Lilián Juárez Armenta is a fourth-year, transfer, undergraduate student at UC Berkeley, majoring in Political Science and minoring in Spanish Linguistics. She plans to attend law school after graduating from UC Berkeley. She is passionate about immigrants and undocumented students’ rights. Lilián is currently an intern for the bi-national organization, Al Otro Lado, where she works with asylum seekers who are forced to remain in Mexico due to the current immigration laws. As a member of the 2021 Undergraduate Research Cohort, she will research the experiences of undocumented students...
My name is Karla Gutierrez Cebrero, I am a first year bioengineering major interested in research that explores the experience of undocumented students after they graduate from college. Specifically, the strategies that undocumented students use to succeed after graduating with an associates or bachelor’s degree without a working permit. As well as the challenges undocumented students encounter after obtaining a college diploma without a work permit.
Growing up in a low-income unincorporated community, resource accessibility, mutual aid, and education reform-centered work have always been a passion of mine. My personal experiences as an undocumented Latina in South Central Los Angeles have pushed me to pursue the knowledge needed to understand, address and actively participate in the amelioration of critical social problems. My hobbies center on finding extensions of creativity and innovation; specifically, using writing as a tool to bridge cultural diasporas together.
Erandi Garcia is a third-year student double majoring in Spanish and Sociology. Her current research includes investigating the erasure of language when migrating to a different country. This research is important to her because language is the main thing that has allowed her to keep her Mexican identity within the United States and communicate with her family.
Mehnaz is a 3rd year student studying Political Science with a minor in Public Policy. She is from Elk Grove, California, where she developed a profound appreciation for the rich culture of the Punjabi migrant community in Northern California. Mehnaz also serves as a Senator in the Associated Students of California, representing the Middle Eastern, Muslim, Sikh, and South Asian student community. When she’s not involved in Punjabi-Sikh and MEMSSA community advocacy, Mehnaz loves to take film photos, ride her bike, and try new coffee shops and cafes. Some of Mehnaz’s policy interests...
I was born and raised in a small village in Nepal. I am a first-generation college student. I have a diploma in Civil Engineering from Tribhuvan University, Nepal. I am a third-year transfer student and currently pursuing a Bachelor of Architecture degree at UC Berkeley. My dream is to become an American architect. I desire to participate in projects focusing on social justice, equity, and access to quality spaces and services in underserved and under-resourced communities.
My research interests include undocumented students...
Hello! My name is Michelle Rivera Lopez, and I am a San Francisco Bay Area native. I am currently a third-year undergraduate student at UC Berkeley, double majoring in Sociology and Ethnic Studies. I am passionate about studying race, ethnicity, and migration. My academic interests arose from being raised by immigrant parents and living in a predominantly low-income immigrant community. After completing my undergraduate degree, I hope to enroll in a J.D. program and become an attorney. I enjoy painting, going on walks with my dog, and spending time with my family in my free time.
Stephanie is a Political Science PhD Student at UC Berkeley. Her interests include the partisan polarization of immigration policy and immigration courts, as well the determinants of voting behavior among immigrants and their children. She hopes that her research will help inform the mobilization and political representation of low-propensity voters. Before coming to Berkeley, she worked in electoral campaigning and K-12 education.
I am a Graduate Student Research Assistant on BIMI's Mapping Spatial Inequality Project. I am interested in spatial patterns of health inequality and mortality. My primary research fields include spatial demography and public health. I work on the critically understudied relationship of space and demographic processes.
Naomi M. Yitref is a doctoral student in the Jurisprudence and Social Policy (JSP) Program at UC Berkeley Law. Just before that, she graduated Spelman College in Atlanta, Georgia with a Bachelor of Arts Degree in Honors Sociology and Anthropology. From Seattle, Washington by way of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, Naomi is the daughter of Ethiopian refugees and uses her personal socio-historical biography to inform her work around diasporic identity, mobility and legal tensions in Black immigrant/refugee communities. More generally, her legal research interests look at the role of law in...