1) What made you want to work or continue working in Women and Gender Studies?
In my own personal experiences as a survivor and an advocate for women and the LGBTQ community, I knew that I wanted to integrate my passion and identity into my career but I didn't exactly know how. During my first semester as a graduate student in the English program, I became interested in literature/writing and its healing effects in the body and in the brain for trauma survivors. After getting connected with David through a professor of mine and after hearing more about the program, I realized this was an amazing opportunity to not only do what I love but to learn and give back to a community that has always been accepting of my narrative.
2) What are you most passionate about in this area of study?
I am passionate about writing and the psychoanalytic theory. Specifically in my research, I found that writing has a way of uncovering unknown knowns. Especially for survivors of trauma and sexual abuse, experiences can be repressed so deeply that it may be forgotten. However, writing has a therapeutic way of awakening those repressed, hurt, distraught parts of ourselves that can give us control to have control again. It gives us answers. It gives us freedom. It gives us authority over trauma and the impact it has on the body and the brain. For a moment, writing awakens that silent part that has been lost too long. It has an astounding role, a psychoanalytical role, that can bring people back to themselves and together.
3) What do you hope to accomplish in your position here?
I hope to utilize the professional development opportunity within the program with a training that can be useful to my research. I also hope to collaborate with and learn from professors and colleagues in the program that have ample experience teaching classrooms at the University. Hopefully, I'll be able to attend these courses and learn how I could potentially integrate my own area of study/interest in curriculums on campus.
4) What excites you most about working here?
I am so excited to learn from my colleagues and what their specific areas of interests are in Women and Gender Studies. I want to see how our research speak to one another and how we can continue important conversations around gender, sexuality, race, age, religion and other social categories. I am also looking forward to meeting with other students in the program and see what their research topics are on.
5) How does working here contribute to your life/career goals?
Working at the Women and Gender studies program is an amazing opportunity to continue my advocacy work around women rights and link with important people on campus. I hope the connections that I make will continue to propel me into the world and prepare me to teach communities on women and gender topics.
6) What unique experience can you contribute to WGST?
I have a lot of experience working around women rights in the country and outside of the country. I've worked as a healthy youth volunteer in the Peace Corps in Lesotho around HIV/AIDS. I went to the Philippines to study human trafficking and was able to volunteer at a center for women and children where most of the cases were incest cases. I also worked at the Bethany House of Northern Virginia for women and children survivors of domestic violence. I believe all of these experiences have shaped me as an advocate for women and children which ultimately helped me become an advocate for myself. Through many years of volunteering and interning in these communities coming from all different backgrounds and personal experiences, I was able to find my own voice