Hispanic heritage month: Building a legacy of inclusion and belonging

The occupational therapy workforce is about 4.5% Hispanic and Latino, according to the American Occupational Therapy Association Workforce Survey (AOTA, 2023). Walking into a continuing education course or a conference event I often find myself searching for other members of the Hispanic and Latine communities. Sometimes I look back at pictures from my own occupational therapy journey, searching for the same thing. Both practices remind me of the barriers and microaggressions faced by Hispanic and Latine occupational therapy practitioners (OTPs)—including myself—every day. When I volunteered to help build affordable housing in graduate school, at the housing site the coordinator asked each volunteer what task they preferred to work on. However, when he got to me, he asked, “Do you speak English?” At another event, a peer’s significant other called me Fes (saying it was short for foreign exchange student) throughout the night, even after I explained I was from Texas. Later, in a job interview, I was told the committee was looking for someone who fit the culture. Glancing around, I saw a team of faces that didn’t match mine. These moments can make me feel lonely in my lived experience.