Drama teacher honors her multicultural identity, hopes to inspire Hispanic students

As a first-generation citizen, drama teacher Natasha Fischer has learned to honor both her Puerto Rican heritage and American culture, hoping to serve as a role model for first-generation students struggling to connect with their heritage. 

Fischer’s parents moved to the United States when her father began doing rotations as an interventional radiologist at SSM Health St. Louis University Hospital. Fischer was born in St. Louis and has lived in the United States her entire life, but is able to stay connected to her roots by visiting Puerto Rico once a year. Her last visit was in May of 2021, after she was unable to visit for a year because of COVID-19.

“It’s been harder with COVID. We finally got to go this last May and actually see my grandparents and my family which was so huge. That was pretty exciting,” Fischer said. 

Fischer’s identity includes both of her cultures; the one she grew up with and the one her parents and relatives have given her. As media has evolved to include more individuals from different cultures, Fischer has begun to feel more represented in her Puerto Rican identity.

“I’m starting to see my culture more in the media, more in TV, film, In The Heights came out, It’s been nicer to see myself in things now,” Fischer said.

While Fischer now embraces her diversity, she remembers what it was like feeling different for the first time. 

“Being Puerto Rican, nobody understood that. I tell the story of growing up, I wore chanclas [sandals]. If you have a Hispanic mother, you know what a chancla is. So, I went to school one time and said something to a kid about my chancla, and the kid was like, ‘What are you talking about? What are you saying?’ Everybody knows what a chancla is, and I didn’t understand [how they didn’t]. That was the first moment that I was different, and I understood I was different because they called me out,” Fischer said. “I was in Kindergarten or 1st grade, and I remember that story so vividly. When I retell it, I can smell the classroom, I can see the kids, I can feel that feeling that was there. That was the first time I ever thought I was different, and then I kind of adapted to society, as people do.”

As Fischer taught herself to adapt to being different, however, she realized she lost a part of her heritage. 

“It wasn’t until college I decided to minor in Spanish and I started to realize that I had let my identity go from that and I just kind of adapted to the world that is white West County, that I was living in,” she said. 

Fischer did not want to lose her heritage, and she began embracing herself in her Puerto Rican roots as best she could. It had always been a part of who she was, but now she was able to fully understand and embrace the culture her parents and ancestors grew up in. 

“When I went and started diving in and realizing that this is who I am and this is who I love about my life. The music, the life, the food, everything. It’s who I am and for so long I hid that because I needed to adapt,” Fischer said.

Still, she recalls changing who she was to be able to fit in.

“My sister and I used to have a conversation about how I used to straighten my hair all the time. That’s what we were supposed to do to adapt. My big, frizzy curly hair, I didn’t want people to see that. It was not attractive to me. I wanted it to be smooth and long. Now I look at it and I’m like, ‘no, this is who I am,’” she said.

Fischer’s realization has allowed her to be a role model for other Hispanic students growing up in Lafayette, showing students how to embrace who they are. 

“Now I’m starting to use my words and hopefully help students who are in this school and don’t have a whole lot of Latinx people to lean on. I hope I can be that voice for [them] and help them see it’s a beautiful, wonderful culture, and let’s keep it alive,” Fischer said.