2023-2024
Luis Palomino (MA '24)
Luis Palomino graduate M.A. student in International Studies at El Instituto (also known as Latina/o and Latin American Studies). He got a B.A. in Economics from the Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos (UNMSM, Peru). He is an Affiliated Researcher at the Research Center of Universidad del Pacifico (CIUP) and the Center for Mining and Sustainability Studies of Universidad del Pacifico (CEMS-UP). His research interests are regional development, economic geography, urban economics, economic history, human capital, experimental economics, and mechanism design. His work has been published by Palgrave Macmillan, Inter-American Development Bank (IADB), and Fondo Editorial de la Universidad del Pacifico (Peru). In the past, he has been a Research Assistant in the Research Department of the IADB, CIUP, in the Marketing Group of the Universidad Carlos III de Madrid, and in the Macroeconomic Models Department of the Central Bank of Peru. He has also been a Teaching Assistant at the Universidad del Pacifico (UP) and the UNMSM.
Alejandra Gutierrez-Lara (MA '24)
Alejandra Gutierrez-Lara (She/her/ella) graduated from El Instituto’s Master International Studies program (also known as Latina/o and Latin American Studies). She loves to cook and spend time petting her cat Yavi. She graduated from Universidad Nacional de Colombia with a B.A. in Anthropology and a specialization in Feminism and Gender Studies. She has worked as an archeologist in Colombia and is very interested in a critical analysis of the archaeological labor professional practice from a critical feminist, decolonial perspective. She is a member of the Gefa (Genero, Feminismo y Arqueología) Collective, and the Critical Archaeology Research group at Universidad Nacional de Colombia.
Levinson H. Niño-Leal (MA '24)
Levinson H. Niño-Leal (He/him/el) graduated from El Instituto’s Master in International Studies program (also known as Latina/o and Latin American Studies). He graduated from Universidad Nacional de Colombia with a B.A. in Anthropology and a specialization in Public Policy Analysis. He has expertise in harm reduction programs and has worked as a researcher and consultant on issues pertaining to drug use and drug policy. Since 2017, he has represented Colombia as an activist in the Latin American Network of People who Uses Drugs -LANPUD. He is a founding member of the non-governmental organization Centro de Innovación, Cultura y Sociedad -CENICS- which is based in Bogota, Colombia, and founding member of Red Internacional para la Reducción del Estigma [International Network for Stigma Reduction].
2022-2023
Diana Velasco (MA '23) graduated with an M.A at El Instituto. She received her B.A. in both Political Science and Human Rights here at UConn. She has worked extensively with the undocumented community in Connecticut as well as facilitating UConn's first Human Rights Symposium. Her research focuses on Latin American migration, undocumented communities in the US, and trauma epidemic at the US- Mexico border.
Juan Sebastián Macías Díaz (MA '23) graduated with an M.A at El Instituto. Juan received his B.A. in History from the Universidad de los Andes (Bogotá, Colombia). He is interested in the interplay between colonialism, information networks, popular politics, and race and indigeneity during the Age of Revolutions.
Sarah Ramirez (MA '23) graduated with an M.A at El Instituto with a certificate in Feminist Studies. Sarah graduated with a B.A. in Law, Economics, & Public Policy and American & Ethnic Studies and minored in Human Rights and Diversity Studies at the University of Washington-Bothell. She was her university's first McNair Scholar, and her research interests include art as abolition and resistance, the relationship between religion and neo-colonialism, and problematizing global citizenship and international education.
Melissa Echevarría-Valentín (MA '23) graduated with an M.A at El Instituto. She received her B.A. in Hispanic Studies and a curricular sequence in Cultural Studies of Women and Gender at University of Puerto Rico Mayagüez. Before coming to UConn, she worked as a Spanish teacher in Puerto Rico. Her research interests are in the representation and contribution of women in Caribbean culture and music. Her many other interests include writing, linguistics, Puerto Rican and Hispanoamerican literature and the preservation of collective memory through story and novels.
Maria Hernandez (MA '23) graduated with an M.A at El Instituto. Maria received her B.A. in Political Science and Latin American and Caribbean Studies at Lehman College. Her research interests are in immigrant health, food insecurity, chronic diseases, and health outcomes.
2021-2022
2022
Daniela Itzel Domínguez Tavares (MA '22) graduated with a Master of Arts in Latino and Latin American Studies. Daniela received her B.A. in History from the Autonomous University of Aguascalientes, Mexico. Daniela has worked as a newspaper columnist and history teacher; and has published historical fiction and articles related to women and migrants and some critical reviews. In 2017 Daniela received a grant to develop a research project (PECDA). Daniela's research interests are: Mexico, populism, bilateral relations between the United States and Mexico and Cold War.
Alonso Velasquez (MA '22) graduated with a Master of Arts in Latina/o/x and Latin American Studies in El Instituto. Alonso received his B.A. majoring in Journalism and minoring in political science from Central Connecticut State University. He is interested in researching the political participation and involvement of indigenous communities in Peru, his birth country.
Liliana Oliveira (MA '22) (she/her/Ella) graduated with an M.A at El Instituto as well a graduate certificate in Feminist Studies. Liliana graduated from UConn with a B.A in History and minors in Political Science and Women, Gender and Sexuality Studies. Her research interests are on the portrayals of gender and sexuality of Latinx characters in U.S. media.
Caesar Valentin (MA '22) graduated with a a joint M.A. and M.P.A. Caesar Graduated from UConn with a B.A. in Political Science and Philosophy with a minor in Human Rights. Caesar is interested in Political Theory and Public Administration Ethics.
2021
Nina Vazquez (MA '21) Is an M.A. graduate in Puerto Rican, Latinx, Latin American and Caribbean Studies. Nina graduated with a dual B.A. in Criminal Justice and Political Science with an emphasis in Racial and Ethnic Relations. Her interests are on the history of development of race and ethnicity in Latin America and the Caribbean, Puerto Rican citizenship and Puerto Rican radical politics from the 1930s to 1970s.
Oxana Sidorova (MA'21) received her B.A. in Marketing Management from the Don State Technical University, Russia. Her research interests are first and second language acquisition, translanguaging, language teaching and learning, world language education. She is particularly interested in bilingual and multilingual education, intercultural communication, intercultural competence, CLIL, project-based learning, designed-based learning, interdisciplinary in language teaching and learning.
Genesis Carela (MA'21) received her B.A. in Political Science from the University of Rhode Island. She is interested in curriculum interventions in K-12 urban public schools, specifically the use of culturally sustaining pedagogy. Her long term goal is to work in the field of education policy to ensure that schools offer a high quality education that meets the needs of an increasingly diverse student population. Her thesis research explores instructional and curricular approaches that are responsive to students and include marginalized perspectives more generally.
2016 – 2020
2020
Victoria Almodovar (MA '20) completed a thesis project that explored Latina/o/x student involvement in fraternities and sororities. Currently, she is exploring a career in Human Resources. Her long-term goal is to help increase opportunities for Latinos in the United States through education, advocacy, and policy. |
Julia Marchese (MA'20) completed her B.A. in Spanish Literature and Translation ('18) at Kent State University. Her Master's thesis was an ethnography of a predominantly Latinx and (bi)lingual high school with an increasing number of undocumented indigenous Guatemalan students. She found that the schooling practices of these students need to be critically examined due to the discursive and academic erasure of Latinx indigeneity and indigenous language practices. Since graduating from UConn, Julia has been living in her hometown, Cincinnati, Ohio, and working with Co-Op Cincy to develop a composting cooperative, Queen City Commons, that provides residential and commercial composting drop off services to local community members. In the process, she has much enjoyed learning about anti-capitalist and unconventional alternatives to living and working. |
Matheus Souza (MA'20) completed his B.A. at the University of Connecticut. His research interests are the processes of creating, implementing and analyzing policies and government actions that meet the needs of society as a whole while strengthening the positive impact of governments, non-governmental organizations, and other civil society actors. Eventually he would like to work with international development agencies. |
2019
Felix Padilla-Carbonell (MA '19) received a B.A. in Political Science and a Juris Doctor in Law from UPR-Rio Piedras. After completing his Master of Arts in Latino and Latin American Studies at UConn, he has gone on to enrol in the doctoral program at the Graduate Center, CUNY. He is going to study Political Theory with a concentration in Critical Theory. |
2018
2017
2016
Ilan Sanchez Moreno (MA ’16) works in the World Languages department at The College Preparatory School in Oakland CA where he teaches Literature and Spanish. |
Hannah Reier (MA '16) wrote her MA thesis paper on American retirement colonies in Ecuador. |
2011 – 2015
2015
Charlie Fuentes (MA ’15) is a Spanish teacher and head boys’ soccer coach at Choate Rosemary Hall. |
Tyra Lewis (MA ’15) is Assistant Director of Academic Advising at Clark University. |
Matthew Perse (MA ’15) is chair of the World Languages Department, and Instructor of Spanish at Christ School, Arden, NC. |
2014
Carla Silva-Muhammad (MA ’14) is Director of Strategy and Operations at Relay Connecticut. |
Yesha Doshi (MA ’14) is a Senior Accountant at Priceline. |
Andrea Chunga-Celis (MA ’14) is a Grants Coordinator for Adelante Mujeres, a nonprofit organization working to educate and empower low-income Latina women and families in the state of Oregon. |
2013
2012
2011
2005 – 2010
2010
2008
Maria Cristina Durango Chavez (MA ’08) is General Manager and Director and Corporate Governance Manager at MG Head Hunting, Querétaro, Mexico. |
2007
2006
Emma Amador (MA ’06) received her Ph.D. in History in 2015 from the University of Michigan. She is an Assistant Professor of History and Latina/o, Latin American, and Caribbean Studies at UConn. |
2005
Mayte Restrepo Ruiz (MA 05', MPH 14', PhD. 21') dissertation focused on the association between armed conflict, intimate partner violence and women's mental health. She was awarded the UConn Human Rights Dissertation Research award and the Emerging Scholar Award from the Harry Fran Guggenheim Foundation to complete my dissertation. She is a Research Assistant in the Department of Public Health Sciences at UConn Health since 2016 and oversee health services research and evaluation projects. |