My first experience (and the only one for that matter) of an online class was during the junior year of my undergraduate degree. It was a course on Pre-Columbian Mesoamerican archaeology, a subject in which I was very much interested. However, I do not remember much of the class other than getting a good grade.

Author's note: The term curandera (feminine pronoun) will be used throughout the text since traditionally, most healers tend to be women.

Gloria Anzaldúa described the U.S./Mexico border as una herida abierta, an open wound. I first read Borderlands/La Frontera: The New Mestiza in an undergraduate course at New Mexico State University (NMSU) with Dr. Joyce Garay. I had never read anything like it.

Growing up, I saw how schools taught their students the basics of history while often missing the important details. Throughout my education and through multiple history classes I have learned that, truthfully, well, they do not tell you the whole story.  One specific example of an important figure in history whose truth is often altered is none other than Christopher Columbus.

Introduction by Reyna Muñoz, Faculty Fellow:

I had first met Ana, a timid nursing student at Rio Grande campus a few years ago. She took an introductory English course with me then, but almost immediately I saw in her a love for reading and writing which she confessed was one of her biggest pastimes. It was apparent, though, that this was not just a pastime for her, but something she was passionate about and actually good at.

For my second year with The Humanities Collaborative at EPCC-UTEP, I began an exciting new research project with El Paso Community College professor Zaira Crisafulli, and Humanities Collaborative Undergraduate Research Fellow Aylin Garcia. Our project focuses on investigating angels and demons as they appear in Judaism, Christianity, and Islam.  Our exploration includes these religions’ holy books, folklore, and contemporary literature.