Our student, and creator of the “Enemiga del Silencio” podcast, is participating in the Student Mobility Program.
By Liz Yanira Del Valle
Contributor
Lola Montilla has an open heart for life and surprises, as well as for beating and making others beat. This energetic 20-year-old from Sagrado stands out in social media with her podcast “Enemiga del Silencio” (Enemy of Silence).
This Sagrado Dolphin has a natural and mischievous way of communicating. “I hesitated for a moment! Initially, I thought about majoring in public health,” the junior in General Communication with a minor in Audiovisual Production confessed to inSagrado.
Why the hesitation? Lola suffers from Ebstein’s Anomaly, a congenital heart defect that affects one in every 10,000 babies. She underwent open heart surgery at the age of 12 in Minnesota.
Post-surgery, she even promoted Lola’s Law (2014), a statute that guarantees an early diagnosis of critical congenital heart defects at the local level. However, Lola is not defined by her medical history. She talks about the topic to inspire from a standpoint of acceptance, inclusion, and happiness to be alive.
It is important to note that Enemiga del Silencio was born during the University Life course she took in Sagrado, with the support and mentoring of Prof. Paz Hernández.
“It was (a podcast) for the female community, but I reconsidered and decided to be inclusive and integrate men. In the end, it is not about wanting to be superior, but equal,” she expressed. The podcast — which exceeds 60 episodes — features topics from self-love to purposeful living and lifestyle issues, and includes interviews with personalities from different strata of the Island.
“I don’t create a character; I narrate from within my daily life. In fact, the language of the podcast is Spanglish. We do not live in perfection.”
Lola Montilla, undergraduate Sagrado student
According to Lola, life begins outside the comfort zone.
For this reason, she worked — even during the pandemic — to be able to study abroad through the Student Mobility Program of Sagrado Corazón University. Today, she is pursuing 24 credits in Audiovisual Production at Rey Juan Carlos University, in Madrid.
“I wanted to study outside of Puerto Rico and get to know the communications industry in another reality. I will keep my projects going and narrate my experiences through both my social media and Sagrado’s. It is an opportunity that I am grateful for,” said Lola, who is the author of the children’s book Todos los héroes son distintos (All Heroes are Different).
Olé, Lola!
Sagrado student: are you interested, like Lola, in participating in Study Abroad Programs? Send an email to: internacional@sagrado.edu