Conflict: A Significant Source Of Stereotypes

Conflict is a part of life that everyone has to ensure. Often conflict occurs because of things out of the control of humans like injuries, deaths of loved ones, and tragic accidents but some instances like my own are the exception. In my life the perception of others became a significant source of turmoil because I was seen as just the minority, the Mexican, the Hispanic. A significant instance in which I resolved a conflict involving my cultural identity with discrimination emerged when I was stereotyped for being Hispanic, attacked for seeking financial help, and realized that the perception of others should not diminish pride.
When I entered the financial aid office at Mount Saint Mary’s University I encountered a financial aid officer who stereotyped me. The officer decided to bombard me with questions like who are you?, Where are you from?, and how old are you?”. She acted like she was a detective and treated me like I was a criminal. I couldn’t help but feel shocked that she did not once ask me the simple question “how can I help you?”. Her complete disregard of why I was even in her office and not in class reflected her inability to ask me questions that were more profound and relevant to my visit to her …show more content…
The officer just looked at me and calmly indicated that “Hispanics don’t make it through college.” Her cold and cruel words were followed by other words that just seemed to spew out of her mouth like “you should just leave school”. I felt horrible that being Hispanic was such a limiting factor in my capacity to find beneficial opportunities and help. The financial aid officer consistently expressed that even the attempt to get an education was futile. Ultimately, my cultural identity as a Hispanic caused the financial aid officer to feel like it was fine to try to demoralize me when I needed help the