Giovanna Negretti: Oiste?

Wow. What an inspiring Emersonian!

On March 22, Giovanna Negretti was awarded the Walter Littlefield Distinguished Speaker in Rhetoric and Communication Award at Emerson College.

Negretti, an Emerson alumna (1995), is the Executive Director of Oiste? (Have You Heard?), a statewide Latino political organization that she founded ten years ago. The organization works "to build an educated, participatory electoral base of Latinos active in civic and electoral processes at local, state and federal levels."

In her comments to the Emerson community about civic engaement, Negretti emphasiszed several key messages (summarized below) that she wanted to impart, particularly to the students:

1. Identify your passion.
2. Find others who share your passion and connect with them. Network.
3. Everyone has the ability to display leadership qualities.
4. With the privilege of education, we have the obligation to give back to the community.
   

Through stories illustrating her own passion, and the opportunities she encountered at Emerson, Negretti spoke about her childhood influences growing up in Vieques, Puerto Rico where she first experienced injustice and the desire to make the world a better place. She described her difficult cultural transition to Boston/Emerson and her initial desire to become an actress. Through her volunteer efforts in the local community her path took a turn toward politics, and she became the first Latina legislative aide in the Massachusetts State Senate.

There, she began to take stock of the challenges facing the Latino community when it came to having the tools necessary to fully and effectively participate in civic life. In 2000, she founded Oiste? and now, ten years later, is working to launch the organization in five additional states.

Most impressively, Negretti does not limit her work to the Latino population of Massachusetts. She also volunteers her political training expertise to groups around the world, free of charge, to those who are willing to pay her airfare.

It's a lot to live up to, Emersonians! But a brilliant, shining example of what we all can achieve if we engage our passion and the communication skills we're in the process of learning.