2022-23
Joshua Hinostroza (he/him/el) is a Connecticut native and first-year M.A. student in International Studies at El Instituto. He graduated magna cum laude from Central Connecticut State University in May 2022 with a B.S.Ed. in History. During his time at CCSU, he was a member of the Phi Alpha Theta history honors society. Shortly thereafter, he became certified as a secondary education social studies teacher. Currently, at UCONN, Josh is working with the Office of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion to research ways in which the university can be more accessible for every student. His academic interests focus on the role of immigration on political and economic ideology in South America. Specifically, he aims to study the political, cultural and socioeconomic legacy of the coolie trade in Peru. On a broader scale, he is interested in the historical study of national identity through film and literature as well as the role of Peru in the modern geopolitical conversation
Luis Palomino is a first-year M.A. student in International Studies at El Instituto. 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 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.
Levinson H. Niño-Leal (He/him/el) is a first-year student at El Instituto’s Master of Arts in International Studies program. 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].
Alejandra Gutierrez-Lara(She/her/ella) is a first-year student at El Instituto’s Master of Arts in International Studies program. 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.
Crystal Elescano (she/her/ella) has a B.A. in Journalism from the University of Connecticut, and is now a first-year student at El Institutos M.A. program in International Studies. She is currently a bilingual reporter for the Meriden Record-Journal's Latino Communities Reporting Lab where she focuses on the Latino community in Meriden and surrounding areas—covering businesses, issues, traditions, etc. Her interests focus on los desaparecidos, political corruption, and terrorism in Latin America.
2021-22
Diana Velasco is a first year M.A. student in International Studies with 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 (He/Him/El) is a second-year student pursuing a Master of Arts in Latino and Latin American Studies through 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.
Ruth Edwards has a B.A. in Puerto Rican and Latino Studies from Brooklyn College, and is now a second-year student in El Instituto’s MA program in Latinx and Latin American Studies. Her interests include Black and Latinx small business formation and entrepreneurship, with a specific focus on the ethics and practices of care among BIPoC small business owners/managers and how the work of care links entrepreneurs with clients, workers and suppliers.
Zoé González-Lanza (she/her/ella) is a second year graduate pursuing an M.A. in Latina/o & Latin American Studies at El Instituto: Institute of Latina/o, Caribbean, and Latin American Studies. She graduated from the University of Puerto Rico, Río Piedras Campus (UPRRP), with a bachelor's degree in Secondary Education and a concentration in History. She is a middle school social studies teacher and gender and family historian of the later nineteenth and early twentieth-century Puerto Rico. At El Instituto, she aims to develop historical research that studies the intersections of race and gender in Puerto Rico's marriage institution; particularly how the laws of coverture affected Puerto Ricans' citizenship and rights in the territory during 1899-1936. Other areas of interest are women's agencies in regarding and resignifying the state and hegemonic institutions in Latin America and the Caribbean.
Sarah Ramirez (she/her) is a second year student pursuing a Master of Arts in Latino and Latin American Studies 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 (she/her/ella) is a second year student pursuing a M.A. in Latina/o and Latin American Studies. 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 is a second-year student pursuing a Master of Arts in Latino and Latin American Studies through 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.
Graduated in 2022
Daniela Itzel Domínguez Tavares is a second year student pursuing a Master of Arts in Latino and Latin American Studies. I received my B.A. in History from the Autonomous University of Aguascalientes, Mexico. I have worked as a newspaper columnist and history teacher. I have published historical fiction and articles related to women and migrants and some critical reviews. In 2017 I received a grant to develop a research project (PECDA). My research interests are: Mexico, populism, bilateral relations between the United States and Mexico and Cold War.
Alonso Velasquez is a student pursuing 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 (she/her/Ella) is a student pursuing a 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 is a joint M.A., M.P.A. student. 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.