Interview with Amy Maca

Amy Maca (pictured in the back right) is a first year, Guatemalan-American student at James Madison University. She’s studying Health Sciences on a Pre-Med track with ambitions to go to medical school at Johns Hopkins University. Ultimately, she’s extremely passionate about providing health care those in need.

Journey to the U.S.

In a subversion of immigrant stereotypes, Amy’s physical journey from Guatemala City, Guatemala to Northern Virginia was a plane ride. In 2005, when Amy was 6 years old, her father realized that he had a calling from God to come to the U.S. and serve the Christian Latinx community there. The family had an uncle living in Northern Virginia who expressed that they would be able to stay with him. However, upon arriving in the U.S., those plans fell through and Amy’s family struggled to establish themselves. Fortunately, they were able to find a strong Christian Latinx community in Northern Virginia.

Early Life

Growing up, Amy imagined the U.S. as full of tall, blonde-haired, blue-eyed people that could all go to Disney World. She credits these misconceptions to being a little spoiled by her relatives with toys from the U.S., and depictions of Americans she saw in the media when she was younger. When she first arrived in the U.S., she describes the difficulty she faced assimilating to American culture. Whereas in Guatemala she didn’t face as much pressure to look or even eat a certain way, in the U.S. it seemed like physical appearance dictated morality. Amy mentions the hardships and anxieties she faced public schools in the U.S., citing that middle and high school were especially hard because it felt like she was never able to establish relationships in one place. In terms of life in Guatemala and historic trends of immigration, Amy was largely not directly effected by the Guatemalan Civil War that lasted from 1960-1996. Her parents on the other hand, did grow up during this time of violence and instability.

Life in Harrisonburg

Amy is the first in her family to attend a university and thus faces the pressures that come with such a title. In her interview, she points to the fact that it was especially hard to move away from her family because of how close they are. Despite this, she knew she wanted to attend JMU and was determined to make it happen. Although she’d like to explore a little more of the town, she’s ultimately proud of how far she’s come in getting to JMU. An active member of LSA, Amy loves being able to hang out with her friends during her breaks between studying.

A Message to Her Younger Self

The interview ends with Amy sending a message to her younger self to live freely and openly without the worrying about the criticisms of others. She vividly remembers disliking features of her own body because they weren’t in line with euro-centric beauty standards. Because of this, she wants her younger self to know that it is ok to exist as she is, just do you!