Q&A: Iliana Melendez

Iliana Melendez, associate dean of students, is one of the women featured as part of The Signal’s special #HawkHerStory issue, celebrating Women’s History Month. This special edition focuses on the stories and perspectives of the various women within the University of Houston-Clear Lake (UHCL) community.

Read The Signal’s Q&A with Melendez below and see the other Q&A’s conducted with students, faculty, staff, administrators and alumni here.

Q: Can you tell us a bit about yourself, on both a personal and professional/educational level?

A: My name is Iliana B. Melendez, the ‘B’ is for my mother’s maiden name, Burciaga. I changed my name when I became a citizen of the U.S. of A. I serve as your Associate Dean of Students and have had that honor since July of 2017. I am currently a student working on my doctoral degree from Texas State University, where I also received my Master’s degree.

I am also a proud St. Edward’s University alum. I am the middle child of three sisters, aunt to three beautiful humans, daughter to the best parents this gal could ask for, spouse to my wonderful wife, and mother to a human and two dogs. I grew up in Earth, Texas, but have also called Austin, San Marcos, Pflugerville, and now Pearland home. I love the beach, pizza, Whataburger, and coffee.

Q: Who are some women (real or fictional) you look up to most? Why?

A: First on that list is my mother, Martha Melendez. She has made a beautiful life for herself and for us. She was born into a very humble household and family that didn’t have many material things, but they did have lots of love. She has worked to help support her family since she was nine years old and has passed down all that was poured into her, love, respect, a solid work ethic, and as many of her recipes and sewing tips as we would take. She has filled our lives with a home full of good food, memories, love, but most importantly strength. The strength to fight for what we want, to stand up and in love for each other, and to never be ashamed of our roots. She has given my sisters and I more than we will ever be able to give her. I am proud to be hers and to call her mami. I hope someday my daughter feels the same about me.

The other that comes to mind is, Susan “Stargirl” Caraway, of “Stargirl” by Jerry Spinelli. I have always loved reading about fun, wild, and strong female characters, but I didn’t find Stargirl until my mid-twenties. The book was gifted to me by my wife and little did she know the impact the book would have on me about a year later when I came out to my family. She has taught me so much about having faith, love, and just rocking who you are. She has such a wonderful and unique way of appreciating life. I love how she is who she is and doesn’t stop to care what others think of her. She will always hold a special place in my heart.

I will end with no one in particular, but all womxn, who have influenced my professional and personal life. I feel like we are all a reflection of those that have poured into us, and I have had some fabulous womxn pour so much of who they are into me, and I am forever grateful to them and to those I haven’t met yet.

Q: What are some problems you anticipate/have encountered as a woman in your field?

A: I am a queer womxn of color working in an administrative position within Higher Education, there are dissertations and books that tell this and many other stories about womxn and people of color working within our field, but I will leave you with the following.

As an administrator, I have to balance my queer, female, cisgendered, immigrant, and Latinx identities, among many others, daily. That isn’t easy. I have to think about what I wear and what it says about it every time I get dressed. I have to consider all options and all information when preparing for a meeting or presenting because I will be judged differently if things do not go smoothly.

I also have to think about how I leverage my role, experience, competency, and age with my peers. Most of the time everything is great, but then there are times when I am overlooked, people use inappropriate and unprofessional language, I am called “honey,” someone is surprised by my lack of an accent, or my experience is overlooked because I am young, so what could I possibly know. In those moments I am reminded once more that I have to speak up and I have to continue to work hard to prove people wrong and not just for me, but for the next young, queer, Latinx human to hold that space. My hope is that when they get to where I am, it isn’t as hard and people are more aware and educated about others’ experiences.

Q: What are three things you can’t live without?

A: Coffee, Whataburger, and my phone!

Q: What advice would you give to other women and young girls?

A: Do not let other’s opinions of you keep you from achieving. A good friend of mine told me that other people’s opinions of us are 100 percent none of our business and 50 percent of every relationship we have is always 100 percent us. So leave that 100 percent of others thoughts to those people and concentrate on putting your best self into that 50 percent that is yours, because those are the people, places, and spaces that are worthy of you and everything that means.

Q: Is there anything you would like our readers to know?

A: I am not generally shy about sharing my story, so if this sparked some questions or you just want to talk about life, please reach out!