Diana Escorcia ’20 is learning isiXhosa, and it’s maybe the most exciting thing so far about her semester abroad in South Africa. IsiXhosa is one of the country’s official languages. “So far we have been able to do basic greetings. Throughout our homestays, I have learned even more terms and can keep a conversation going,” she says one month into the experience.
Big picture, Escorcia is in a School for International Training program that focuses on multiculturalism and human rights, which snugly aligns with her academic pursuits on College Hill. “My major at Hamilton is sociology, and a lot of the content of our courses here are very focused on education, inequality, racist ideologies, and the construct of labels for race and gender,” Escorcia says. “This program adds to my academic interests because I have always been interested in the intersections of race and class internationally.”
Major: Sociology
Minor: Communication
Hometown: Miami
High School: Miami Beach Senior High School
While she’s in South Africa Escorcia also is doing an independent study that focuses on youth activism related to education decolonization and how college students in South Africa use social media hashtags as a protest tool.
A communication minor, Escorcia is considering a career in corporate communications that will enable her to promote corporate responsibility. “Corporate responsibility allows me to give back to the community while also being in a communication field, which is my end goal,” she says.
Her introduction to marketing and communications came through a specialized curriculum at her high school, and ever since she’s aimed for a career in that field. That’s one of the reasons she opted to attend Hamilton. “Going into Hamilton I was certain of two things: one, I needed to take advantage of writing-intensive courses and improve my writing. And two, I was going to be a communication minor. After several communication internships and comm courses, I knew I made the right decision,” Escorcia says.
