CRIS Staff Spotlight | Nira Cruz Covarrubias

After receiving death threats because of her mom’s work with the government, Nira Cruz Covarrubias and her mother were forced to flee their home in Jalisco, Mexico. They found their way to Columbus, Ohio. Nira was 17 at the time, and soon felt lost in an unfamiliar place, not knowing the language or the way of life.

“In Mexico, I think life was easier… Life there–it was happier and it was just home,” Nira recalls.

“I didn’t know how to navigate the system, the country. So I was, I will say, like a lost child. I was having problems at school and it was a lot, so I was really overwhelmed and I really felt like I didn’t belong,” Nira said.

That is, until one day when she crossed paths with someone her classmates called “Mr. CRIS” (CRIS’ Community Connectors Program Manager, Jeremy Hollon). One particular classmate of Nira’s suggested she talked to him as he visited her school that day. Sensing he was someone who could help her, she remembers their first meeting with a chuckle.

“I remember running behind him, I said, ‘Sir, sir, can you help me?’ And he was kind of surprised. And after that, I will always say: Jeremy literally saved my life. He has helped me in so many ways,” Nira shares.

Nira quickly became involved with Community Connectors. She painted murals, shared program information at soccer games, interpreting for mentees and more. It was through this experience that she found a deep sense of community.

Fast forward to today, over five years since that first meeting in her high school hallway, and Nira is now serving as a CRIS Youth Mentorship Fellow, focusing on Youth Minority Health. 

“When I first learned of this new position at CRIS, I remembered what it felt to be that child in a new country, with a different language, with different friends. Because of my experience, I want to help others. I want to be that person that Jeremy was for me and offer help to more students,” Nira explains. “I love the students. I love knowing that I might be a reason why they will feel welcome or I might be able to help them feel welcome in this country and help them navigate everything.”