Biography

I am from Detroit, Michigan and spent my teenage years in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. During my studies in Anthropology and English at Bowdoin College, I explored how humans express differences in their lived experiences to each other. I was a recipient of the Mellon Mays Undergraduate Fellowship, through which I studied how storytelling can facilitate communication across differences in the context of school district community engagement. My professional experiences after Bowdoin solidified and honed my commitment to serving people while introducing me to the intersections of law, community engagement, and the American immigration system. In my MPhil research, I studied the unique immigration legal services provided to undocumented Latinos in the Detroit (USA) and Windsor (Canada) transborder area by virtue of their proximity to each other. My PhD in Social Anthropology explores Latine community building, citizenship practices, and hopes & futures as analytics to better understand post-industrial, aspirational Detroit as an urban borderland. By rooting my research in studies of immigration law, social service provision, and formations of collective identity in urban space, I hope to elevate marginalised voices and promote the autonomy of this complex, vibrant community. I am honoured to be a part of the Gates Cambridge community, where we all strive to learn how to serve people better.

Previous Education

University of Cambridge Social Anthropology 2022
Bowdoin College Anthropology, English 2018