Lourdes Concepción Cabán has joined the Latin American Studies (LALS) program at Illinois State University. Serving as a graduate program assistant, she will assist Director Maura Toro-Morn in running the LALS office. Cabán is a second-year Ph.D. student in school psychology at Illinois State.
Where is your hometown?
I come from a small town on the west side of Puerto Rico called Moca.
What is your field or focus of study?
I pursued my bachelor’s degree in psychology at the University of Puerto Rico in Mayagüez, graduating in June 2021. I am currently pursuing my second year of Ph.D. in school psychology. Last year, I started my internship in anti-racism with Dr. Gregory Braswell and Dr. Suejung Han. I am currently studying microaggressions with Dr. Brea Banks. I plan to do my dissertation on microaggressions within Latino communities.
After graduation, I plan to work in academia. I want to go back to Puerto Rico and work with my community.
What attracted you to the Latin American and Latino/a Studies program?
Before and after moving to the United States, I knew I wanted to work with my Latino/o community. Entering the Latin American and Latino/a Studies program offers me the opportunity to work closely with my community while also learning history.
What are you looking forward to in the coming year with LALS?
I want to be able to connect with my roots and my people. Furthermore, I want to create collaborative links between school psychology and LALS.
Why do you think the program is important?
With millions of people identifying as Hispanic or Latino in the US, Latin American culture and languages are becoming more important in everyday life in the United States. Having a Latin American and Latino/a studies program is an educational opportunity for people to interact with the Latino population and understand their cultures, backgrounds, and languages. Furthermore, it provides students with the historical formation of categories of race and discrimination, where Latin America arises from colonization. Finally, LALS gives Latino studies the assurance that they matter within a historically white institution and can come into a space where they are valued, respected, and represented.
What do you want people to know about LALS?
I want them to know that LALS is a program designed for graduate students to do work in Latin America, which will provide them with knowledge of many aspects of the relationship between the United States and Latin America and Latino life. -Americans in the United States. Being part of the program allows students from different majors to come together and explore a single topic. Students can apply this knowledge in their daily academic and professional lives. Beyond the intellectual enrichment that LALS offers students, it gives them a space to interact freely, forms a community and creates lasting connections.
