The Next Generation Fights for Change

July 11, 2007
Rebecca Huberman

This past June, 16 year old Duceani Davila, nicknamed Duci, stood in front of a crowd and delivered a speech about the most defining moment of her life. While speaking, Davila saw her future begin to unfold.

Davila’s defining moment discussed in her speech was when she visited Mexico and saw the poverty many of its citizens lived in. She realized that the United States tends to take many of its privileges and technology for granted.

“People in countries that aren’t as wealthy as ours would give anything to have the last bite of a hamburger,” she says.
Delivering her speech could also be considered one of Davila’s most defining moments. After speaking, Davila felt inspired and decided she wanted to join an organization and make speeches about human rights as a career. Her focus will be specifically on immigration and social class change.

“One day I was just like, ‘I want to make a difference!’” said Davila.
Davila would like to focus mostly on immigration rights because both she and her parents are immigrants from Mexico. Davila was born in Orizava, Vera Cruz and moved to the United States when she was two years old because her parents wanted to create a better life for their family.

“Many people stereotype about [immigrants],” said Davila. “It’s not right because not everyone is here to harm.”

If she does not end up working for an organization for human rights, Davila wants to work for Biogen Idec, a cancer research company, in the human resources department.

Davila owes some of her motivation to make a difference to Reality Changers, a youth group for Hispanic first-generation students that she has been a part of for four years. She feels that Reality Changers has helped her in many ways, which include issues with school and her personal life. Students from UCSD and San Diego State University attend the program as tutors for its members.
“I see the tutors as my friends and people to talk to,” says Davila. “If I need help I know they’re there for me.”

Besides being a member of Reality Changers, Davila plans to join a group at her high school called Youth for Human Rights so she can fight for even more change. She also wants to attend University of California San Diego and major in Sociology before pursuing her career goal. Davila says that trying to make a difference makes her feel empowered.

“There are many things that have provided me with inspiration,” she says. “There are so many factors that affect me and empower me to try to make a difference.”