Celebrating Hispanic Heritage Month with Mia Kubiuk
10/09/2020 | 1:00:00 | Swimming & Diving
CARBONDALE, Ill. - Saluki newcomer, Mia Kubiuk, chats with SIUSalukis.com to discuss her Hispanic traditions and importance of the heritage month.
Why did you chose swimming?
I initially took lessons when I was little for water safety, I just stuck with it. I was really bad at every other sport, but I found swimming really fun and kept coming back.
Did you have any fun or special traditions growing up?
My mom is from Mexico, so I learned how to speak Spanish when I was younger. She always cooked us traditional dishes. We had more traditions in the winter time, around New Year's we eat 12 grapes – one grape for each month that is supposed to represent good luck. Just like every Mexican family, we have tamales with every meal!
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How important is speaking Spanish to you?
It's really cool knowing two languages, I can use it [Spanish] a lot more now that I'm older and have a real job someday. It has really helped me stay connected with my mom's family, all her siblings and parents speak it. It's the only way I can talk with my abuela, since she's not very fluent in English.
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When was the last time you have been to Mexico?
I haven't been back in the last 10 years, but every time I visited it has been some of the best memories. My family lives in ranch areas of Mexico, so we always stay close to home there.
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How important is Hispanic Heritage Month to you?
I really like it, being from a mixed background (father is white), Hispanic Heritage Month is usually a time for me to embrace my culture that I'm very lucky to have.
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How proud are you to be a Hispanic Saluki?
It's great because a lot of my teammates are Hispanic, from Spanish speaking countries and Latino countries, it's easy for me to connect with them because we have the same background to relate to one another.Â
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