“Orange is the New Black” star Dascha Polanco never expected to be on a hit show.

“There have been things that have tried to knock me down and have knocked me down, but I know how to get back up,” said Polanco. “I never expected to be on a hit show and to be a series regular as a Latina, being as thick as I am, but I am learning how to embrace it, how to use it to my advantage and do what I have to do.”

Hosted by the Xi Chapter of Omega Phi Beta sorority on Wednesday night in Hendricks Chapel, Polanco’s talk addressed issues including the hardships of being a woman of color in the media and the intersection of societal beauty standards and personal body image. But during the talk, she maintained a comfortable atmosphere as she shared the details of her trajectory from being a young working mother to becoming a series regular on the Netflix original series, “Orange is the New Black.”

Polanco was born in the Dominican Republic, but grew up in Brooklyn, New York where she says she was exposed to a balance of American and Latino culture. Polanco said her social and economic statuses contributed to her experiences as a pregnant teenager when she attended Hunter College, where she studied psychology.

“Even as I was pregnant, I was still going to college, studying, I never took a break,” said Polanco. “I felt like as a Latina, as a full-figured Latina, I never wanted to be a statistic.”

When it comes to her breakout role as inmate Dayanara Diaz on “Orange is the New Black,” Polanco said she had always known she was going to be an actress, but did not know her career would grow in the way that it did.

Polanco continued to say that the show “put Hollywood on blast,” for its success with an extremely diverse cast, both in terms of racial and sexual identities. She said that as a woman of color, the show felt like reality and it is because of these factors that everyone who watches the show can connect to both the characters and the story.

“I know that I can do it now,” Polanco said, encouraging audience members to do what they have a passion for.

As the talk transitioned into a discussion forum with the audience, Polanco invited senior Anibal Oller to the stage to salsa dance with her and even acted out scenes from the first season of the Netflix series.

Rachel Becker, a freshman advertising major, said the opportunity to hear from Polanco was one she could not miss, especially after just attending the Coming Out Month keynote address “Ain’t I a Woman?” by actress and Polanco’s co-star Laverne Cox in October.

“I would have never gotten the opportunity to see two amazing characters from a show that I love watching,” said Becker. “As someone who doesn’t really identify with Latino culture, it’s so interesting to hear her views.”

Lucy Mansour, the social cultural chair of the sorority, hosted the talk with Polanco on stage and said that although she was nervous, the experience tied in perfectly with the sorority’s goal of connecting to and empowering young women.

“She relates to us. She is a woman of color. She comes from where we come from,” said Mansour, a sophomore civic engagement and political science dual major. “We actually grew up in the same neighborhood and went to the same elementary school.”

Said Mansour: “I felt like I had known her for all of my life and I think that’s because of the struggles we both dealt with growing up.”

Published on November 20, 2014 at 1:18 am

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