Ebony Laboy

A Solidification of ‘Self’

Ebony Laboy, pronouns she/her/hers. First-Year MPH graduate student. 

When Ebony stumbled on the application to be a student ambassador, her first instinct was to just promote it on The Association of Black Public Health Students Instagram, which she managed. But as she read more about the position, she thought to apply. 

She had been struggling with feeling connected to campus life because of the pandemic and saw this as a great way to get involved. 

While she was filling out her application, she felt that she fell in three possible categories for identity spaces: Center for Women, Black Student Union, and Centro LatinX. 

“When they picked me for Centro, I was like ‘Oh Gosh, this is going to be interesting,” said Ebony. “I never felt a connection with my Puerto Rican ancestry. When you don’t have someone to tell you, ‘this is where we come from,’ it can be really hard to confidently say ‘I’m Puerto Rican, too.’” 

Ebony grew up fully embracing her black and female identities. Her immediate family identified as black and the one person who could link to her Puerto Rican heritage, her grandfather, was not present in her life. He had passed away before she could realize how much this piece of her identity mattered. But recently, the spark of curiosity and a desire to know where she comes from ignited in her.

Before she knew she’d be an ambassador for Centro, she and her mother traveled to Puerto Rico. She says that since then they’ve been talking about going back and learning more about this side of their family.

“Growing up, people always questioned me: ‘Where are you from?’ There’s nothing wrong in asking that, but it can be uncomfortable if someone isn’t confident in their identity,”

“I definitely think being an ambassador has made me feel more comfortable. I don’t feel that I’m being judged and no one’s really questioning me. Now I feel more confident in saying I’m Latina,” said Ebony.

“I’m grateful to have been placed in Centro [as an ambassador],” she added. “I wouldn’t have been able to feel more secure in this specific identity if I didn’t have the opportunity.”