What drew you towards your field and work?
I am a historian of transnational Latinx history and of migration, critical refugee studies, and childhood. I was drawn to this field because, as a bilingual/bicultural Latina who was first an economic migrant (to Japan, where I worked for most of my twenties) and later as an immigrant to the United States, my own life and that of my family has been profoundly shaped by the legal, social and cultural challenges and tensions that are produced when people cross borders--territorial and otherwise. My interest in childhood comes from the fact that my first career was as a middle and high school teacher of Social Studies and Spanish. Although I am now in a higher education space, I continue to be deeply committed to defending the rights and wellbeing of children. 

What challenge(s) did you encounter in your academic teaching career, and how have you addressed them?
As the first woman in my family to finish high school, and the first in my family to attend university, every step along the academic journey has been challenging for me. It has involved stepping into the unknown, learning to navigate spaces where I didn't understand the rules or the cultures, and learning to balance my own desire for learning and career advancement with the guilt and loneliness that comes from moving into a life and profession that has taken me away from my working-class family and community. As I've advanced in my own scholarly career, I have dealt with these challenges by first, making sure to "pay forward" the lessons of my own academic journey to first gen, low income and students of color, and lately, by providing the same kind of mentorship to early career URM and first-generation faculty. Now that I've reached the rank of Full Professor, I try hard to take advantage of the new security and privileges that come with this position, to claim space for the alternative worldviews, values and ways of being that underrepresented scholars bring with us into the academy. 

What advice do you have for graduate students in your field?
My advice for graduate students in transnational Latinx history is as follows: remember, when you are telling Latinx stories, to always center Latinx people and communities as agents, and to take seriously their knowledge, skills and critical capacities. It can be all to easy for those of us who have experienced various forms of oppression, and are committed to advancing social justice through our scholarship, to write history that depicts Latinx peoples as victims--of imperialism, racism, sexism, homophobia, and other forms of injustice. It can be equally tempting to frame our Latinx histories solely in terms of struggle. These things are all part of Latinx stories--but they are not all there is. Latinx stories, because they are human stories, are varied, complex and frequently contradictory. They include violence and resistance to injustice, solidarity and infighting, radicalism, accommodation, and self interest. They frequently feature suffering and marginalization, but are also defined by resilience, creativity, love and beauty. When you ar writing Latinx histories, try to keep all these things in mind. Do your best to tell the whole story.       

What are the issues closer to you?
As a migrant, scholar of migration and critical refugee studies and childhood, the issues that are closest to my heart are immigration and education. Through my scholarship, advocacy and volunteer work, I try to do my part to raise awareness about the need for a more humane approach to immigration/refugee policy, and to promote equal access to education for all.

What projects are you working on at this moment?
At the moment, because I'm serving as Associate Dean for Faculty Development and Diversity for UCI's School of Social Sciences, my research is moving a little slower than usual! I'm working on a paper about refugee parents as educational advocates in San Diego public schools, and I've just guest edited a special edition of the Journal of Education and Social Justice, featuring autoethnographic essays by some of my UCI graduate students, on the topic of "Education and Social Justice a lo Latin@."  And I'm making time for my long-deferred dream of writing a novel about the colonia latina in Tokyo, set in the months before and after 9/11. I'm currently finishing revisions, and hoping to find an interested publisher in the coming year!