“I coexist in two worlds,” said Hudson County resident Jon Carlo Dominguez recently. “I’m part of both and I love both.”
The two worlds he lives in are that of his home nearby in North Bergen, and his scholastic world at St. Peter’s Prep, an hour bus ride away (in traffic) in Jersey City, from which he graduated on June 6.
Dominguez, 18, wrote about the dichotomy between the two worlds in a cogent college entrance essay that helped to get him accepted to Columbia University. That essay was published by the New York Times early this year, as an examination of money, work, and social class. Dominguez’s composition, the lead essay, generated healthy discussion, particularly a section on a football game he attended.
“During a play, my prep friends chant, ‘That’s alright, that’s okay; you’ll be working for us someday,’” wrote Dominguez. “Having deep bonds of friendship on both sides, I’m shocked at the thoughtlessness of my classmates.”
While he stresses that his essay was about bringing the two worlds together, Dominguez admits that “A few incendiary people feel that I’m calling them racist. And that’s not the word I used. I said ‘thoughtless.’ And that was very intentional.”
“I don’t hold a grudge, even for the people who chanted or people who have told me to mow lawns.” –Jon Carlo Dominguez
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“People forget that we’re teenagers,” he continued. “I don’t hold a grudge, even for the people who chanted or people who have told me to mow lawns. I try to not see things as divisive. I try to see what socialized him to be like that. And how can we work against that.”
But he acknowledged that prep school was “definitely a dominantly white culture, I’ll tell you that.”
Style icon under 20
Many people have responded positively to Dominguez’s essay, including other students who have sought him out online. “Kids all over the nation and teachers all over the nation have been finding me on Facebook and messaging me and saying that ‘I identify with this story,’ ” he said. “There’s one girl from Texas who’s headed to MIT. She messaged me on Facebook saying, ‘Wow, that’s exactly the experience I’ve felt. I’m right here by the border and I hear things like that all the time.’”
Which was exactly his point. “I wanted to share my story, give a voice to people with similar stories, and help them see, if you work hard you’ll get it, no matter what anyone else says,” said Dominguez. “If I can even help one person in that way, then the point of publication has been achieved.”
In addition to providing that bridge and helping him get into Columbia, the essay has had other unexpected benefits. Dominguez has been interviewed by Telemundo and PBS. And with his fashionable white glasses and decidedly preppy look, he was named by Ivy Style website as one of their style icons under 20.
Contributing to the community
“My parents came from poverty in Ecuador, so I was raised believing that hard work and education can take you anywhere,” wrote Dominguez in his essay. Born in the U.S., he lived in Union City until about age 4, when his family moved to North Bergen.
Religion is an important part of his life, he said, especially as a tool to bring people together.
“That’s one of the reasons I went to Prep,” he said. “It’s not just Catholic. It’s also Jesuit. And the Jesuit faith incorporates a lot of contemplation, which is essentially meditation and reflection on your actions and always listening to people’s stories and empathizing.”
Dominguez chose to attend St. Peter’s after visiting a few schools. “And I liked Prep the best. Everyone was very welcoming. I have no regrets.”
At St. Peter’s he got involved in student musical productions and joined the Vox choir, traveling with them to Europe for several weeks and competing in the World Choir Games, where they won first place internationally in the men’s chamber category. Vox also sang backup for the band Foreigner at the Prudential Center and has recorded and performed humorous jingles for the Elvis Duran show on Z100 radio.
Through St. Peter’s, Dominguez traveled to Ecuador for two weeks of volunteer work at the Working Boys Center, a Jesuit establishment in Quito.
“They take care of children while parents work. They provide loans to parents, food, education. So it’s like poverty alleviation,” he said. “But what was cool is I stayed two weeks prior to that with family members five minutes away from the center.”
Dominguez has never been shy about volunteering, or getting involved in community welfare. He has been active in environmental drives at school and served as a research assistant at Hackensack University Medical Center.
“I now know that medicine is not something I want to do,” he said with a laugh. “I thought it was incredibly boring.”
What Dominguez does want to do has yet to be determined. “I’m deciding between three things: psychology, sociology, or human rights,” he said of his upcoming stint at Columbia. “I’m not exactly sure what that would lead to.”
Counseling is one possibility, as is advocacy. “I really like working with the Latino community,” he said.
A personal story
“I’ve never worked so hard on something in my entire life,” said Dominguez about his essay. Beginning work on it during junior year, he went through numerous topics and then different versions of each topic. “I would show it to my English teachers, my counselors, family members and friends who have English degrees, just to give me advice.”
Ultimately he selected the version that felt most personal. “It’s not like a one-day story,” he said. “It’s an amalgamation of things I have experienced throughout four years. And I feel it shows how I see the world and how I react to it… the way I treat people, my beliefs. I wanted to pick something that showed who I am.”
It was his mother who clued him in that the Times was looking for college essays to publish. “Whenever there’s some sort of opportunity, she’ll text me,” he said. “And I basically apply for anything and everything that comes my way.”
“If you’re a student you have to look for your opportunities,” he concluded. “They’re not going to be handed to you on a silver platter.”
Dominguez’s essay can be found online at http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2015/05/20/your-money/college-essays-on-money.html?_r=0
Art Schwartz may be reached at arts@hudsonreporter.com.