As she steps into the portable shower, familiar and foreign languages hush at the camp, slowly getting softer as if the voices were a fading fire.
She reminisces on all the places she’s called home and all of the people she has loved.
Looking up to the star-filled desert sky, she understands that where she is now is where she is meant to be.
Before beginning her career in education, Spanish teacher Berenice Colmenero traveled the world, studied abroad and worked for nonprofits, such as the United Nations (UN) and Habitat for Humanity. Born in Mexico City, Colmenero moved to Dallas in her early elementary school years.
“I always wanted to change the world,” Colmenero said. “Ever since elementary [school,] I wanted to be a journalist and cover war places. Then, I discovered I was not good at writing, so my second choice was to work for nonprofits.”
Colmenero moved to Mexico City to attend Alliance University for her bachelor’s degree in International Relations. Living in Mexico, she said she never felt more connected with her culture.
“My college experience in Mexico City was the best,” Colmenero said. “The students that [attended my university] were either super rich or [were from other countries.] [I, on the other hand,] would just take the subway to school every day, but these students had bodyguards. [It felt] like going to school with celebrities.”
After transferring to a university at the United States International Diversity in Kenya before graduating, she met a group of students who were Argentinian who got her a job at the UN as the photography leader of The Somali Bantu program. She worked to make sure refugees were treated with dignity and to take photo profiles of the refugees before resettlement.
“[The best part about working for the UN] is the initial craziness,” Colmenero said. “Being in Africa and working on the field is the dream of every UN worker. Usually, [workers] start in an office, but because I knew the right people at the right time, I was on the ground.”
Working for the UN, Colmenero lived at the Dadaab Refugee Complex, which are camps that resemble naturally-grown towns. The camp connected northeastern Kenya and southern Somalia. Colmenero said that even though working while being dehydrated from the heat was difficult, every hardship was worth it in the end.
“I didn’t feel any stress because I knew that my job there would benefit and change someone’s life,” Colmenero said. “I knew [the refugees] were coming into a better life. I’m not a refugee; I’m an immigrant, and I understand how being an immigrant in the U.S. can change your life.”
Colmenero said that she will always hold Somali culture close to her heart. She said she enjoyed the laid-back personalities of the refugees despite political turmoil and admired the sense of community there.
“I bring the culture [of everywhere I’ve lived] with me,” Colmenero said. “My love for nature comes from [my time in] Africa, and reminds me to relax.”
Colmenero said that because she lived in Mexico City, she easily adapted to social etiquette. Colmenero knew she had to be fully covered in Somalia in order to not draw attention to herself. Her Somali friends and coworkers often got scolded by the Somali elders when they weren’t dressed properly.
“I never felt unsafe because Nairobi is very much like Mexico City,” Colmenero said. “There are neighborhoods [that] you should not enter, [but] the [tourist spots] and the places I would visit were full of security.”
Colmenero left the UN when she realized she wanted to start a family. She said she wanted to be fully involved in her kid’s education and development, and felt as though she couldn’t do that working at the UN.
“When I was younger, I didn’t understand [my parents’ uninvolvement in my education,]” Colmenero said. “I would just think to myself, ‘Why can’t they just go to the meeting?’ but it was because they were truly exhausted. I didn’t want this for my kids, which is why I had to leave [the UN].”
Another nonprofit Colmenero worked for was former President Jimmy Carter’s Habitat for Humanity. Working as the assistant logistics manager, she would go through the logistics of volunteers, such as where they were going to stay or what they would eat.
“The most impactful thing about working for [Habitat for Humanity] was that I helped give 150 people a place to call home,” Colmenero said. “I know what it’s like to miss your bed, and I’m happy that they now have [a place to sleep].”
Colmenero also studied for her masters in Spanish language and culture in Spain at Universidad de Salamanca. There was no air conditioning in her dorm, and she said that when her parents came for her graduation, they were shocked that she could live there due to the heat.
“I didn’t think I was going to love Spain, but I do,” Colmenero said. “Their culture and history dates to thousands of years ago, and it is one of the most interesting things to teach.”
Colmenero started teaching 14 years ago, when she was pregnant with her daughter. Her two kids, junior Ethan Colmenero and freshman Lillian Colmenero, inspired her to be a teacher because she wanted to have summers off to spend time with them.
“She’s sacrificed a lot for [our] family,” Lillian said. “She has told me stories about Africa. It makes me want to do the same things and be like her.”
This is Colmenero’s first year teaching at Hebron, and she said she is more than happy to be here. She loves the community, the band and seeing friends and students at football games. Her son comes to her classroom to hug her and say hello when he can.
“[My mom’s life experiences] have made her be able to fit in with everyone,” Ethan said. “She has a lot of experience with people, and family means everything to her.”
Colmenero hopes to go back to working with the UN after her kids graduate, but said she is happy to be a part of the Hawk family. She said she is still finding her voice in the classroom, and she reminds herself that life is all about balance.
“[The most important thing I’ve learned] is that life is a cycle,” Colmenero said. “There will be ups and downs, and you [have to keep reminding] yourself that good things will come out of the bad. We are all humans, and we’re all trying to find our place.”