Women in Latin American History Latin American Culture and Civilization (Spanish)
Q: Where were you born?
A: New York City.
Q: What universities have you attended?
A: The University of Maryland. I got a B.A. there in history. I did my graduate work at Columbia University.
Q: How long have you been at the University?
A: Four years and a couple weeks.
Q: What do you like best about the University?
A: It's very hard to pick just one thing. I like the very high level of the students and how much [they] ask of [themselves]. I like the notion of self-governance and the lot that it has achieved -- and also its great potential. And thirdly, the faculty and all the many partnerships and friendships that arise among my fellow professors and administrators.
Q: If you could change one thing about the University what would it be?
A: The education would either be free or very inexpensive so that the competition would be only a competition of interests and abilities and
merit--instead of it being partly economic.
Q: What things have helped build your success?
A: This office -- the Office of the Dean of Students -- is the best place I've ever worked for. Of all the places I've worked, this office is by far the most supportive, the most nurturing.
Q: If you could go anywhere in the world, where would it be?
A: Buenos Aires, Argentina. It's where much of my family is -- where I've lived for quite a number of years. But a combination of work and personal responsibilities -- and to a degree, the dire condition of that country -- has kept me from setting foot on its soil for two years now. In a heartbeat, that's where I would go.
Q: Do you have any hobbies?
A: I love to read and write. I love to keep up with what's going on in the world. Although I don't like much of what's going on in the world, it's very important to me to know what's happening. I like to do my little bit as a citizen and as a human being--to stay informed and to try and keep my government accountable. I love to play sports, although I don't get to do too much of that. And I love to be with my family including my almost three-year-old son.
Q: What did you want to be when you were a little kid, job-wise?
A: Like most kids, it would depend on what day you asked me. Most of the times it would be to be a writer. At times it would be to be the center for the New York Yankees. Or to wear the number 10 for the Boca Juniors -- my soccer club.
Q: What type of music do you like?
A: Essentially there are three types I like listening to: jazz, salsa and other Latin American music and country.
Q: What countries have you lived in?
A: Argentina and the United States.
Q: Has living in a country outside the U.S. helped you in your duties as an Assistant Dean?
A: I guess I've grown up -- right from the cradle -- with two perspectives. I think that's just enlarged my ability to put myself in other people's skin, and I see that things look very different from where you stand and where you've been. For me, Argentina isn't a foreign country -- together with the United States, those are my two points of view.
Q: What do you feel has been most fulfilling for you as an Assistant Dean?
A: I think it's been watching the Latino and the Latin American community at the University really grow, really take root. It's really grown substantially in the last half-decade or so. I don't mean that I'm the cause of that by any means, but I do like to think that I've been a partner with students who play a big role in the movement, with faculty, with alumni and of course with the Office of Admissions. It's not just the growth of numbers. It's the growth of organizations, the growth of participation. And it's the growth of self-confidence, which is an ongoing process. I don't think it's complete, but I think it's really, really moved in the last few years. That's absolutely the most fulfilling thing for me.
I think the connections between Latino students of different backgrounds with the student population generally are growing, and that's very exciting. Ultimately I see that as my role -- it's not just to build the Latino community, it's to keep making it more and more a part of the entire university, which I think it absolutely is. And the reason that's so important, I think, is because people learn from each other.
Q: What are different projects you've been involved in here at the University?
A: I guess, in no particular order: working to bring quite a large number of Latino student organizations, or Latino-related organizations, together -- roughly a dozen. And then bringing the leadership of those groups together through a coalition structure called "Alianza," which means Alliance. That's been really satisfying, seeing that grow and give fruit.
Creating, together with the students, a peer-mentoring program. A lot of Latino students have some connection with it. I've been involved in a lot of academic and cultural programs, which include lectures, musical events, panels and films.
One project in particular that has been very satisfying and rewarding is a program called "Nuestra America." We've done it every third semester since the fall of 1999. It's been a chance for mostly students -- but some faculty -- to really delve into the complexities, the truths, the richness of what Latino and Latin American cultures are. It's very different each time -- the most recent one was about language issues: either being bilingual or struggling to recapture the ancestral language.
It's just exciting to me for people -- Latino students themselves but also everybody -- to realize all that richness and complexity [of the culture] that people looking from the outside don't usually see, which is natural. They tend to think of Latino and Latin American culture as sort of one thing -- rather simple, colorful, rhythmic, quaint, cute. To me, I think the cultural work I've been a part of -- with students, faculty and just through this office -- has been about getting past that, opening people's eyes up further.
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