MALAS Student Profile: Neoshia Roemer

February 3, 2014

2013-2014 shows the MALAS program with a strong and diverse array of students. Among these students is Neoshia Roemer, whose interests in human rights have led her to pursue the dual degree in Latin American Studies and Law.

As an undergraduate at Indiana University Purdue University-Indianapolis (IUPUI), Neoshia majored in history and international studies with a focus on Latin America. In addition to formal classroom instruction, Neoshia's experience and interest in Latin America flourished during a summer study abroad in Cuba. During this term, she spent two and a half weeks traveling western Cuba, studying issues of geography and culture. Her study abroad continues to shape her research interests, which focus on themes of violence and discrimination in Latin America since the Cold War era.

At UNM, Neoshia is pursuing a dual degree in Latin American Studies and Law (MALAS/JD) - with Latin American Studies concentrations in human rights and history. She is particularly interested in the human rights concentration given that it allows students to study human rights through a variety of disciplinary lenses; the history concentration meanwhile enables her to continue her studies in the field of history. Together, these concentrations permit the study of intersections of history and social justice and their impact on present-day Latin America.

Outside of the classroom, Neoshia serves as a graduate assistant to the LAII's outreach programs, where she assists with providing K-12 educators with resources aimed at expanding awareness, knowledge, and understanding of Latin America; facilitates post-secondary programming, including the LAII's annual conference; and helps to generate content for the LAII's comprehensive website and K-12 blog. Neoshia is also a member of the Student Organization for Latin American Studies (SOLAS) and acts as its representative to the LAII's Grants and Awards Committee. In January 2014, Neoshia began volunteering for Enlace Comunitario, an Albuquerque-based non-profit organization that provides direct services to Spanish-speaking victims of domestic violence and advocates for the rights of Latino immigrants and their families. Through her work for Enlace Comunitario, Neoshia hopes to draw on and expand her knowledge of human rights and law in order to combat violence and discrimination.

To learn more about the LAII's current MALAS students, see other student profiles.