MY STORY
After finishing graduate school, I worked as a translation services coordinator at Inline Translation Services in Glendale, CA. In 2024, I began taking classes in Hindi. In 2025, I completed “Climate Change: Learning for Action,” a 12-week certificate program offered by Terra.do aimed at helping professionals transition into climate-focused careers. I'm currently looking for my next opportunity to make an impact at the intersection of research, teaching, and community engagement.
2024-PRESENT
Studying abroad in Brazil as a FLAS Fellow in Brazilian Portuguese, summer 2023.
In 2021, I went back to school to pursue my M.A. in Latin American Studies at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). During my time at UCLA, I worked as a Graduate Student Researcher for the UCLA Undocumented Student Program, a summer researcher for the UCLA Labor Center, and a Teaching Assistant in the Digital Humanities program. I was also involved in the graduate student government, serving as VP of External Affairs (2021-2022) and President (2022-2023) of the Social Sciences Council. While I was on track to complete the degree in two years, I decided to stay for a third year so I could study abroad in Brazil, fully develop my Master's thesis research, and gain classroom teaching experience.
2021-2024
Conducting interviews in Puerto Maldonado, Madre de Dios, Peru, spring 2019.
I worked as a legal assistant for two private immigration attorneys in Seattle, WA, before returning to Bolivia, this time as a Fulbright research grant recipient. From 2018-2019, I conducted research on the implementation of Free, Prior and Informed Consultation in Indigenous communities in Santa Cruz, Bolivia, and Madre de Dios, Peru. Once back in the U.S., I worked as a paralegal at Esperanza Immigrant Rights Project, providing legal assistance to undocumented immigrants. I also continued freelance work as a Spanish tutor and translator.
2018-2021
Representing Guatemala at the UN, fall 2017.
At Occidental College, I chose to double major in Diplomacy & World Affairs and Spanish Studies. Formative experiences during my undergraduate years include internships at Esperanza Immigrant Rights Project, the International Rescue Committee, and the Permanent Mission of Guatemala to the United Nations through the Oxy at the UN Program. I was also involved in leadership and service on campus, working as a Resident Advisor for a multicultural dorm, and a Campus and Community Organizer for the Office of Community Engagement. I spent a semester studying abroad in Cochabamba, Bolivia, which would plant the seeds for my future research.
2014-2018
Members of St. Patrick's youth delegation meet human rights activists at the Monument to Truth and Memory in El Salvador, summer 2013.
As a teen, I pursued every possible opportunity to travel and study in Latin America, including trips to El Salvador, Guatemala, and Costa Rica. By my junior year in high school, I was fluent in Spanish. I first dipped my toes into translation and interpretation by volunteering with the Sister Parish Committee at my church. I became a T.A. for a Spanish III class at my high school, where I discovered my passion for language teaching. I conducted my first research project in 2013, recording 40+ oral histories in Nueva Trinidad, and made my first documentary in 2014. I had officially caught the language and research bug!
2010-2014
When I was twelve years old, I traveled to El Salvador with my family on a delegation led by the SHARE Foundation, a human rights organization that fosters solidarity between the people of the U.S. and El Salvador. During this trip, we met with community leaders and human rights activists, visited sites of atrocities committed during the armed conflict (1979-1992), and learned about the role of U.S. military intervention in El Salvador. We also visited Nueva Trinidad, a community that has maintained an active partnership with my hometown church since the early 1990s. Upon my return to the U.S., I made two decisions: first, that I wanted to become fluent in Spanish; and second, that I wanted to work on human rights issues in the U.S. and Latin America. Those decisions have guided my personal and professional path ever since.
2008: WHERE IT ALL BEGAN
For the long version, keep reading! You can also view my work experience or check out my portfolio.