Quick Glance: Researcher; Analyst; Advocate; Writer; Traveler; Confidante.
Aspiring to be: Educational Policy Implementer; Public Servant; Active Member of the Community.
Full Story: I grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area, California, attending public school. In middle and high schools I participated in theater productions in my free time, however a fascination with European history led me to my undergraduate Major and Master’s concentration: European Studies. As an undergraduate at New York University, I studied abroad for two summer sessions and two semesters. I developed an interest in observing people, cultures, and languages, and an approach to research that pushed me to keep asking questions of every source. When I returned to New York City after a year abroad, increasingly critical of the costs of universities, I delved into student organizing by first addressing climate change with NYU Divest.
I continued with my department at the Center for European and Mediterranean Studies (CEMS) to acquire a Master’s degree in European Politics and Policy in a 5-year BA/MA program. A few weeks before choosing to take on one more year of education, I realized that I had always been passionate about discussing education with my peers. With the flexibility of the program, I knew I would be able to explore educational policy at the graduate level and apply it to an international context through my concentration. At the same time, the Student Labor Action Movement at NYU moved forward with a campaign focused on student debt. The culmination of these events led to the topic of my Master’s thesis, the funding of higher education in Ireland and Germany, and influenced my methodological approach and goals: seeking the impact of funding on the students, and bringing forward the students’ voices.
In August 2018 I began working at Menlo College as Career Services & Study Abroad Coordinator. In December of 2018, I was promoted to the role of Assistant Director of Internships, Career Services & Study Abroad. Working at a small college provided me the opportunity to see many facets of a higher education institution up close, all while regularly learning about current US higher education events through various news sources and podcasts. In a sense, I was practicing one thing that I preached: experiential learning.
With the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, my projects shifted online and leaned towards the Career Services part of my job. In September, 2020, I took on duties as a Designated School Official (DSO) advising international students through the process of applying for Optional Practical Training (OPT).
In August, 2021, I moved to Oslo, Norway, pursuing a second masters through the University of Oslo’s MPhil in Higher Education program. This program allowed me the space and resources to understand higher education systems more holistically and conduct research through a global lens. My term papers were focused on different aspects of higher education in different parts of the world: a comparison of governance between Denmark and South Africa, the development of the Chinese higher education system, a look at Gratuidad in Chile. For my thesis, I conducted a case study on the ARUA Center of Excellence for Climate and Development – a collaboration between three universities in Kenya, Ghana and South Africa – to understand its impact on the climate and development research space.
As of January, 2024, I work for UNESCO International Institute for Higher Education in Latin America and the Caribbean (IESALC), where I conduct higher education policy analysis at a global level.
Disclaimer: Please note, that my opinions written on this blog belong solely to me, and not to any institutions or organizations I am a part of or affiliated with.