Previous Honors Theses
2025
| Student | Title | Advisor |
|---|---|---|
| Stephany Barrios Hernandez | "Violence Against Latinx Women in Borderlands: The Impact of Economic Policies and Transnationalism in the U.S. Mexico Relationship" | Mirelsie Velázquez |
| Ana Escobar Gonzalez | "Achieving Reproductive Justice for Latinos in Illinois" | Randy Rodriguez |
| Kailey Reyes | "The Cause Behind Poor English Proficiency Among Latina/o Immigrant Parents" | Gilberto Rosas |
| Alexa Rodriguez | "Chicana/Latina Aesthetics in Professional Spaces: Cultural Expression and Workplace Norms" | Mirelsie Velázquez |
| Jazmine Romo | "'We all know that it's like better for your mental health'": Understanding the Role of Competence and Humility in Therapy for Latine Students at a PWI" | Nic Flores |
| Jalixa Sanchez | "Excesses of the Human: On the Otherwise, or Wise Other" | Emma Velez |
| Adriana Serrano Matsumoto | "Vicks VapoRub and its Role in Latino Communities: A Closer Look at the Cultural Significance Surrounding Self-Care Remedies and Challenges in Accessing Adequate Healthcare" | Isabel Molina-Guzman |
| Zion Anthony Trinidad | "Bilingual Latino/a Writing Experiences" | José da la Garza Valenzuela |
2024
| Student | Title | Faculty Advisor |
|---|---|---|
| De Giulio, Anissa | "Latinidad and Latin-esque Representations in the Music Industry" | José de la Garza Valenzuela |
2023
| Student | Title | Faculty Advisor |
|---|---|---|
| Garcia, Samantha | "Mental Health Reflections of Latina Youth" | Mónica González Ybarra |
| Garcia Barrón, Valerie | "Negating the Aesthetics of Latinidad: A Critique on Latino Identity and Visual Representation" | Emma Velez |
| Santillan, Estela Andrea | "Existence of Fatphobia: The Intersectional Barriers of Fat Latina Women/Femmes" | Emma Velez |
2022
| Student | Title | Faculty Advisor |
|---|---|---|
| Carteño, Lourdes | "The Worth of Multicultural Programming in Latinx Alumni Professional Development" | Damian Vergara Bracamontes |
| Gonzalez, Erica | "COVID-19 Vaccination in Urbana-Champaign: An Exploration of 20th Century Latinx Public Health Efforts" | Yuri Ramírez |
| Herrera, Zulema | "Art in Action: Latinx Student Activism at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign" | Angharad N. Valdivia |
| Roman, Diana Carolina | "Undocumented/DACAmented Student Support at the University of Illinois: A History of Advocacy and an Evaluation of Inclusion" | Damian Vergara Bracamontes |
| Santos, Marlene | "The Precarity of K-12 Latinx STUDIES Pedagogies in an 'Anti-CRT' Era" | Mónica González Ybarra |
2021
| Student | Title | Faculty Advisor |
|---|---|---|
| Bucio, Karen | "Barriers to Access Healthcare Among Undocumented Immigrants" | Jonathan X. Inda |
| Contreras, Melody | "Fornésian Dreamscapes: Navigating Queer World-Making" | Sandra Ruiz |
| Márquez, Isabella Rose | "Reggaeton's Resistance: Bad Bunny & the Aesthetics & Politics of Perreo" | Sandra Ruiz |
| Socorro Alvarez, Lydia | "El Acción de Gentrificación: Exploring the Contradictions of Community Organizing, Art, and Social Media in the Pilsen Neighborhood of Chicago" | Nic Flores |
2020
| Student | Title | Faculty Advisor |
|---|---|---|
| Romo, Michelle | "Selling Out: Understanding the Neighborhood Impacts of Factories in La Villita" | Julie A. Dowling |
2019
| Student | Title | Faculty Advisor |
|---|---|---|
| Acosta, Ezekiel | "Hombres Sin chile Tambien Pican: A Testimony of Transmen in Guatemala" | Lisa M. Cacho |
| Contreras, Samantha | "'So Many Arms of the State': The Presence of an ICE Detention Center in a Midwestern Town and Latina/o Sense of Well-Being" | Edna A. Viruell-Fuentes; Lisa M. Cacho |
| Hernandez, Iris | "Intertwined Like a Helix: A Theory of Love and Mourning in Felix Gonzalez-Torres's Artwork" | Sandra Ruiz |
| Perez, Bianca Rosa | "La Panza and Other Problems: The Effects of Family, Peers, and Media on Latina Women's Body Image Constructions" | Julie A. Dowling |
| Rodriguez, Sandra | "'Lo Natural Sirve Igual Que lo Professional': Access to Complementary Healthcare at a Botánica in Chicago" | Natalie Lira; Edna A. Viruell-Fuentes |
| Ruizesparza, Stephanie | "Invisible Women: Sex Trafficking of Latinas in Chicago" | Julie A. Dowling |
2018
| Student | Title | Faculty Advisor |
|---|---|---|
| Alvarez, Monica I. | "No Quiero Llorar" | W. D. Coyoca |
| Robledo, Jocelyne | "La Fuerza Estudiantil: MEChA de UIUC 2005-2018" | Rolando J. Romero |
2017
| Student | Title | Faculty Advisor |
|---|---|---|
| Anonales, Mariserg | "An Analysis of the Violence Against Women Act: How it Functions at a Local and National Levels" | Edna A. Viruell-Fuentes |
2016
| Student | Title | Advisor |
|---|---|---|
| Carbajal, Carla | "The American Dream & Cultural Collectivity: Space and Community Development from Las Vuelas, MX to Woodstock, IL" | Lisa M. Cacho |
2013
| Student | Title | Faculty Advisor |
|---|---|---|
| Gonzalez, Mercedes Guadalupe | "In the Era of Colorblindness: How CPS Discipline Policies funnel Youth of Color into America's Prisons" | Lisa M. Cacho |
| Herrera, Andrea | "Si Pero No: A Critique of the Eugenicist Underpinnings of Mestizaje" | Richard T. Rodriguez |
| Mora, Juan | "Becoming the Young Lords: The Struggle for Puerto Rican Liberation and Politicization in 1960s and 1970s Chicago" | Adrian Burgos, Jr. |
| Wagener-sobrero, Gabriela | "Mi Casa Es Su Casa?: How Public Transit Fosters Gentrification in Pilsen, Chicago" | Lisa M. Cacho |
2012
| Student | Title | Advisor |
|---|---|---|
| Briones, Victoria F. | "Unpacking the Continued Devaluation of Women in Ciudad Juárez" | Alejandro Lugo |
| Brito, Jonathan | "Youth Leadership and Community Empowerment: The Young Lords Organization" | Julie A. Dowling |
2011
| Student | Title | Faculty Advisor |
|---|---|---|
| Ledesma, Cynthia | "Performing Citizenship as a Political Strategy: Deconstructing Normalizing Discourses in the Dream Act" | Lisa M. Cacho |
| Rosales Sierra, Andrea Guadalupe | "Imagining the Impossible By Subverting 'Illegality'" | Lisa M. Cacho |