Emmy
winning actress America Ferrera brings message of hope
to Catholic students
LOS ANGELES (CNS) -- During a candid and
open exchange with Catholic high school students in Los Angeles, actress
America Ferrera, star of the television show “Ugly
Betty,” encouraged young people to overcome any obstacles in the way of
achieving their dreams and to take advantage of unexpected opportunities.
She also urged students to become involved
in this year’s presidential election, noting that the results will determine
the kind of world they will soon lead.
Ferrera
was the keynote speaker at a diversity conference Jan. 26 at all-girls
“Every opportunity that faces you is really
defined by how you accept that opportunity,” said Ferrera,
who graduated from El Camino Real High School in Woodland Hills and went on to
major in international relations at the
The 23-year-old actress, who won Golden
Globe and Emmy awards in 2007 for her portrayal of Betty Suarez in the comedy
“Ugly Betty,” said she knew at a young age she wanted to act. But the obstacles
were many.
“My whole life I
wanted to be an actress since I was 7 years old. And my whole life I was told
by the people around me, the people who loved me most, that this was probably
going to be an impossible dream for me. Because you know, 10-15 years ago,
there weren’t the sort of faces on television or in film you see now,” she
said.
A child of Honduran immigrants, Ferrera recalled that friends and family would tell her,
“You’re Latino. That’s not really what they want in
“And all these things hurt, but they didn’t
stop me,” said Ferrera. “All those reasons that
everyone said I would never make it are all the reasons why I did make it. All those things that make me very unique -- and in their eyes a
disadvantage -- were the things that opened the doors for me.”
Ferrera
said she was able to sign on with a small agency as a teenager, but then spent
a year auditioning for parts and never being called back. At 16, she worked as
a waitress to pay for acting classes.
“I would sit by my
phone and I would cry, ‘When is this going to happen?’” said Ferrera. After persevering for a year, she got a call-back
for the Disney Channel film “Gotta Kick It Up.” A
month later she landed the lead role in “Real Women Have Curves.” After that
the doors were wide open.
Ferrera
said that as a college freshman juggling her studies and acting roles, she
found herself in another critical moment of self-doubt. Her university courses
were exposing her to the many injustices endured by exploited people around the
world.
“I thought, how could there be so much
going on outside (in) the world and I’m finding myself just following my
passion, just doing what I want to do? That felt so selfish to me,” she said.
She took her doubts to
her professor, who then told her the story of how he had mentored a young
“And he says to me, ‘If you think you can’t
affect the world doing what you love to do, think again,’” Ferrera
said.
“Things kind of got a little more clear for
me,” she said. “It’s about taking the gifts that are given to you and directing
them toward great things and wonderful things, you know.”
Ferrera
is traveling and speaking with young adults and encouraging them to get
involved in the political process, particularly the upcoming presidential
election.
“You know, this election is about you, more than it is about
anybody else in this world,” she said. “Because what happens now, who changes
the course of this country, is going to determine the world we live in when
we’re old enough to be the rulers and the leaders and the people who define
what this world is going to be for the next generation. This really is your
election.”