Isela Estrada (Pavona-4th Period)

On Thursday, February 2, we had the pleasure of interviewing Isela Estrada, a Dance Instructor. She combines her passion for dance and helping people out whom she calls “dance therapy” She has 25 years of experience, before her doing this she us to work with kids. She also was a counselor at John Hancock High School. She recently opened a dance studio (MATLI) with her sister. Isela Estrada is studying art therapy, while she does that she has a part time job. While she was at school working to get a degree in dance she thought that she could do more for herself, therefore she decided to do dance therapy.

 As Isela Estrada became a hero she faced challenges but that didn’t stop her. She works with dance therapy; she describes this as a way of using dance to help you resolve your issues. She said that this way people get help because they are learning dancing skills and they are also getting counseling. She helps them out to resolve any problems that they have. She decided to do this because she wanted to help people out in the community. She wanted to make a difference in people’s lives.  She also mentioned that she wanted to do this because she saw that other teachers didn’t help out. They did nothing to help neither try to resolve the problem this made her want to help kids out. One of the challenges she faced was working with her sister. She mentioned that when they disagreed in something “it was hard not to take it personal”. Not only that but then when they went with family they had to forget about it or family will notice. 

Isela Estrada has a lot of beliefs. She believes that people shouldn’t use the word hero. She prefers the word “Servant of God”. She takes her religion, culture, and who she is very seriously. Those are big factors in her life. She believes that the fact that she was Hispanic made her want to be successful. Isela Estrada really values who she is, her culture, beliefs, and where she came from. She is really happy about what she is doing. She told us “Not only do I love it… I help people resolve their issues. We have feelings and sensations that mix together.”

           “Someone that is selfless and gives up their life to help people,” that is Isela Estrada’s definition of a hero. She also gave an example of who she thinks represents a hero, which is Martin Luther King Jr. She doesn’t consider herself a hero; she instead said, “I consider myself a servant of God.” She was also able to give advice to the teens. She said, respect yourself, educate yourself. Because she is working hard at helping the community out, many believe that Isela Estrada is a hero.

Written by Jessica A.