Major: Spanish
Minor: Ethnic and Race Studies and Global Studies
What is your current position/career?
I am currently in the fourth year of the Hispanic Studies PhD program at Washington University in St. Louis
How did Cal Lutheran and/or your Spanish program set you up for success in this position/career?
As a student at Cal Lutheran, I was lucky to have a supportive network of Faculty and Staff who believed in me and supported me throughout my undergraduate studies. Being a first-generation student, Student Support Services (SSS) was a pivotal part of my Cal Lutheran experience from the very beginning. My professors in the Spanish program were also a big support system. Together with SSS they offered their guidance and advice from how to declare/change my major all the way to helping me as I was applying to graduate programs.
What skills or proficiencies did you acquire at Cal Lutheran, through your studies or other activities, that you now use in your current position/career?
Having the opportunity to complete research and participate in conferences as an undergraduate student is an experience I truly value and which has been very useful now as I am as completing a PhD in Hispanic Studies at Washington University in St. Louis. As a junior at Cal Lutheran, I was taking a class in Hispanic Literature, when my professor at the time, Dr. Rafaela Fiore, recognized the potential of my work and encouraged me to present my research in an academic conference. In the remainder of my time at Cal Lutheran, Dr. Fiore along with Dr. LaVerne Seales and Dr. Sheridan Wigginton worked with me and motivated me to continue my research on Afro- Latin Literature which has now become the topic of my PhD dissertation.
In general, what were some of your favorite aspects of the Spanish program? Such as research, classes, professors, etc.
One of my favorite aspects of the Spanish program at Cal Lutheran was the variety of classes offered. I was able to take courses which covered a broad range of topics such as Spanish linguistics, pedagogy, Latin American Literature, Latinx/Chicano literature, and race and ethnicity in Latin America. I had the opportunity to study and learn a “little bit of everything” while also focusing on my personal interest on Afro- Latin literature as I completed research outside of my courses as well.