Lydia Socorro Alvarez

Growing up in Pilsen, Chicago, I have always been involved in the Latinx community and I have continually observed methods of resistance and organizing as it has evolved with our society. Both sides of my family decided to settle down in the inner city of Chicago from different areas of Mexico and have been instrumental to my growth as a Latina scholar. I came into the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign as the first freshman to declare Latino/a Studies as a major. I chose Latino/a Studies because I attended Chicago’s most diverse high school, Whitney M. Young, yet I still recall the lack of ethnic studies offered there. Since 2017, I have been extremely involved in the department’s success, as a recipient of the LLS Major Scholarship, a panelist for LLS at various LAS symposiums, and a peer mentor throughout the years. I graduated in 2021 with high distinction in Latino/a Studies and was awarded the LLS Undergraduate Research Award with Dr. Nic Flores as my research advisor.

I have since returned to the U of I as a graduate student in Education, hoping to continue my journey as a researcher and educator. I am so excited to continue involvement in the Department of Latino/a Studies and to learn alongside enthusiastic students this year!