Liana Marin is someone I have looked up to since my freshman year of college. I met her through our sorority Alpha Gamma Delta, and from there, our friendship has blossomed. She inspires many and is known for her bravery, intelligence, and her extraordinary leadership skills. When she walks into a room, she has a calming, yet strong presence.
I’m lucky to have had the opportunity to become close friends with her and have been able to see her grow into the strong leader she is today. She is constantly inspiring me, supporting me, and hyping me up on Instagram. I truly don’t know where I would be without the love and support of Liana. She is like the older sister I never had who has shown me what it takes to be a leading woman of color in a world dominated by the Caucasian male.
Quote: “Daring leaders who live into their values are never silent about hard things”
- Brené Brown
Questions:
What is something that you are most proud of?
Liana has a passion for higher education as well as a passion for continuing to be able to expand her knowledge about the world. Although she may not be a first-generation college student, she resonates with the importance of receiving higher education, especially as being a woman of a minority group.
When I asked her this question, she simply stated, “Being able to get a higher education.” She continued by explaining that through her experience with higher education, she can grow, find her passion, and write her own story.
What is one word you feel best describes you?
Something that Liana and I both have in common is that we are both fiercely proud to be Geminis. I know not everyone believes in zodiac signs, but we both do. Geminis have multiple sides to them and a complex personality, which makes it difficult to pick just one word to describe our whole being.
Liana chose the word curious, which I feel suits here extremely well, especially since she craves knowledge. She discussed with me how she is constantly asking questions in every setting of life, from the classroom to the outside world. She also explained how curious can be seen in both a positive and negative light depending on the context and how the person looks at it.
What is one thing you would tell your younger self?
I wanted to ask Liana this question because as most of you know, I am a big fan of self-reflection. She explained that she would tell her younger self to put herself out there and not let other people define her.
This is something that a lot of other young women would want to tell their younger selves. A lot of times, we fear the unknown, and putting ourselves out there can be extremely terrifying, especially when you’re a woman of color.
What do you think is your lasting impact on SDSU?
It’s hard for me to imagine SDSU without Liana. She is extremely involved: she was president of our sorority, she was in numerous clubs, such as active minds, as well as holding a part-time student position in the admissions office.
Just this past year, she won Homecoming Queen, which demonstrates how she has impacted her peers in the SDSU community in just four short years. I wanted to ask this question because I was curious about how she thinks she is leaving SDSU.
She explained that “I hope my lasting impact is to be a role model and model to others how they can embrace their intersecting identities. My impact is the relationships I've built.”
Her hope is that the younger men and women that she has inspired will help her continue to carry out her legacy long after her time there.
What was the biggest obstacle you faced during college? How did you overcome it?
Liana is a stigma fighter, which means she is here to support people who may be struggling with different forms of mental health issues as well as struggling with their identities and intersectionality and the negative connotations that come along with these issues. Liana revealed that her biggest obstacle was the imposter syndrome and over involving herself.
“I wanted to seem perfect, which is not attainable and it's not relatable.”
“No one should strive to be perfect because perfection is unattainable.”
She explained how she was able to overcome the imposter syndrome by talking it out with others and explaining her thoughts.
What do you hope to accomplish after you graduate from SDSU?
After Liana receives her undergraduate degree, she plans on continuing her journey of achieving and working in higher education. She plans to receive her masters and doctorate. She explained that higher education gives her a balance of both challenges and confidence.
“I want to inspire others, and work with students and advocate for their success”
Along with working in higher education, she dreams of having her podcast, blog, and hopes to one day write her book. I know that if Liana sets a goal for it, she will achieve it. When she writes her book, I will be that person who has 20 copies because I’ll be so beyond proud of her.
Why did you want to join a sorority?
Liana held several leadership roles during her four years as a collegiate member of Alpha Gamma Delta. I wanted to know the backstory of how madam president came to be.
“I signed up for recruitment on a whim.”
“The only thing I knew about sororities was Legally Blonde and Elle Woods.”
She explained that she never went into recruitment with the intent to join, but she ended up liking the process because she enjoyed talking to different young women. The first person she talked to during recruitment was Kim, who ended up becoming her big. Later, Liana mentioned how her mom was in a sorority, but never shared that with her until Liana joined Alpha Gamma Delta.
“I joined because of the people.”
What inspired you to take on leadership roles within the sorority?
Something that surprised me about Liana was that she wasn’t involved in high school. I’m surprised by this because she is such a confident leader. She makes it look as if she has been involved in clubs and leadership roles since she was born. I don’t like to assume things (because we all know the saying), but I assumed that she was involved in high school.
“I’ve never done it before so why not?”
As a freshman, Liana mentioned how she was inspired by the older women in the chapter and the leadership roles they held.
What do you think is your lasting impact on our chapter of Alpha Gamma Delta?
Similar to her lasting impact on SDSU, Liana states that her impact on Alpha Gamma Delta is, “just love, growth, and purpose. Those are my top three values.”
She believes that she has made her impact by living by her values and sharing them with those around her. The chain reaction of showing our capabilities of growing and learning is something that Liana thinks has also played a role on her impact.
What are you grateful for?
“I’m really grateful for my relationships with family and friends.”
“Even though we are isolated, I never feel alone.”
How are you coping with what is happening in the world right now?
Due to Liana’s curiosity, she is coping by educating herself on how to cope with what is going on. This not only shows her curiosity but her interest in psychology, as a psychology major. She is also spending time listening to podcasts, reading books, checking in with people, and walking her dog.
I want to give a huge thank you to Liana Marin for allowing me to interview her for this article.
I hope everyone is staying safe and healthy during this time.
Forever Always,
Emily
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