What activities were you involved in while a student, both within the RC and elsewhere on campus? 

I was in chorus with the RC Singers, and played Mafia weekly with students at the North Quad. I also played Diplomacy in the RC with a lot of my friends every week in the common room. We had a lot of picnics on the quad in the grass. I was part of the Urop work study program, which focused a lot on bilingual performance with Latino drag queens.

What are some highlights of your career - or side projects - that you’re most proud of? 

I work in family law, and I represent parents and children in cases where CPS is involved. I use my Spanish by having Spanish-speaking clients from all over the world. I have a lot of moments I'm proud of, but one is a woman who was from Guatemala. It was a domestic violence case, and her therapist was not a good fit because she didn't like that my client didn't understand what domestic violence was. She expected her to understand immediately, despite the extreme culture differences that made that so difficult. I set a hearing and got my client a new therapist. With that therapist's help, my client got all three of her children back with her and the case was successfully closed.

 

What are you doing lately that you’re passionate about? 

Apart from my work, which I am very passionate about, I am teaching my kids Spanish. They are in a Spanish immersion daycare. I also sing to my daughter every night. During COVID, this is the closest I can get to being in chorus!!

What about it makes you so passionate? What is the underlying reason or cause you’re doing what you’re doing? 

My children are five and two, and knowing that I'm setting them up to be fluent warms my heart. I know how hard it is, from the RC, to get there. I also feel it's so worthwhile to be able to communicate with others no matter how it's used. Besides, now maybe they can learn German, Japanese, or French in their free time! Or Latin. There's always Latin.

 

How does something you did in the RC relate to this? 

When I left highschool, I was ok in Spanish. I passed the AP Spanish test. That said, I didn't know very much about the cultures and I certainly couldn't have talked a hysterical client through something as in depth as their immigration status or personal experience with domestic violence. 

If you could have dinner with anyone, fictional or real, dead or alive, who would it be and why? 

Sam Cooke, ladies man with a honey sweet voice. I would love to learn more about him, and maybe get some insight into the mystery of his death. I think I would chicken out asking this famous, amazing man about his death, though. That feels like a lot. 

What’s your favorite food to make, and why?

Hamentaschen. They're important to my cultural identity and to my kids. I feel in touch with my heritage. Also, they can be made by anyone but made very well by fewer people, so I can make them and then buy some by some of those people who can make them well. They're cookies, so no matter how they end up they always get eaten.