Reyna grande biography meaning

By Haneen Zain. Reyna Grande, an international award-winning author, alumna, and supporter of current students at UC Santa Cruz, inspires many. She is a key advocate for the empowerment and visibility of the Latinx community, leaving an indelible mark on the literary landscape and beyond. It empowered me. When the book was released in , Grande had been laid off from her teaching job with the Los Angeles Unified School District, and worried about how she was going to support her family.

Then, thanks to word of mouth, the book began to take off and became a bestseller. With that came the financial stability Grande needed to keep writing.

Reyna grande interview

The much-anticipated sequel, A Dream Called Home , was released in The scholarship is awarded annually to two students—one from Kresge and another from any college—for creative projects intended to advance the standing and visibility of Latinx culture and history. I want them to learn how to fight for their art, how to advocate for themselves, how to take the initiative to apply for funding.

You have to go to them. I want them to gain more confidence, and by receiving the scholarship, I think that will give them a good boost! Grande was inspired to create the Reyna Grande Scholarship from her own experience. As a first-generation and low-income student at UCSC, Grande had difficulty pursuing creative projects. But with the help of a handful of scholarships through Kresge College, she was able to self-publish her first book Under the Guamuchil Tree, a collection of short stories, and then received a grant to transform those stories into skits.