The Power of Writing
“The act of writing is the act of making soul, alchemy.”
Gloria E. Anzaldua
Magic and the Body
with Rios de la Luz (2024)
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Fiction and creative nonfiction workshop to find and create magic based on the ordinary that transposes itself onto the page.
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Wrote draft of a cuento de espantos (ghost story).
The Lore of the Life Story/Wandering Worlds (2023)
with Rios de la Luz
Palabras del Pueblo
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Fiction and creative nonfiction workshop to create mythos based on lived experiences.
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Wrote draft of flash fiction centered on body and geographic memories.
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Genesis of magical realism short story
Circulo de Poetas & Writers (Present)
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Member of a community of authors dedicated to the creation, promotion, and dissemination of multilingual multicultural poetry and prose through workshops, publications, and public presentations.
Write Now! SF Bay (Present)
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Member of creative writing workshop for Bay Area BIPOC writers
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Share prose, poetry and other creative work and receive supportive feedback
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A space to listen and build community with BIPOC writers
Poetry Workshop with Lorna Dee Cervantes,
Writing like a Chicana: The Whole Enchilada
Palabras del Pueblo (2023)
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Intensive poetry workshop based on Cordelia Candelaria’s four phases of the creative/critical process (GENeration/SELection/RE-Vision/CRITical Evaluation)
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Received feedback on line breaks and logopoeia from instructor on selected poems
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Wrote 10 poems on identity, family, and memory
Group Lead, Dissertators’ Writing Group
University of California, Berkeley (2021-2022)
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Convened and led a group of 5 fellow students for weekly dissertation writing support focused on research organization, argument development, and revision
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Wrote and successfully awarded a $3,000 professional development and editing services grant to fund editing services for all members
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As a result of the PD, members strengthened their academic job materials and timely applied to jobs while making progress on their dissertation writing
Personal Statement Coach
Getting into Grad School (GiGS)
University of California, Berkeley (2019-2020)
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Mentored two students via 1:1 meetings to demystify the graduate school application process while establishing and maintaining rapport with mentees
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Supervised two students’ graduate application process resulting in timely submitted applications
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Provided written and verbal feedback focused on improving student’s clarity, tone, and cohesion
Writing Mentor, Chicanx Latinx Student Development
University of California, Berkeley (2014-2015)
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Establish and maintain rapport with 15 first-generation, low-income, BIPOC undergraduate students to continue the pipeline into graduate and professional school
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Provide written feedback on students’ statements of purpose and personal statements
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Build community with students by sharing my story and creating space for others to share
Storyteller, Educators for Fair Consideration (2011-2012)
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Wrote personal experiences through migration narratives and prose on themes of home, nostalgia, assimilation, language, and refuge resulting in a published anthology
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Provided written and verbal uplifting feedback to participants, co-creating conditions for participants to expand their creativity and build community
Writing Tutor, Faculty Mentor Program
University of California, Santa Cruz (2007-2008)
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Provide sustained writing advice and written feedback to workshop participants during the academic year on their writing assignments leading to their final research paper (12 students)
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Areas covered during sessions included voice, argument, and conventions and approaches to academic writing
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Led conversations with participants—first-generation college students—on how to engage in academic conversations by deconstructing “academic discourse” and its premises