TEACHING EXPERIENCE & PHILOSOPHY
When I returned to college as an undocumented student with DACA, I felt lost. I was the first in my family to attempt higher education, and I remember thinking, “I’m not even smart enough to be here.” What changed the trajectory of my life were the educators I encountered along the way—those who valued inclusive, student-centered learning and who approached the classroom with rigor, support, and active engagement. These principles shaped my success and are the foundation of my teaching philosophy. As a Lecturer at CSUF and TA at UCI, my teaching philosophy fosters interactive spaces of knowledge production, where students are active creators of the ideas we explore together. As a sociologist of immigration, race, and law, I am eager to continue teaching in both my areas of specialization and the sociology core curriculum. I am also enthusiastic about teaching courses that equip students with the skills to produce original research, including interview and ethnographic research design.
Lecturer, Department of Sociology, California State University, Fullerton 2022 - Present
Race and Ethnic Relations (Online Modality)
This sociology course on race and ethnic relations interrogates fundamental questions such as "What is race?" and "What is ethnicity?", and examines how these social constructs shape our daily lives. It delves into sociological theories, historical contexts, and the role of race in various social institutions, including the criminal justice system, education, labor market, law, and immigration system. Students will explore how race and ethnicity influence social outcomes, examining patterns of prejudice, discrimination, and institutional racism. The course equips students with analytic tools to recognize and critically assess the tangible impact of race and ethnicity on American society, fostering a comprehensive understanding of these pervasive and influential social constructs.
Sociology of Emotions
We study emotions by examining their social and cultural context, their impact on individuals and society, and their role in shaping behavior and social relationships. This course is intended to provide junior and senior undergraduates with applied knowledge that they can use in various settings. Students are involved in: (1) Examining the cultural and social norms around emotions and emotional expression. (2) Analyzing the major theoretical paradigms in the sociology of emotions, including functionalism, symbolic, cultural, and constructivist perspectives. (3) Investigating the impact of emotions on individuals and their behavior, such as the impact of gender on anger and emotional expression or the influence of race on people’s affective lives. (4) Studying how emotions are socially constructed and the impact of cultural and historical factors on the expression and experience of emotions. (5) Analyzing the role of emotions in shaping and maintaining social relationships, such as the impact of emotional labor on job satisfaction or the influence of emotions in political movements. (6) Investigating the relationship between emotions and power, including the ways that dominant groups may use emotions to maintain control and the ways that marginalized groups may use emotions to resist oppression.
Teaching Assistant, School of Social Sciences, University of California, Irvine 2022 - Present
American Culture (Hybrid Modality)
This writing-intensive course explores American culture through the lens of popular culture, with a focus on how it shapes both individual and collective identities. We examine the ways popular culture influences public perceptions of power, politics, and social problems. Rather than viewing media as the sole cause of issues like poverty, racism, sexism, homophobia, and economic inequality, we will analyze how these societal structures shape and are reflected in popular culture. The course also considers how changing U.S. demographics—both historically and today—contribute to and are influenced by popular culture, ultimately shaping our understandings of social problems and the political debates surrounding them. Students engage in regular writing assignments to develop their critical thinking and analytical writing skills throughout the quarter.
Statistics & Probability for Social Scientists
This course introduces students to the foundational concepts of statistics and probability with a focus on applications in the social sciences. Students learn how to organize, analyze, and interpret quantitative data to answer research questions about human behavior and social phenomena. Topics include descriptive statistics, probability theory, sampling distributions, hypothesis testing, confidence intervals, correlation, regression, and the logic of statistical inference. Emphasis is placed on understanding when and how to use various statistical techniques and interpreting results in context, rather than on mathematical derivations.