Colgate University’s Latin American Student Association (LASO) hosted Samantha Ramirez Herrera in the Ho Science Center atrium, where she delivered an autobiographical speech about “Sueños sin Limites” (Borderless Dreams), her empowerment program for immigrant youth, on Oct. 15.
During the talk, Herrera, who is also an entrepreneur, filmmaker and founder of the creative content agency OffThaRecord, told the story of her family’s immigration to the United States from Mexico and subsequent struggle to chase the American dream.
Her award-winning film, “El Regreso: A Dreamer Awakens,” explores identity, belonging and the human spirit. The project, which is inspired by her personal journey, weaves spirituality, ancestral wisdom and reflections on land stewardship. Herrera’s myriad projects are guided by overarching themes of environmental conservation and indigenous rights.
Herrera began by recounting her final memories in Mexico City, including a vivid image of her father’s sombrero flying from his head as they departed their home country. Following the family’s emigration they settled in Arizona, where both Herrera and her parents would face both obstacles and opportunities to learn lasting lessons.
Herrera told the story of her parents picking up several jobs when she arrived in Phoenix, Ariz. According to Herrera, her parents taught her the importance of having ambitions and discovering her potential.
“As immigrant kids, with our parents always at work, we learned the importance of community,” Herrera said.
She said that the kids would entertain each other most days, a routine that subconsciously cultivating a multicultural environment that thrived on sharing experiences, memories and ways of life. As Herrera entered the American school system, she began to face direct challenges. She shared her elementary school experience, recalling the uphill battle of learning as an English second language student. Teachers would scream at her in English, and peers would laugh at her confusion.
“I remember feeling like I shouldn’t even exist. … That day I vowed to myself that I would never speak again,” Herrera said.
It wasn’t until Ms. G — a Hispanic, Spanish-speaking teacher — told the young Herrera that she saw potential in her that Herrera began to break out of this spiral of shame and self-loathing.
With Ms. G’s guidance, Herrera would soon become a national spelling bee champion in English, her second language. She said that Ms. G’s mentorship offered some invaluable inspiration.
“[She] taught me a very valuable lesson about the importance of seeing people where they are at in life,” Herrera said. “She gave me a little chalkboard and a piece of chalk, and she got all these books, and she created a safe space where I could learn. … And through her contribution in my life and teaching me how to spell and how to read, [I became] a national spelling bee champion. … That moment really, really changed my life because it was also the moment that I became addicted to proving to myself that I could do hard things.”
The experience, Herrera shared, was an invaluable reminder that success wasn’t contingent on perfection, and that she was capable of doing hard things and overcoming adversity.
“I learned that in harsh environments, things can bloom,” Herrera said.
At the end of high school, Herrera discovered that her status as an undocumented immigrant would prevent her from entering college. Instead of receiving a post-secondary education, Herrera continued to work at a local pizzeria, got married at her parents’ urging and gave birth to a son — all before the age of 20.
Herrera said that years later, without a college education, she knew she was made for more and decided to divorce the husband whom she had been forced to marry.
At the cost of her relationships with her parents, she moved to Atlanta, Ga. with her son in search of a better life.
“I remember these big buildings screaming at me, both to rise above me and to get out of the way,” Herrera said. “For the first time, I was listening to myself, to my own voice, something it took a lot of practice to remember to do.”
In Atlanta, Herrera became fascinated by other people living their own unique lives as well. She loved their free-spirited energy and found the individualism contagious. Inspired by those around her, she started a YouTube channel meant to document the stories of these people.
After being discovered by a promoter and an artist lawyer, Herrera got her start shadowing an employee at a local ad agency.
The agency soon backed her first independent venture, OffThaRecord.com, which has since grown into a major media platform.
From that early break to today, Herrera said she has made it her mission to inspire others — through her own journey and the voices she amplifies.
Her culminating project, “Borderless Dreams,” focused on inspiring people to achieve their biggest dreams despite how unattainable they might seem. She did so by sharing her own story of triumph and hardship.
Herrera’s first film told the little-known backstory of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s family.
Herrera explained the reason for the name Borderless Dreams.
“I named it Borderless Dreams because yes, I’m an immigrant, but also because borders can transcend not just geographies, but borders can be our home, borders that we make up in our minds,” she said. “Oftentimes, our only limitation is a self-inflicted one about who we feel we should be and shouldn’t be, what we feel we are worthy of, and what we aren’t.”
Throughout the talk, Herrera emphasized the importance of telling stories and sharing lessons. She focused on the lessons she has learned in her own life and how she applies these lessons to her everyday life.
Herrera shared how she learned the value of entrepreneurship from her grandparents.
Among the Colgate students in attendance was junior Jeremy Stoll. Stoll said that Herrera’s telling of marginalized stories, as well as her own, are particularly important for the public to hear.
“I thought her speech was very encouraging and inspirational,” Stoll said. “The storytelling aspect is very important, as it highlights the unheard and underrepresented stories. These are narratives our country needs to hear.”
Senior Salem Sokpoli found Herrera’s speech both inspiring and relevant to contemporary U.S. politics.
“It was a very stirring speech and I feel like it is very pertinent to the current political climate we currently find ourselves in in America,” Sokpoli said.
Following her trip to Colgate, Herrera flew to Hawai’i to shoot a film documenting how Native Hawaiians incorporate their land into their everyday lives, highlighting their traditions.
Amid the turbulence of American politics, Herrera points to the unifying power of storytelling — its ability to remind us of our shared humanity.
“I realized that we can all be there for somebody else,” Herrera said. “You never really know what someone’s going through — the emotional or mental exhaustion they might be carrying. Even if their dreams are only a tiny seed, acknowledging them can be what helps them keep growing.”
In her concluding remarks, Herrera offered another takeaway to the audience that dreams don’t have to be one-dimensional.
“Give yourselves permission to dream, to do the things you want to do. Imagine new worlds,” Herrera said. “What new worlds can be imagined while old ones collapse? What new worlds can be birthed from this? What’s possible when we trust ourselves?” ”
