Letty Treviño

Latina   Chicana   Queer   Tejana   Immigrant   First-Gen Graduate   Scholar-Activist

Hola!

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I am a PhD student and Teaching Associate in the Department of Spanish & Portuguese at UCLA. Most of my research has been guided by a firm belief in human rights. My current dissertation explores the way culture makes monsters out of marginalized communities and uses these practices to compromise human rights and permit atrocities.

I’ve always been very interested in how culture manifests and is promulgated through different media. As a result, most of my current research is firmly grounded in the field of digital humanities. Currently, I am exploring the development of transborder communities on social media. Recently, I’ve also started researching the dialogue between Latinx instapoetry and social justice movements among young adults. You can explore some of my work in my Digital Portfolio.

I chose an academic career because when I was most struggling in college, when I had less than $5 in my bank account, when I could barely keep up with my courses, when I thought I would drop out.. there was a professor that encouraged me and gave me the strength to finish my degree. I’ve decided that was who I wanted to be when I grew up. It is my firm belief that a university education should be accessible, inclusive, and critically engaging.

These values have guided my campus activism both inside and outside my classroom. When I’m not researching or studying I spend my time fighting for more inclusive university practices for first-gen students, sitting on different campus committees, and developing programming that benefits both undergraduate and graduate student communities.

My masters in Spanish is from UCLA and before that I did my undergrad in Hispanic & French Studies at Rice University. I was born in Monterrey, México and grew up in Houston, Texas. I am a product of the communities that supported me throughout my academic and professional journey. Now is my time to pay it forward.