Catlin Gabel School’s first Hispanic Affinity Group

By Alyssa Sanchez ‘23

Affinity groups are a part of the Office of Inclusion and Outreach. Courtesy of Catlin Gabel School (CGS) Website.

Catlin Gabel School’s (CGS) first ever Hispanic Affinity Group for the Upper School (US) will meet this year during the remote learning period. 

The new affinity group was founded by seniors Kai Gamboa and Mateo Sufuentes with the help of the club's advisor Spanish teacher Enrique Escalone. 

Sufuentes said they had planned to start the group last year, and the first meeting was to take place at the US Diversity Summit in March of 2019. Due to COVID-19, the plans were cut short. 

During Sufuentes’s ninth grade year, students started a Latinx Affinity Group. The affinity group was limited to only members of Latin American descent. As Sufuentes is of Spanish heritage, he could not join. Due to low student participation, the affinity group was discontinued.

Gamboa and Sufuentes chose to name the group the Hispanic Affinity Group because it includes students from Latin America descent as well as people from Spanish descent.

Sufuentes and Gamboa were inspired to create this affinity group regardless of the setbacks. 

“Though we do have growing numbers, there are still not many Hispanic people at Catlin and giving that majority experience to students as well as teachers is really important,” said Sufuentes.

The group's founders realized there was an influx of students of Hipanic heritage in the lower classes in the US and wanted to create a space for them as well. 

“I spoke with Kai about this a few months into our junior year,” said Sufuentes. “The Hispanic community at Catlin, in terms of the number of students that might identify [as Hispanic], has grown in recent years.”

The meetings will be held from 2:30-3:00 on Mondays over Zoom with the first being Monday, Oct. 5.

Sufuentes and Gamboa hope the affinity group will continue, and interest for the continuation of the Hispanic Affinity Group has already been shown by junior Lola Diaz Gonzales and many US faculty members. 

 “It was about time we got our own affinity group so we could feel a sense of community and representation,” said Sufuentes.