A Journey of Reflection: From the Camino to the Holiday Season
by Maria Ortiz-Cintron
This summer, I completed a personal pilgrimage on the Camino de Santiago—a journey across historic pathways and vibrant communities that began in Porto, Portugal and ended in northern Spain. The route from Porto to Santiago de Compostela is about 280km (170 miles) long and took me two weeks to walk. I chose to walk the Portuguese Route, a beautiful coastal route that allows you to walk beside the ocean for a good portion of the way. Walking the Camino offered moments of reflection, gratitude, and connection that feel especially meaningful as we enter the holiday season.
Along the route, I met people from around the world, each walking with their own purpose but united by a shared spirit of generosity, kindness, and openness. Those encounters reminded me of the values we celebrate this time of year: community, compassion, and taking time to appreciate the people around us.
As we move through a season that can feel both joyful and, at times, overwhelming—especially in a world that feels increasingly uncertain and politically tense—the Camino experience reminds me that hope is often found in the small, human moments. A shared meal, a kind word from a stranger, a beautiful view after a long climb, these simple gestures and experiences remind us that even when the world feels chaotic, people still show up for one another.
As we enter the holiday season, I carry with me the lessons of the Camino: slow down, stay present, look for the good, and trust that each step forward matters. And if you’ve been waiting for a nudge or a sign to pause, reflect, or embark on your own personal journey or adventure — consider this your sign.
Wishing you a season of peace, clarity, and renewed hope.
Happy Holidays!
Executive Director/DEI Corner
with Gina Turner
In thinking about my recommendations for this month's newsletter on what culture I was consuming, I was reflecting on the holidays and my excellent fortune to be able to spend Thanksgiving with my husband, mother-in-law, and a dear friend who I've known for over 40 years. A colleague and friend recently recommended a book called Connected (James H. Fowler and Nicholas Christakis), and one of the points the book makes is that we can be as influenced by the people that the people we love are connected to as much as we're influenced by our loved ones themselves, and that the more those connections are intertwined the more likely they are to be influential on us! I thought about that, as I listened to the stories my mother-in-law was sharing about people back in the Channel Islands where my husband grew up, and as my friend and I reminisced about our old friends and the friends that we each have and the stories that we've been telling each other about them for the last 40 years. I realize how fortunate I am to be enmeshed in my community.
It was also fun to see my mother-in-law and friend connect with each other and share stories to each other. They ended up going shopping together and binge watching a show together so that they could catch up so that I could watch the remaining few episodes with them! By the way, the show is a psychological thriller series called All Her Fault (all episodes available to stream on Peacock) and it was a great exploration of the expectations placed on women within the challenges of being in a relationship raising children while also trying to balance their own goals and needs.
I hope that for the holidays and into 2026 you all are enmeshed in supportive and lovely connections with the people that you love and the people that they love, and I wish you all a fruitful and enjoyable 2026!
Kudos Corner
Kudos to: Robin Cunconan-Lahr
The Center for Community, Equity, and Inclusion acknowledges Robin Cunconan-Lahr for her commitment to disability visibility on our campus. This semester, we had the privilege of collaborating with Robin on two important initiatives: the Disability Pride Flag Raising in October (the first of its kind!) and our November screening of The Ride Ahead in honor of the 50th Anniversary of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA).
For both events, Robin worked tirelessly to engage the broader community—inviting local organizations, coordinating informational tables, and ensuring that attendees could learn more about disability advocacy and resources. Her dedication, outreach, and thoughtful leadership made these programs not only possible, but meaningful and memorable.
Kudos to you Robin, for your continued passion and for championing disability visibility in such impactful ways.
Kudos to: Viivi Samuels
The Center for Community, Equity, and Inclusion acknowledges Professor Viivi Samuels for her consistent support of campus events. Professor Samuels encourages her students to attend campus events and incentivizes her students to support these events by offering extra credit for attending and then sharing what their takeaways were.
Professor Samuels has also collaborated with our office in offering the HERstory: Growing Up Female Around the Globe panel discussion in honor of International Women's day this past March.
Kudos to you Viivi, for your support of campus events and for your excellent work in collaborating with the CCEI office for your Women's History month event!
If you'd like to have a Kudos shared on our newsletter, please let us know! Email Maria at mortizcintron@northampton.edu with your Kudos and we'll share it in our next Kudos Corner newsletter installment.
