Portland State Magazine Fall 2018

12 GROWING UP as an immigrant helped give Balderas-Villagrana the leadership skills that led him to this point in his life. He started out by learning English. Just entering second grade in this new, strange country, Balderas-Villagrana did not know a word of the language, but picked it up quickly through careful listening, hand signals, watching people’s lips, using pictures to express what he needed, and the patient tutelage of his teacher, Molly Smith, who he still considers a mentor. He was proficient by the end of the year. Learning English allowed him to fully participate in school, but it also made him his family’s official translator. Even as a young boy, he accompanied his parents to doctor appointments and meetings with bankers, insurance agents and employers. If there was important family businesses that required communicating with the outside world, it was Balderas-Villagrana’s job to facilitate it. Both he and his family experienced occasional bigotry from people in their town. For example, while a track and field athlete in high school, kids asked if he performed the high jump so he could jump the border. Often it was not openly expressed. “It was more like micro-aggression, like making racist comments that supposedly didn’t mean anything, but really were kind of offensive,” he says. Over time, Balderas-Villagrana gained a reputation for not allowing it. He worked to maintain an upstanding reputation, and to talk to people who committed acts of prejudice with the intention of educating them rather than arguing with them, “not really in an aggressive way, but like ‘This is wrong and this is why it’s wrong.’ If it continued to happen I would go to a teacher and have a discussion about it. I learned to go step by step in getting to a solution,” he says. He applied for DACA status as a teenager, and says the most exciting day of his life was when he received a government letter confirming it. He felt more secure walking down the street, being in public places and talking with people. “I felt like a new person—someone who finally had a voice to say something in this country without fear of being targeted. I became more extroverted, and I felt at that point that going to college was essential,” he says. COMING TO Portland and starting at PSU was a scary experience. More people lived in his dorm than in his home town. But he was determined to make the most of it. He walked into the student government office winter term of his freshman year and asked to get involved. He filled out an application and was appointed as a senator, then became senate chair in the spring. He was elected president at the end of his sophomore year. He also got a job at PSU’s Center for Entrepreneurship and helped revive the Entrepreneurship Club, which had been inactive for two years. He got help from Juan Barraza, the center’s director of Student Innovation. “One of the first things I noticed was his quiet demeanor,” Barraza says. “At first I attributed that to an introvert personality, but as I got to know Luis, I realized that he utilizes the power of being quiet. He’s always listening to identify what is important for a project to move it forward. He will express his opinion at the right moment to steer the conversation in the right direction.” Balderas-Villagrana says those skills came in handy as he adjusted to the culture shock of being at PSU. “Coming from Eastern Oregon, I grew up with a lot of conservative views,” he says. “I had to adjust when I came to PSU, and I did that by educating myself—by talking to professors and other students. I was able to teach myself that I can change my views.” He wants to put those skills to work in his new role as student body president. He plans to focus on three broad areas: collaboration with administrators, staff, faculty and students; enhancing campus-wide diversity; and improving student connections with businesses and government entities in the Portland area. By campus-wide diversity, Balderas-Villagrana is looking beyond ethnicity to include students of all experiences, opinions and backgrounds. “Someone told me student government can be one-sided, so I want to make a point of listening to all viewpoints,” he says. As he does so, the uncertain future of DACA is always on his mind, and so is his mission to support the other Dreamers on the PSU campus. “Dreamers are not here to steal your jobs or benefits,” he told the Tribune . “We are here to succeed and help our communities. We’re not strangers; we are the people around you: your friends, neighbors and family. As Dreamers we will keep fighting until our voices are heard, and we will succeed!”  John Kirkland is a staff member in the PSU Office of University Communications. “COMING FROM EASTERN OREGON, I GREW UP WITH A LOT OF CONSERVATIVE VIEWS.” LUIS BALDERAS-VILLAGRANA, NEW STUDENT BODY PRESIDENT, FEELS HE GAINED LEADERSHIP SKILLS BECAUSE OF HIS IMMIGRANT STATUS.