized that rural medicine is similar because these areas have a lack of resources and primary care providers. That’s how I decided this was what I want to do.”
It’s evident Idaho has a long way to go when it comes to bringing in more resources, whether it’s for education or medical services, but nonetheless Latinx community members have worked hard for their success and to remain connected to their culture. These students’ testimonies are a tiny part of a moving story.