Featuring... Cara Flores ‘20
Cara is a junior double-majoring in Sociology and Studio Art who was born and raised in the Philippines, and is now based in Portland, OR. She identifies as a Filipino-American and loves everything Filipino, especially the food. When applying to colleges, Cara chose Smith because the open curriculum allowed for the option to major in art and something else. After taking classes in different departments during her first few semesters, she ended up in SOC 101 with Prof. Candelario, where she learned what sociology could teach her. In classes with Prof. Banerjee and Prof. Candelario, she loves that intersectionality is central to their teaching and research, not just another chapter in a book. What she learns in her sociology classes informs her art. Cara believes art should not be apolitical, and turns to print-making and etching as ways to think more visually about identities and intersectionality.
When she first arrived at Smith, Cara struggled to find an affinity space on campus that felt like home. As a first year, she started Pan Asians In Action (PAIA) with a few graduating seniors. She describes PAIA as a space for “misfit Asians” who are interested in investigating the intersection of queer and Asian identities to unlearn expectations of hyper-feminization and submissiveness. Cara and her friends at Smith fondly call themselves the “Gaysians.” One of her favorite memories was racing and splashing in Paradise Pond with the Gaysians. Cara’s low-income background also shapes her experience at Smith. Next year, she hopes to center class identity in PAIA’s discussions and work, alongside to race, gender, and sexuality. She stresses that “class is not just a number that you fill out when you apply to FAFSA, it’s a mentality that is internalized from lived experience.”
Cara is passionate about creating POC communities across Smith campus as well. She is one of the founding organizers of POCheese, a newer cross-campus house tradition. As a HONS (Head of New Students) last year for Comstock House, she worked with other students and Reslife to establish this through applying for an Innovation Grant. Cara is also a Multicultural Recruitment Intern for Admissions, where her job is to talk to prospective students of color. She loves sharing her knowledge and experience to help newer Smithies learn how to “finesse things to make things work on a campus that is not made for POC.”
But wait… there’s more! This semester, Cara participated in the Draper Competition with her friend Jane Lee to make Spark, a database for connecting ad agencies to creatives of color. Cara is committed to making space for POC at Smith and beyond, and hopes to continue this work after Smith. Besides pursuing a career in advertising, she wants to continue helping to build supportive communities for POC and return to the Philippines, all while roller derbying: “I love the Marxist idea of being able to do it all, and I’m going to try despite capitalism.” She is grateful for all the opportunities she has had at Smith and will one day come back as an alum to donate $1million to POCheese and POC financial aid.
Cara urges every Smithie (newer or older) to take Prof. Banerjee’s “Gender and Globalization” course: “you will have your mind blown.” She also wants to remind new Smithies to not be afraid to build something, especially community.
