Message from Latina/o Studies to class of 2023
Now that you have successfully navigated an extraordinary year, we want to wish
you the best and join you in celebrating this significant life transition. We know that your recent life experiences have not vanquished you: on the contrary, they have proven your mettle. For that, you are to be commended. We also hope that we have played a role in your lives and helped prepare you for your encounter with a still uncertain, but more optimistic world, the better for having shouldered these times with fortitude. We hope that we have imbued in you a passion for learning, tolerance, intellectual curiosity, communalism, and joy for simply being alive. We know that our lives have been enriched in our interactions with you and hope that we have enhanced yours.
As is customarily declared at commencement ceremonies, welcome to the Latinx Studies community of scholars. Remember to live out your life with the expectation that your best days will always be ahead of you and keep in touch with us as you move forward into exciting futures.
Vilma Santiago-Irizarry, Director
Marti Dense, Program Administrator
Zucy Ortega, Events Coordinator/Program Assistant
Bran Alves-Morgan, LSSO Advisor/Assistant Dean/Sr. Advisor
2023 Minors
Nelli Briceno
Major, Minors, and Concentrations: Architecture. Minor in Latina/o Studies.
Short and long-term post-graduation/career plans: After graduating I plan on working for a small firm in Los Angeles and freelancing while also delving into other fields within the design world. The beautiful part of this degree was learning skills that could be applicable to other fields beyond traditional architecture. Whether it be product design or furniture design I hope to one day be able to design my own collection of products and run my own studio.
What the LSP minor has meant to you: The LSP minor was a stronghold for me as I worked through my architecture degree. I was able to expand my knowledge of my own community and apply that in my work as a designer. This concluded in the development of my thesis which was in part formulated through the various courses I took as part of the minor.
What you expect to remember best from your Cornell experience: I'll forever remember the friendships I've made here. I am leaving Ithaca not only with a degree but with lifelong friends who I have been so fortunate to meet and be inspired by. They were my support during the difficult times and my joy in the best of times. To Hana, JQ, Carolina, and Kerry thank you for everything my lovelies.
Paola Canales Cruz
Major, Minors, and Concentrations: Environmental & Sustainability. Concentration: Humanities. Minor in Latina/o Studies.
Honors and acknowledgments: HEOP Janet Smith-Kintner Director’s Award.
Short and long-term post-graduation/career plans: I plan to attend graduate school after my time at Cornell University.
What the LSP minor has meant to you: The LSP minor has meant finding classes in my specific interests and being able to share El Salvadoran culture and experiences in higher education.
What you expect to remember best from your Cornell experience: Meeting people from different cultural backgrounds and understanding how there lived experiences form a vital part of their drive and purpose.
Lisette Gallarzo Guerrero
Major, Minors, and Concentrations: Government. Minor in Latina/o Studies
Honors and acknowledgments: McNair Scholar
Short and long-term post-graduation/career plans: In fall 2023, entering a PhD program in political science at UC San Diego, with a focus on immigration research. I am planning to get involved with their Immigration Policy Center in order to conduct field work around the community and assist immigrants.
What the LSP minor has meant to you: The LSP minor has allowed me to remain connected to my roots while expanding the knowledge that I had of Latino/a/x Studies, assisting me in solidifying my interests in conducting research that focuses on the Latino/a/x identity.
What you expect to remember best from your Cornell experience: I'll remember the people I met along the way--professors, students, friends--who all helped shape me into the person I am today and always believed in me.
Stephanie Jovel
Major, Minors, and Concentrations: Psychology. Minors in Latina/o Studies and Migration
Honors and acknowledgments: Research Proposal about Parental Mental Health and Child Academic Scores during COVID-19 published in NYU's QUEST Journal.
Short and long-term post-graduation/career plans: After graduation, I will be working as a clinical research lab assistant before I apply for clinical psychology Ph.D. programs. My ultimate goal is to become a psychologist for children and adolescents.
What the LSP minor has meant to you: The LSP minor has meant so much to me as I was able to learn more about the history of my roots and how diverse Latinidad is. I have met the most amazing people and professors through this minor and it was one of the best decisions I've made during my time at Cornell.
What you expect to remember best from your Cornell experience: I'm going to remember the connections I've made with people here the most as well as how I'm constantly learning from my peers. My favorite part of my Cornell experience has been learning from those around me and connecting over our shared experiences.
John Kennedy Godoy
Major, Minors, and Concentrations: Ph.D. Hispanic Studies. Graduate Minor in Latina/o Studies.
Honors and acknowledgments: Fulbright-Hays DDRA Fellowship, Public Humanities Fellowship, Bouchet Graduate Honors Society, Ford Foundation Honorable Mentionee, Engaged Graduate Student, Hispanic Scholarship Scholar.
Short and long-term post-graduation/career plans: John will be a tenure-track Assistant Professor and the Director of the Latino/a Studies Program at Western Carolina University in the fall of 2023.
What the LSP minor has meant to you: The LSP minor gave me a home and a community. It gave me a pathway to a really great job and an opportunity to explore my Latine roots, in addition to providing me with community.
What you expect to remember best from your Cornell experience: I will deeply miss and remember the Latina/o Studies Program hallway, seeing my students there and chatting with them, along with the Six Mile Creek path.
Claudia León
Major, Minors, and Concentrations: American Studies. Minors in Latino/a Studies, History, Latin American and Caribbean Studies, Public History.
Honors and acknowledgments: Mellon Mays Undergraduate Fellow, Humanities Scholar, A&S Extraordinary Senior, Co-curating an exhibition (Social Fabric @ RMC), completing an Honors Thesis.
Short and long-term post-graduation/career plans: After graduation, I will be taking a gap year to work and focus on applying to doctoral programs in History and American Studies. Upon completing my doctorate, I hope to pursue a career in museum work or public history more broadly.
What the LSP minor has meant to you: The LSP minor has given me the opportunity to focus my studies on my own people and begin the process of decolonizing my knowledge.
What you expect to remember best from your Cornell experience: Undoubtedly, the people. No matter how rough the weather got, or how many days we went without sunlight, the communities I am a part of made it all worthwhile.
Lisbeth Luna-Ariza
Major, Minors, and Concentrations: Economics. Minor in Latina/o Studies and Business.
Honors and acknowledgments: Chapter President of Latinas Promoviendo Comunidad/Lambda Pi Chi Sorority, Inc.
Short and long-term post-graduation/career plans: Post graduation I will be working as an Operations Analyst at Elmwood Asset Management in NYC. I plan to work for a couple of years before going back to school for my master's.
What the LSP minor has meant to you: The LSP minor has made my time at Cornell feel more like home. The LSP minor gave me the opportunity to meet students who have had similar backgrounds and experiences. I came from a really small high school so the shift to Cornell was huge. My LSP classes helped me adjust because I was able to have smaller discussions while finding a community.
What you expect to remember best from your Cornell experience: I will definitely remember the conversations I've had with my classmates. I will think about the moments when I was able to bring my culture into my undergraduate assignments.
Ryan Madrigal
Major, Minors, and Concentrations: Industrial & Labor Relations. Minor in Latina/o Studies.
Short and long-term post-graduation/career plans: Upon graduation, I will attend UMass Amherst, where I have been granted a full scholarship to pursue a Master's degree in Sport Management at the Isenberg School of Management. It's worth noting that the Mark H. McCormack Department of Sport Management is ranked #1 globally.
After completing my Master's, I will join an MLB front office as a baseball operations member. My responsibilities would include analyzing MLB talent, conducting pro and amateur scouting, as well as participating in baseball arbitration hearings.
What the LSP minor has meant to you: The LSP (Latina/o Studies) minor was an incredibly important and enriching experience. It gave me the opportunity to learn more about my culture and connect with it in a deeper way, helping me connect and appreciate my identity.
What I loved most about the LSP minor was the sense of community and support it provided. Being surrounded by other students who shared similar experiences and backgrounds created a safe space where we could have open and honest discussions about our identities.
What you expect to remember best from your Cornell experience: Thinking back on my time at Cornell, I expect that I'll remember both my academic and social experiences pretty vividly. Within the classroom, I think the discussions that my professors facilitated and the welcoming environment that they created will stand out in my mind. It was really amazing to be able to learn from such knowledgeable and engaging professors and to feel supported by a community of peers who were all interested in the same topics.
But it wasn't just the classroom experiences that made my time at Cornell memorable. Outside of classes, I had so many great times with my friends. I'll definitely remember playing intramural sports, sitting on the slope on a warm day, and going to my first Slope Day!
I feel really lucky to have had such a well-rounded and fulfilling experience at Cornell. I'm grateful for all of the memories that I made and for the opportunities that I had to learn and grow.
Sarahi Rivas
Major, Minors, and Concentrations: Government and Sociology. Concentration: Pre-Law. Minor in Latina/o Studies, Law & Society, and Inequality Studies
Honors and acknowledgments: Engaged Scholar Award, Honor Thesis in Sociology, Sphinx Head Member.
Short and long-term post-graduation/career plans: Travel the world! I plan to have a trip around Latin America and also visit family back home in Mexico while studying for the LSAT. Long term: I want to be an immigration attorney and help my community in Texas or California.
What the LSP minor has meant to you: It has allowed me to learn more about myself and my identity and has given me the knowledge to educate myself and others about Latinidad, as well as how to properly advocate for my community.
What you expect to remember best from your Cornell experience: All the wonderful people I have met that I know will be life-long friends who I will continue to make more beautiful memories with!
Britney Rivera-Martinez
Major, Minors, and Concentrations: Hotel Administration. Concentration: Food & Beverage. Minor in Latina/o Studies.
Short and long-term post-graduation/career plans: My hopes are to spend at least one year abroad in a Spanish Speaking country! I want to escape the USA for a bit.
What you expect to remember best from your Cornell experience: Cornell Ice cream.
Isaac Salazar
Major, Minors, and Concentrations: English. Minor in Latina/o Studies.
Honors and acknowledgments: I received the Mellon Mays Undergraduate Fellowship and the Corson-Browning Poetry Prize.
Short and long-term post-graduation/career plans: In the fall, I will attend Rice University to pursue my Ph.D. in English, where I will continue my interests in Mexican American literature and cultural production, the environmental humanities, and the intersections at which they meet.
What the LSP minor has meant to you: The LSP minor has meant so much to me. Every course has been a revelation. It has meant reimagining and challenging the Mexican culture I knew and grew up in. It has meant expanding my ideas of Latinidad. It has meant discovering the community's visionary futures, whether that be through policy, education, activism, literature, or art. This minor—with a community of passionate professors who I've been able to learn—has fueled the investment I have in my culture. It has fueled my interest in untangling the threads that entwine race, ethnicity, and nature, which I will continue to do beyond Cornell.
What you expect to remember best from your Cornell experience: I will remember the stories. The stories of my professors and the stories of my peers. What I've seen from myself throughout my time at Cornell has been my growing ability to empathize. I will remember the two-way street of support and inspiration this community has offered me and vice versa.