Student Testimonials
Alba Garcia
I engage in topics of beauty and femininity in forging my identity in creative processes. My name is Alba Garcia, I am 23 years old and I am majoring in Media Advertising with a double minor in Graphic Design and Women’s Studies. My creative journey started when I was 15 years old, I became interested in creative journalism and writing articles about art and fashion for independent magazines. Since then, I have always found opportunities to acquire experiences and to continue learning I worked as a writer, photographer and graphic designer for a local magazine and interned with a multidisciplinary design studio based in Monterrey, Mexico. At UTEP, I have channeled my creativity into photography, graphic design, fashion design, and art direction. My work as a photographer has been published in fashion magazines, such as Vogue and In Style. Photography has allowed me to create a space to capture and celebrate the beauty of women in a very organic and honest way. I have also been a part of diverse fashion-related projects and brands. In February 2020, I created Origen y Convergencia, which was my first gallery exhibition where I analyzed female beauty and its connection with nature. During quarantine, I started my own handmade to order clothing project, where I experiment with clothing with an environmentally conscious perspective. I am currently interning with Ni En More, a non-profit project and clothing brand that merges political activism, fashion, and art. My work is always inspired by the powerful women whom have surrounded my life. Throughout my diverse projects, I would like to make meaningful contributions to the world of photography and art. My experiences keep me devoted to my essence and values as I constantly find myself pursuing natural and genuine beauty free of prejudice. Within many professional goals, the most important thing for me is to stay inspired by finding infinite ways of creating art with a feminist perspective to forge my identity in an ethereal way.
Valerie Hernandez
Born and raised in El Paso, Texas, Valerie Hernandez is a recent graduate from the University of Texas at El Paso. She is an upcoming graduate student of gender studies in the United Kingdom and hopes to specialize her studies on the intersections between gender and race, gender and disability, and gender and queer theory. In addition, Valerie is also interested in the study of literature and marginalized characters, and how pop culture defines gender. Also a budding screenwriter, Valerie loves to write from the perspective of minority characters that are rarely seen in visual media. In her spare time, Valerie enjoys curling up with a good book, watching French movies, reading longform journalism, and trying new foods.
Valerie's Testimonial:
Good evening, Dr. Nunez,
I hope you had a very good Christmas/holiday and I hope you have a very happy new year. My name is Valerie Hernandez and I graduated UTEP this month with my BA in Creative Writing, and I minored in Women's and Gender Studies. I wanted to let you know that the best part of my UTEP experience was taking my WS classes. I wish I had been able to major in it, but the past can't be changed. It was through these classes that fueled my passion for intersectional feminism, queer theory, disability justice, global feminism, and how pop culture affects gender in all its intersections.
I'm very pleased to say that I will be continuing my study of gender in grad school in England next fall, and it is thanks to the education, experience, and inspiration I got from your program.
I would also like to ask if there is any possibility for any kind of internship/work experience/professors needing an assistant type of opportunities available next semester at the WS department, remote or otherwise. Before I enter grad school, I would love to have the chance to be of any kind of assistance to a program that has meant so much to me.
No matter what, thank you again for giving me the best education I've ever received, and instilling in me a lifelong passion.
Happy New Year,
Valerie Hernandez
January, 2021
Thank you, we hope to add more students soon