Hispanic Heritage Month: Lauren Lapomarda
For Lauren Lapomarda, her heritage has shaped the woman she is today in more ways than one. The traditional values her parents instilled in her from a young age are the ones you can probably guess: respect, humbleness, and accountability. But the ones that stood out to me during my conversation with Lapomarda were tradition, sacrifice, and pride. In many cultures, families tend to raise their children to have a sense of pride in where they come from because oftentimes, where we come from is a huge part of what makes who we are. And for Lapomarda’s family, that sentiment was no different.
When asked about the way her culture has impacted her both as a person and an athlete, Lapomarda talked a bit about that sense of pride her parents were so keen on instilling in her, “It’s pride in who I am and who I want to become later on in the future. As a person, it shows that anybody around is willing to help, and you want to be that helping, caring person. My family, friends, all Latinas, Latinos, Latinx, all of the community is willing to sacrifice anything just for you and other people.” She continued to say, “They put others before themselves. I think that’s awesome. I try to take that with myself, and as an athlete…it is a small community, but we’re willing to fight. We’re here to stand and show that we have heart, and we show our pride.”
