About Naomi

I am Naomi. I embody persistence, bravery, and love. I am a knowledge seeker, and love to help students work their way to their goals. I am a chef at heart, I love watching MMA, and training in Muay Thai and boxing. I am also a mom of three, and still have not mastered the art of putting a diaper on correctly. I welcome challenges, as they only make me stronger. I have learned and continue to learn how to navigate the extroverted world and spaces that were not necessarily built for me.  With that, I am an ethnic studies and anthropology college instructor and hope to be a university professor one day.

My Academic Journey

Picture
Since I was a child, I knew I wanted a PhD. I aspired to have “Dr.” before my name. However, it took time to find the right space for myself. I always had a love for math but I didn’t see myself teaching math. After taking my first anthropology course at San Diego City College, I fell in love with the stories and clues that bones give us. From there I wanted to find a way to connect that knowledge to something more meaningful. After brainstorming a lot, I realized I wanted to help identify remains of migrants that die while trying to illegally cross the border into the US. For many, the only evidence left to find are their bones. From there, it is a complicated and sensitive process to figuring out their identity. Motivated by this, I pursued a masters in Latin American Studies from San Diego State University, and a second masters in anthropology with an emphasis on forensics from California State University Los Angeles. In my classroom spaces I share the experiences of migrants and hope to facilitate meaningful connections between my students and the content I present. 

I am currently working on my PhD in education. As long as I have the capacity, I will be a mentor, and help lift as I climb. Through my work I seek to inform and bridge seemingly differing cultural values and experiences, through knowledge seeking and knowledge sharing to strengthen intercultural communication and minimize hate.

Research Interests

I am passionate about learning and sharing migrant and student experiences. In particular, I have researched migrant violent encounters during the apprehension, deportation, and post deportation experiences. I am also interested in identity and (mis)representations of  students identity in academic spaces.