Juan Mora, PhD, earned his BA in History and Latina/Latino Studies in 2013. He arrived at UIUC as an undergraduate majoring in History. For his first two years at Illinois, he struggled to find the specific areas of studying history that could encourage him to succeed. As he explained, “It was when I combined Latina/o Studies with History that I was able to thrive.” Courses with Dr. Adrian Burgos Jr. and Dr. Mireya Loza, like Caribbean Latina/o Migration and Latino Social Movements, respectively, were instrumental to his development as a student and shaped his decision to eventually major in...
Alumni Spotlight
Andrea Barron graduated with a double major in LLS and History from the U of I in 2014. As a student, Andrea was heavily involved with social justice organizations, volunteering in the community, and supporting programming at La Casa. After graduating, she returned to the La Villita where she worked for ENLACE supporting first generation students apply to college. This inspired her to pursue and complete a M.Ed in School Counseling at DePaul University. Andrea currently works at Kelly College Preparatory. At Kelly College Prep, Andrea supports students in three different domains: SEL (social...
Being a first-generation college student, I remember electing Latina/Latino Studies 100 as one of my initial courses during my first fall semester at the University of Illinois. I was so enthralled by what I was learning. The history of the Latino/Latina population in the United States. Subjects and topics that were never discussed in my elementary and high school history classes. The history of “mi gente.” I was so fascinated that I chose Latino/Latina Studies as my second major to go along with my History major. I became an elementary school teacher in the South side of Chicago and took...
The Latinx/a/o Studies Department, that I once knew was revolutionary at the minimum and the reason for that was their mighty tenderness and willingness to support students at the student's convenience. They (Alicia Rodriquez, dear Laura, Professor Sandra Ruiz, and Professor Lisa Cacho) deeply believed in our success by any means necessary. While organizing around Affordable Housing to working within the Cook County Forest Preserves, I have heard organizations speak to centering the most affected, but contrary to this belief many people/organizations misplace this understanding and struggle...
Carlos Saucedo graduated with a double major in LLS and Sociology in 2015. Carlos manages the Little Village Education Collaborative's Postsecondary Team through Enlace Chicago. Before this, he worked at Upward Bound at Roosevelt University, supporting postsecondary planning for historically underrepresented youth in La Villita. While at UIUC, Carlos was president of Alpha Psi Lambda - Beta Chapter, participated in the Summer Research Opportunities Program at UIC, and was involved with retention programming at La Casa. Carlos has completed an AM in Social Service Administration at the...
Without a doubt, I credit who I am as a leader and professional in large part to my undergraduate education in Latina/Latino Studies. As a Policy Analyst at Health & Medicine Policy Research Group with master’s degrees in social work and public health, I research and advocate for policies that prevent and mitigate the systemic root causes of trauma and Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) in Illinois. My LLS background has been indispensable throughout my graduate education and now in my current role. Learning about topics such as Critical Race Theory and the impact of U.S. policy on...
Samantha M. Contreras is an Illinois native, having grown up in Kankakee, Illinois, about an hour north of Urbana-Champaign. She earned her bachelor’s degree in Liberal Arts & Sciences in the department of Latina/Latino Studies with high distinction and Communications. For her Senior Honor’s Thesis, she explored the effects of an ICE Detention Center in her hometown in a paper titled, “So Many Arms of the State”: Presence of an ICE Detention Center in a Midwestern Town and Latina/o Sense of Well-being. After completing her bachelor’s degree, she went on to earn her Juris Doctorate at...
