Bio: MassBay Alumnus Jamie Cecca’s heart has always been in her home country of Mexico and nothing was further from the truth on the morning of September 19, 2017 when a 7.1 earthquake shook her hometown. Jamie, an international student from Mexico City, graduated MassBay in May 2015 after receiving her Associate degree in International Business and now works for the Mexican Consulate Office in Boston.
“I had no idea an earthquake hit until I received a text message from my brother telling me he was safe,” said Jamie. “Then the news started showing photos and videos of people running and screaming in horror, skyscrapers swaying and buildings collapsing. It was horrible to watch helplessly, I was shaking and all I could think is my city was falling down. The area where most of the photos were coming from is in an area of Mexico City where I previously lived, so I know the area well and now it’s gone or changed forever. The Mexican people remember the 1985 earthquake, which happened 32 years to the day, and those lucky enough to survive were completely terrified because they are traumatized from that quake and couldn’t even stand on their feet because of the force of this quake. It was really hard to watch and be so far from home.”
Jamie and the Mexican Consulate Office began receiving calls and emails from the Latino Community and Americans asking how they can help victims and survivors of the earthquake. Feeling a great sense of pride being able to assist her home country from Boston, she guided calls to the American Red Cross to aid the people affected. “I can’t be there to help, but I feel like I can help in my own way from here, offering people somewhere to turn to donate.”
“This earthquake will take years for Mexico City and the surround towns to rebuild and recover from. But, the Mexican people are strong and they don’t give up. Mexico City will rebound and the residents will never forget.”
Jamie plans to pursue her bachelor degree in International Business this Spring while continuing her work at the Boston Office of the Mexican Consulate.
*Photo is courtesy of Jamie Cecca and was taken Friday, September 15, 2017 at Mexico’s Independence Day at the Statehouse in Boston.