Danny Navarro: You Belong Here
Danny Navarro | he/him/his | CLAS ‘11
B.A. in History
Danny Narravo’s journey to the University of Virginia’s class of 2011 began in his hometown of Miami, Florida. In the four years Navarro spent at UVA, he learned invaluable lessons, earned a degree in History, and has walked away with sage advice for Latinx students today. For Navarro, it all began when his Naval Science teacher recommended that he look into UVA his senior year. After an online look at the Academical Village, he decided that UVA was the place for him. However, Navarro needed a full scholarship in order to make this decision come to fruition. After receiving the aid he needed through Access UVA, Navarro committed to the University of Virginia.
When it came to actually arriving on Grounds, Navarro shared that as a low-income, immigrant family, it was not the archetypical “American” experience. He packed all of his belongings for his dorm in two suitcases, and said goodbye to his parents at the Amtrak station in Florida. There was a mix of tears, goodbyes, advice to work hard, and wishes for good luck as Navarro headed off. He also shared that there was an element of pressure that he experienced being the oldest child going off to school so far away. Reflecting on his family dynamic and how attending UVA impacted them he shared, “sometimes this immigrant story is dura. It’s tough. It’s not always a happy story.”
After a 24 hour train ride, Navarro arrived in Charlottesville and stepped foot on Grounds for the very first time. Upon first glance, Navarro wondered just how different a place he had moved to. Move-in day was gloomy and grey, and quite the opposite of sunny Miami. However, Navarro found that living in the International Residential College (IRC) helped him in adjusting to a bit of the culture shock he was experiencing. He was one of only a few Latinos living in the IRC, but reflected on it being a place where he truly explored his own Latinidad.
“We are literally going to give you the globe in the four buildngs that make up the [International Residential College].”
Coming to UVA and living in the IRC expanded Danny Navarro’s perspective beyond the Miami childhood in which he was immersed. Whether it was trying food from different cultures during dinners in the IRC, or just pushing him to look at his surroundings from a different angle, Navarro found that he gained insight into his own identity and the world around him. While Navarro recognized that he was leaving a town that had a much denser Latinx population, he said that he never experienced overt racism or discrimination. However, he did notice the looks that people gave him when he would speak Spanish, and the predominately white spaces on Grounds.
“UVA pushed me to be more open and more honest about my upbringing, my struggle, and [to be] a better person.”
As time passed, Navarro became more in touch with his Latinidad. He shared that in Miami, latinidad was an expectation. Spanish was commonly spoken and seen all around. Once he came to UVA, he started to reflect more on his own unique identity and experiences. Navarro also reflected on classroom discussions surrounding the construction of the South Lawn Project and the memorial to Katherine Foster. As he heard discussions about the confederacy and Virginia’s deeply-rooted history, he began to ask questions that pushed deeper into his own identity. He asked himself who and where his own people were, and realized that the answer was not as clear cut as he thought.
As Navarro became more in touch with his Latinidad, he also became involved in the community on Grounds. By his third year, Navarro was involved in multiple Latinx organizations and initiatives. Navarro shared that because there was a lack of institutional structure for Latinx students, it forced him to culturally seek out groups that could provide an ad hoc structure for him. He spoke about the frustrations that he felt in not having a physical space dedicated to Latinx students on grounds, especially at a predominately white institution. However, he has also seen change occur at UVA. Last time he returned with his wife for Lighting of the Lawn, he noticed the confederate plaques missing from the Rotunda. Most recently, a Latinx space has been unveiled after years of student advocacy calling for the physical space that Navarro also wanted. While Navarro was a student, he used his lawn room as a Latinx student space during his fourth year.
“We were making that presence known. Talk about an office space? My room became an office space for our Latino issues.”
Danny Navarro also served the community in an advocacy capacity through the Dare to Dream campaign. The campaign focused on advocating for the DREAM Act, but Navarro learned other lessons along the way as well. He began to notice that people around Grounds were unfamiliar with what the DREAM Act was, and that there was a need for education before there could be an effective call to action.
Navarro’s extracurricular involvements were vast. Beyond his part-time job working in the UVA Drama Department selling tickets, he also took on the role of “DJ D-Money” during his third and fourth year. Navarro shared stories of DJing at parties to raise money for the Latino Student Alliance (renamed the Latinx Student Alliance in 2017). Beyond being a fun time for Navarro, these parties also functioned as an expression of his Latino identity. As he was, “unapologetic about playing salsa,” he felt like they were creating another space for Latinx students on Grounds. For Navarro, those parties were also, “about cultural recognition and cultural acceptance.” The impact of music followed Navarro through to his fourth year and living on the Lawn. He remembered playing music every day from his Lawn room, room 9 West.
Living on the Lawn had an immense impact for Navarro. When he showed his wife his name on the list of past residents of 9 West, he saw it in print for the first time. For Navarro, that meant knowing that no one could take this accomplishment that was so important to him away. For Navarro, it was never just about having a Lawn room. It was also about hosting Latino Student Alliance meetings, hanging his Colombian flag, and playing Latino music. Having his lawn room meant reminding people that, “[Latinx students] have been here since day one.”
“If we are ever going to have a better America, better community, we all need to push ourselves to go to these places that will challenge us but they will make us better at the end of the day.”
Besides living on the Lawn, a few of Navarro’s favorite memories at the University include playing soccer with his friends and learning how to salsa dance. Ultimately, Navarro is grateful that despite having the odds stacked against him with immigrant parents and growing up in poverty, he made it to UVA and graduated with a degree and long lasting friendships. After reflecting on his time at UVA, Navarro emphasized one piece of advice for current Latinx students.
“No la de pena ser latino.”
Navarro emphasized repeatedly the importance of believing that he, and all Latinx students, belong at the University. However, this urgency of belonging carries beyond the University. Navarro also pushed for the importance of finding that sense of belonging wherever he may be, and understanding that no one needed to be convinced in order for him to belong. Ultimately, Danny Navarro found pieces of his identity during his time at UVA, as well as a deep belief in the right for Latinx students to belong wherever they may be simply because they are.