Photo by: Steve Cohn © 2019
My name is Catalina (like the island). I was born in San Juan, Puerto Rico and raised in Key Biscayne, Florida. When I was five years old, I told my mother six words that changed my life. As she was picking me up from school one day, I looked up and told her “I want to be a writer.”
At that time, I was in Ms. Stephanie’s kindergarten class at St. Christopher’s Montessori School. Every day after all the kids went home, I would stay for an hour longer with Ms. Stephanie talking about books while feasting on walnuts and apple juice. I never forgot Ms. Stephanie. She liked to rescue mice from snake stores and, more importantly, she was the first adult to take my love for reading and writing seriously.
When I moved on from elementary school into middle and high school, I left behind the comfort of Montessori for a cutthroat prep school environment that concerned itself more with grades than learning. It was hard to relate to most of my classmates and I felt very alone. From 7:00am to 3:15pm I tried to say as little as possible. Introversion was a defense mechanism from the bullies. If they couldn’t see me, they couldn’t hurt me.
Even though I had few friends, my biggest comfort always came from the stories I was reading. I fell in love with Toni Morrison, Sandra Cisneros, Jamaica Kincaid, and Edwidge Danticat. I remember spending lunch periods in the library or writing short stories with my friend Gaby in the lobby of the school theatre.
Around that time, I began teaching myself guitar on my dad’s old Spanish acoustic and used songwriting as another creative outlet. I studied Simon & Garfunkel and Joni Mitchell’s lyrics. I listened to my mom’s Silvio Rodriguez records. I hung up a black and white poster of Bob Dylan in my room.
Senior year of high school came around as did college applications. I remember when I asked one of my professors for a letter of recommendation and he looked surprised when I told him what I planned to major in. “But why do you want to study English?” He asked me. “What do you—what do you plan to do with that?” It was a question I was used to by that point and I just shrugged and told him I would write.
My first visit to USC was during the ExploreUSC program where, during my scholarship interview, I remember meeting Chris Freeman who later became one of my professors. We immediately bonded over our love of books and Stevie Nicks and that was when I knew I had made the right choice to attend this school.
Moving to California felt like moving to another country, time changes and all. Being so far from home helped me grow more independent and opened my mind to new ideas and experiences. I became a DJ in the radio station where I played Latin American reggae every week. I went on trips with the hiking club where I climbed to the top of Mt. Baldy and watched the sun rise over the desert in Death Valley. I won the Intramural soccer championship with my team. I learned about my favorite genre, the ethnic bildungsroman, in Elda Maria Roman’s class. My sophomore year I picked up a second major in Spanish and a minor in Cinematic Arts. I wound up studying abroad twice, first in Madrid and then in Dublin. I made friends from all over the country and the world. I met Junot Díaz and Tommy Orange. Now I am continuing my English studies by pursuing a Progressive Master’s Degree in Literary Editing and Publishing at USC.
Even with all of these memories there is nothing I am more proud of than co-founding the USC Literary Society. I read a magazine article where the author of the piece wrote, “writers are both hermits and herd animals.” I love this quote and I have always believed that every creative person benefits from a community. Our hope is to establish this club as best as we can so that it endures and continues building a network of writers at USC long after we’ve all graduated.
At USC I found home. These past four years helped me grow into myself both as a person and a writer.
To Jimmy’s family, I want to express my deepest gratitude. I am honored and humbled to be a recipient of the Jimmy Gauntt award and I hope that I can continue Jimmy’s legacy in my own creative life.
I’m grateful for all the experiences I’ve had here, and I feel so blessed to have supportive parents, friends, and professors – all of whom challenge me in the best ways and make me want to be a better person every day.
The USC English Department has given me the courage, not to stand up and say, “I want to be a writer”, but rather: “I am a writer.”
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