{"id":22556,"date":"2025-07-09T00:59:45","date_gmt":"2025-07-09T06:59:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/?p=22556"},"modified":"2025-07-09T16:02:26","modified_gmt":"2025-07-09T22:02:26","slug":"leonardos-journey","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/2025\/07\/09\/leonardos-journey\/","title":{"rendered":"LEONARDO’S JOURNEY"},"content":{"rendered":"

BY LEONARDO PADILLA<\/em><\/p>\n

OUR VOICE COUNTS<\/strong>
\nLeonardo Padilla\u2019s journey is one of languages, culture, and community. Originally from Peru, Leonardo grew up speaking both Spanish and Quechua, the language of his ancestors. As a child, he often blended both languages at home while helping his family or listening to his older brother\u2019s recordings late at night. These early experiences shaped his love for communication and teaching.
\nSince moving to the United States, Leonardo has dedicated himself tirelessly to serving his community. He teaches English and Spanish in local libraries and schools, helps students of all ages with math and science, and shares his love of dance as a Zumba instructor, leading classes twice a week in parks and community spaces. It was during one of these joyful Zumba sessions that he met Herbert and Mary Romero, who helped him build deeper connections within the community and discover new opportunities.
\nNow, Leonardo is taking an important step forward. He is pursuing a master\u2019s degree in Education, Language, Literacy, and Culture, aiming to deepen his skills and expand the ways he can serve immigrant and bilingual communities. This program will allow him to create spaces where people feel seen, respected, and empowered to reach their dreams.
\nHowever, pursuing this dream is financially challenging. Leonardo is seeking support to help cover the costs of tuition, materials, and living expenses, so he can continue dedicating his time and energy to the community he loves.
\n\u201cTeaching, dancing, and connecting people\u2014that\u2019s who I am. Any support helps me keep moving forward and making a difference,\u201d says Leonardo.
\nIf you\u2019d like to support Leonardo on his journey, please reach out or follow his story. Together, we can help him continue building bridges that uplift us all.<\/p>\n

NUESTRA VOZ CUENTA<\/strong>
\nLa historia de Leonardo Padilla es un relato de lenguas, cultura y compromiso comunitario. Originario de Per\u00fa, Leonardo creci\u00f3 hablando espa\u00f1ol y quechua, la lengua de sus antepasados. Desde peque\u00f1o, sol\u00eda mezclar ambos idiomas mientras ayudaba a su familia o escuchaba las grabaciones de su hermano mayor por las noches. Estas experiencias tempranas despertaron en \u00e9l una profunda pasi\u00f3n por la comunicaci\u00f3n y la ense\u00f1anza.
\nDesde que se mud\u00f3 a Estados Unidos, Leonardo ha dedicado incansablemente su tiempo a servir a su comunidad. Ense\u00f1a ingl\u00e9s y espa\u00f1ol en bibliotecas y escuelas locales, apoya a estudiantes de todas las edades en matem\u00e1ticas y ciencias, y comparte su amor por el baile como instructor de Zumba, dirigiendo clases dos veces por semana en parques y espacios comunitarios. Fue precisamente en una de estas animadas sesiones de Zumba donde conoci\u00f3 a Herbert y Mary Romero, quienes lo ayudaron a integrarse m\u00e1s profundamente en la comunidad y a descubrir nuevas oportunidades.
\nHoy, Leonardo est\u00e1 dando un paso muy importante. Est\u00e1 cursando una Maestr\u00eda en Educaci\u00f3n, Lenguaje, Alfabetizaci\u00f3n y Cultura, con la meta de fortalecer sus habilidades y ampliar la manera en que puede servir a comunidades inmigrantes y biling\u00fces. Este programa le permitir\u00e1 crear espacios donde las personas se sientan vistas, respetadas y con la capacidad de alcanzar sus sue\u00f1os.
\nSin embargo, este sue\u00f1o conlleva un desaf\u00edo financiero. Leonardo est\u00e1 buscando apoyo para cubrir los costos de matr\u00edcula, materiales y gastos de vida, y as\u00ed poder seguir dedicando su tiempo y energ\u00eda a la comunidad que tanto ama.
\n\u201cEnse\u00f1ar, bailar y conectar a las personas es lo que soy. Cualquier apoyo me ayuda a seguir avanzando y a marcar la diferencia,\u201d comenta Leonardo.
\nSi deseas apoyar a Leonardo en este camino, no dudes en contactarlo o seguir su historia. \u00a1Juntos podemos ayudarlo a seguir construyendo puentes que nos unen a todos!<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

BY LEONARDO PADILLA OUR VOICE COUNTS Leonardo Padilla\u2019s journey is one of languages, culture, and community. Originally from Peru, Leonardo grew up speaking both Spanish and Quechua, the language of his ancestors. As a child, he often blended both languages at home while helping his family or listening to his older brother\u2019s recordings late at […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":22557,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"tdm_status":"","tdm_grid_status":"","_pvb_checkbox_block_on_post":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[168,93,38],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-22556","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-latinx","8":"category-nuestra-voz-cuenta","9":"category-sponsored"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22556","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=22556"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22556\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":22558,"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22556\/revisions\/22558"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/22557"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=22556"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=22556"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/woodriverweekly.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=22556"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}