Hello! My name is Letty and I am a first-generation student, Mexican-immigrant, queer, Chicana, digital humanist scholar and activist. I am a 5th year in the department, pursuing a PhD in Hispanic Cultures & Literatures because I believe in being a part of a community that makes higher education accessible and inclusive.

I study Trans-American and US-Latinx literature, film, photography, digital media, and alternative cultural materials from the 20th-21st centuries. Particularly, I’m interested in the intersection of human rights, race, gender, sexuality, (dis)ability, activism and empathy in popular culture.

Under the mentorship of Prof. Adriana Bergero, I completed my master’s thesis in the department. I researched how narratives created by cultural institutions vilify prostitution and women in Argentina at the turn of the 20th century.

For the 2020-2021 school year, I am preparing my dissertation prospectus and qualifying paper for the qualifying examinations in the department. For my dissertation I am exploring the promotion of fear as a means of negating the human rights of marginalized populations in the U.S. I am currently researching family separation along the U.S.-Mexico border, pedagogical activism against educational silences, and how disability is constructed as a minority identity.

Education

  • Ph.D. Hispanic Cultures & Literatures, UCLA (In Progress)
    • Graduate Certificate in Digital Humanities
    • Graduate Certificate in Writing Pedagogy
  • M.A. Spanish, UCLA (2018)
  • B.A. Hispanic Studies & French Studies, Rice University (2016)

Research

Publications

Presentations

  • “Latinx InstaPoetry: The New Collaborative Literary Genre, #Subversive,” LASA2020,  Guadalajara, Mexico, May 2020 [Cancelled due to COVID-19 complications]
  • “Violence in the Construction of a Mexican-American Masculinity,” IASA VIII World Congress, Laredo, TX, USA, July 2017

Teaching

Experience

  • Primary Instructor
    • Elementary Spanish Language – SPAN 1 (2X), SPAN 2, SPAN 3 (2X)
    • Intermediate Spanish Language – SPAN 5 (2X)
    • Introductory Spanish for Heritage Speakers – SPAN 7A
    • Intermediate Spanish for Heritage Speakers – SPAN 7B
    • Advanced Spanish Composition for Heritage Speakers – SPAN 27 (2X) – Winter & Spring 2021
  • Discussion Section Leader
    • Iberian Cultures – SPAN 42
    • Latin American Cultures – SPAN 44 – Fall 2020
    • Literature in Historical Context – SPAN 120

Pedagogical Training

Courses

  • General – Introduction to Evidence-Based Undergraduate Teaching; Teaching As Research
  • Writing – Current Issues in University Writing Pedagogy; Language Pedagogy: Form, Meaning, and Function
  • Spanish – Teaching Spanish at the College Level; Second Language Acquisition
  • Other – Feminist Pedagogy; Digital Humanities; Inclusive Pedagogy (Fall 2020)

UCLA’s Annual TA Conference: 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020

Center for the Integration of Research, Teaching and Learning (CIRTL): Associate Level

Awards

  • TA Rookie of the Year (2017-2018) | Department of Spanish & Portuguese
    $100 award, given to the new TA that demonstrates excellent student evaluations, excels in the supervisor observations, and supports their colleagues

Mellon-Epic Fellow, Seminar in Teaching Excellence | Digital Humanities, Excellence in Pedagogy and Innovative Classrooms (EPIC) – Humanities Division
$5000 award, admission into seminar, 50hr commitment, used to explore topics that are fundamental to teaching and learning in the humanities and support innovative approaches to humanities curricula, funded by the Mellon Foundation

Service

Campus Positions
  • First-Gen Initiatives in the Humanities | Division of the Humanities
    • First-Gen Student Consultant | October 2019 - Present
  • Graduate Student Resource Center (GSRC)
    • Orientation Coordinator | July - September 2020
    • First-Gen Program Consultant | May 2019 - June 2020
Student Groups
  • UCLA Graduate Student Association (GSA)
    • Vice President - Academic Affairs | 2020-2021
  • Spanish & Portuguese Graduate Student Association (SPGSA)
    • President | 2019-2020
    • Writer | SPGSA 8-year Review | Spring 2019
  • Hispanic & Latinx Graduate Student Association (HLGSA)
    • President | 2019-2020
  • 1st Gen Latinx (Founder)
    • Graduate Student President | 2018-2019
    • Conference Chair | 2018-2019
Academic Senate
  • Graduate Council | 2020-2021
  • Committee on Teaching | 2018-2019
Campus Committees
  • CARES ACT Distribution Committee | Spring 2020
  • Mentoring and Evaluation of Graduate Academic Progress (MEGAP) Implementation Group | 2019-2020
    • Mentorship Resource Curation & Development
    • Annual Progress Review Proposal for Graduate Council
  • Graduate Student Appreciation Week Committee | 2019-2020
  • Graduate Student Orientation Planning Committee | 2018, 2019, 2020
    • Bruin Resource Fair Chair | Summer 2018, 2019, 2020
    • Help Desk Chair | Summer 2019
Equity, Inclusion & Diversity
  • First-Gen Advisory Board | 2019-Present
  • First-Gen Forum | 2018-Present
  • Equity, Inclusion, and Diversity (EID) Day | 2018, 2019
  • EID Day Underrepresented Students Guide | Summer 2019
  • Student Club Diversity Leaders Panel | Summer 2018