By KJ Hiramoto
La Raza
Most English-speaking children in the United States can relate to relying on their parents to order food in restaurants or picking up prescriptions when growing up. But for Sammamish High School faculty Jannely Quintana, she remembers the reverse role–speaking English to other grownups on behalf of her Spanish-speaking parents, who were Mexican immigrants.
“I grew up translating for my parents in all different areas,” said Quintana, whose parents immigrated from Mexico to Los Angeles, where Quintana was born. “Because of this, I have a better understanding for first-generation Latino students who probably grew having those similar experiences with language barrier.”
Hired as the school’s counseling secretary in October, Quintana carries a vision to accommodate students and their families, especially those of Latino heritage. Students of Hispanic ethnicity make up of about 20 percent of the 905 enrolled students, according to Sammamish High School’s October 2014 demographic report .
“When parents first arrive in the U.S. they get nervous, especially when confronted in a language they don’t speak,” Quintana said. “They don’t get a chance to ask questions they want to ask or really understand how their kids are doing. So my goal is to make sure there is a sense of confidence being shared in this parent-student-teacher relationship.”
Quintana attributed her drive to help students to the unconditional support her parents gave her growing up. She recalled a time when her mother allowed her to play competitive soccer for both Sammamish High School and Bellevue College, despite disapproval among her family members at first.
“I was the only person in my entire family to be on a sports team in high school,” said Quintana, who is the only daughter and has two brothers. “My mom got bashed a lot from family members as I was growing up since she let her little daughter played sports. But she always pushed me.”
When Quintana studied at University of Washington Bothell as a transfer student from Bellevue College, she was involved in UW Bothell’s Making Access to College Happen (MATCH) program. As one of the mentors of the program, she encouraged first-generation college students, particularly those whose first language isn’t English to apply to colleges .
“Having an education is a blessing and it opens up so many opportunities and roads for yourself,” Quintana said. “You have options no matter where you end up working. No one can take your education away, no matter what you go through, no matter how or what kind of jobs you get.”
Quintana’s colleague and friend in the MATCH program, Catalina Villanueva, remembers being especially impressed by progress she made speaking out against stereotypes.
“She was really quiet at first when I met her,” Villanueva said. “She got really frustrated when people made comments that Latinos don’t go to college, but toward the end of the experience, she became very vocal against those stereotypes. I really enjoyed seeing that in her. I knew she always had it and all of a sudden she became more vocal about it.”
Quintana said she looks forward to being involved with the Latino student body of Sammamish High School.
“I noticed that we do have the Latino Club in this school so my plan is to join (as a faculty adviser) after having my baby,” Quintana said. “I would love to familiarize myself with the Latino students and show them the way when they need the help.
Vanessa Alvarez University of Washington’s program officer of the Graduate School, who then worked closely with the MATCH program as an admissions staff at the UW, said helping others has always been one of Quintana’s strengths.
“We need more people like Janely, who are very committed to the work,” Alvarez said. “As a person of color, you kind of feel the weight of the world on your shoulders. That’s not always the case because there are people that could help. I know she is going to go very far based on how committed she is to her work.”
