My name is Valentina Ocampo Beltrán, and I am an international student from Colombia. Before moving to San Francisco a year ago, I studied International Relations in Bogotá. I worked with the Red Cross, where I witnessed firsthand how migration and displacement profoundly shape people’s lives. Those experiences inspired me to pursue a Master’s in Migration Studies, where I continue to explore the intersections of human rights, community, and belonging.
When I arrived in San Francisco, I was looking for a place where I could connect my academic learning with the realities of migrant communities. Volunteering and being an intern at The Women’s Building became that place, and much more. At first, I magined my role as one of service, offering time and skills to support others. What I didn’t anticipate was how transformative the experience would be for me. Through this work, I have learned what solidarity feels like in practice: it is not only about standing longside others, but also about allowing myself to be moved, challenged, and inspired by their stories.
TWB has also taught me that community work is reciprocal. While I came here with the hope of giving, I have received just as much—if not more—in return. I have found a space where the struggles of migrant women, particularly Latin American women, feel lose, familiar, and deeply resonant with my own story. The building has become a place of possibility, a place where dreaming collectively is just as important as carrying out day-to-day responsibilities.
This sense of reciprocity and dreaming has taken form in my thesis project, which I am carrying out in partnership with TWB. Together, we created an embroidery workshop for Latin American migrant women. The workshop is more than an artistic practice; it is a space to gather, to share testimonies, and to weave connections across experiences of migration, resilience, and hope. Each stitch carries memory, identity, and imagination, and it has been powerful to witness how women use this space to build networks of support and to claim their stories.
I am deeply grateful to TWB for shaping me in ways I had not expected. This community has helped me understand that my path is not only in research or policy, but in the everyday, embodied work of building community. It has affirmed my belief that change begins în spaces where people feel safe to share, to imagine, and to belong. Especially, in these difficult times where migrant communities are targeted and racially profiled, we need TWB to keep standing as a beacon of hope and resistance; find out how you can do your part to help our community at womensbuilding.org
With gratitude,
Valentina Ocampo Beltrán, CRR Intern