Pursuing an education at a liberal arts school is very important to me. The reason why I believe that a liberal arts degree is right for me is because it allows the individual to explore different areas of study. I would like to write in the future and as a future professor I would like to publish reaserch. I would like to write academic papers and having a good foundation in writing is important to me. Going into academia I need to be a well-rounded individual and I strongly believe that no matter what one does in life one needs to have strong writing, reading and public speaking skills. I want to be able to explore courses in the humanities, social sciences and art. I want to take many courses such as English, Anthropology, Ethnic Studies, Women and Gender Studies, Political Science, Art History, History, Languages, Education, Film, Printmaking and Theatre. I want to be a well-rounded individual with an understanding of many subjects. I am looking at schools such as Sarah Lawrence College. New York University and Columbia University. 

I see myself teaching at the college level. My interest in education has always been a part of me, but I never saw myself teaching children. I am interested in education as means of empowering and doing. What I mean empowering is giving access to information and putting it to good use. I believe that when a person reads history they become empowered and therefore are free. This is something that cannot be taken away from no one; knowledge. I have always been interested in people who are disenfranchised because of their race, class or gender. Myself being one of those people I am deeply moved by and look up to people and the social movements they participate in. 

I would like to teach in the fields of Latino/a and Latin American Studies, Africana Studies and Women and Gender Studies. These three fields are a culmination of what my overall academic interest is. I am interested in Racial. I am interested in seeing how the Latino/a population in the US grows and become an integral part of society. Chicana/Mexican American cultural and queer theorist Gloria Anzaldúa once said,

This land was Mexican once,

was Indian always

and is,

And will be again.

Without a doubt this is true. It is estimated that by 2050 Latinos/as in this country will be the majority (Source). This is of great interest to me and has me thinking and asking myself how will this country look with an estimated 54% Latino/a population. I believe this is of great importance and something that should be shared with our youth. My interest in Africana is rooted in the fact that I am an Afro-Latino and this plays hugely into how I perceive myself and how others perceive me. The images that people get of Latino/as are images of Sofia Vergara (Modern Family) and Edward James Olmos (Zoot Suit). Usually they are brown or white faces with brown hair and dark eyes, sometimes we see the other Latinos/as with blue and green eyes and blonde hair that we get in the novelas (soap operas). But the fact is that not all of us look like that. Latin America in my opinion is the most diverse of all places, and there are some of us called Afro-Latino/as. Through Africana studies I want to explore the African diaspora in Latin America and the politics of identity of Afro-Latino/as in the US. Women and Gender Studies in something that recently I have explored. I came to understand that patriarchy is something that affects us all, even men. I understand that even as a man I live in a gendered body and that feminism is not only good for women, but for all. With an understanding of these three fields I hope to explore and teach "The Politics of Race and Gender in Latin America and US Latinos/as."