In light of America’s immigration crisis that has persisted for decades, Loyola Marymount University’s Resilience club hosted their annual Immigration Awareness week to represent and honor the stories and hardships of immigrants living in America.
Resilience LMU is an activist group that advocates for immigration rights and their journeys through workshops, tabling at the university’s Wellness Wednesday’s and peaceful demonstrations. Since 2018, when the group made their debut, members of Resilience aim to educate others on immigration justice on and off campus, be the face of immigrant students’ empowerment and function as a support network within the LMU community.
“Resilience’s Immigration Awareness Week is a long standing tradition that tailors towards students in making sure that they feel supported and represented in the ASLMU events on campus,” said Resilience Representative, Thania Mata.
Starting Mar. 17, 2025, LMU’s Resilience held an event each day of the week that centered around immigration awareness, ranging from guest speakers to a game of bingo. The group had their ‘Sweet Resilience’ drink, a strawberry and mango agua fresca, at LMU’s coffee shop and sold Resilience T-shirts throughout the week.
On Monday, Resilience invited guest speaker Melody Kinglefuss for “Story of Self”, a workshop dedicated to telling the story of oneself to help the understanding of different perspectives and experiences. Kinglefuss led the workshop with a presentation that provided different examples of individuals sharing their stories and how it draws a clear picture of who they are and why their story is important, including hers. She began by sharing her story of identity as an undocumented immigrant in America and how it was followed by a set of unique challenges. While she spoke of the oppression and loss of opportunities she faced due to her citizenship status, she strung the idea that rejection is redirection as it opened the door to more opportunities that embraced her differences as an immigrant.
As a result of mass media flipping the narrative of immigrant stories to exploit their fear instead of empowering them, one’s identity becomes lost. Kinglefuss emphasized that eliminating the labels that media draws upon groups of individuals is crucial in self recognition.
“I’m still Melody at the end of the day,” said Kinglefuss. “Whether I have DACA or not.”
That Tuesday, Resilience showed a screening of the 2023 film, ‘Simón’, that tells the story of a young immigrant navigating life within a new country. Throughout the movie, the main character is faced with language barriers, cultural differences and difficulties of fitting in that challenge his identity. The film highlights the immigrant experience as it exposes the issues that are overlooked under the media’s greater narrative.
On Wednesday, Resilience tabled at LMU’s Wellness Wednesday. At the table were members of Resilience that welcomed visitors to stop by and listen to their mission and initiatives. Red cards that reaffirm immigrant rights in different languages were spread throughout the table, along with cards of the Virgin Mary that were free to take. Visitors were also given the opportunity to write a powerful message on colorful butterfly cutouts, some reading “We are still here!” and “Still soaring, still flying, still here!”.
The following day, a game of bingo was being held for students and group members to participate. They were invited to compete for lego sets, LMU water bottles and laundry detergent and enjoy pizza. Along with the celebratory wins, members of Resilience announced that the club had raised $1,500 in selling T-shirts.
To close the week, members Resilience joined together for an intimate team dinner to honor the 2025 Immigration Awareness Week turnout and the money raised from selling T-shirts. The group celebrated one another for their efforts in taking Resilience’s objective into action as they are dedicated to representing the unrepresented.
