MALAS Student Profile: Lauri Gonzalez
November 23, 2016
Lauri Gonzalez
MALAS 2018
Indigenous Studies; Urbanism and Community Development
Lauri Gonzalez received her undergraduate degree from the University of New Mexico (UNM) where she majored in Latin American Studies and concentrated in Humanities (including languages) with a minor in International Studies.
Lauri has a deep connection with Latin America; she has lived abroad and traveled multiple times, including to her husband's home state of Puebla, Mexico. Lauri's experiences both in Mexico and with immigrants in the United States have left a deep-seated desire to work in Latin America with people facing conditions of poverty, specifically those in indigenous communities. After a successful undergraduate career, Lauri has returned to UNM based on the availability and quality of the Latin American Studies courses continually offered, the research resources available, and the continuing cultivation of professional relationships with like-minded students, staff, and especially Professors.
Upon graduation, Lauri hopes to work for a non-profit organization that works with underrepresented peoples in/from Latin America. Eventually she hopes to live and work in Latin America as an interpreter, translator, and liaison for marginalized peoples, focusing on the areas of government, business, and healthcare. She also hopes to work in asset-based community development and improving access to resources for those communities. Lauri has a principal interest in Mexico, Guatemala, Peru, and Ecuador.
Lauri is a current Foreign Language and Area Studies fellowship recipient, and with what free time she has, she volunteers on the Board of Directors for the Open Space Alliance as the Membership Committee Chair. This organization, Lauri feels, aligns well with her aspirations, since the organization works as a liaison between citizens and the City of Albuquerque in the topics of conservation, preservation, and promotion of public awareness regarding Open Space lands in Albuquerque.
To read other profiles, see the LAII's graduate student directory.
