Faculty / Staff / Students Bios 2018-2019
Dafnne Arteta
Dafnne Arteta is currently an undergraduate Student Research Assistant in The Humanities Collaborative at EPCC-UTEP. She studies music at El Paso Community College, majoring in Voice and Piano. As a Student Research Assistant, Dafnne is very excited to learn more about the humanities and to contribute to future research on Native American history. Her main goal in The Collaborative is to learn as much as possible from other students and faculty fellows while contributing her own research and knowledge.
Solomon Contreras
Solomon Contreras currently attends El Paso Community College and works as an Undergraduate Research Assistant for The Humanities Collaborative at EPCC-UTEP. He has always had a fascination with film and television, leading him to register for an Introduction to Mass Communications class at EPCC in spring 2017, where he is now majoring in Communications with a focus in Film and Television. Solomon also discovered an interest in video and film editing and independently learned basic editing and advanced editing techniques via online videos and course, which he found was very useful while completing his Audio Production course and learned the importance of audio mixing and in the enhancement of video's visual elements. He earned high marks including a class award for audio mixing; afterward, the course professor decided to use examples of his editing work to aid in the teaching of future classes. Solomon currently utilizes his educational and practical knowledge as a research fellow working under the direction of UTEP professor Dr. Meredith E. Abarca whose Humanities Collaborative project focuses on recording people’s food stories and provides Solomon with hands-on experience in videography, sound engineering, editing, and directing.
Carmen Ordaz
Carmen Ordaz is an El Paso native and a UTEP graduate student studying English and American Literature. She has worked with the SURPASS and Meritus Campus Office for Undergraduate Research Initiatives (COURI) research programs as an undergraduate student and has presented a conference paper at UTEP. She enjoys reading a wide-range of books, watching documentaries, and listening to podcasts. She enjoys helping other students and learning more about the resources that UTEP provides to its student population. She enjoys learning and reading British Literature. Some of her favorite books are: Jane Eyre, The Monk, Frankenstein, and The Picture of Dorian Gray. She also loves visiting historical monuments when possible.
Brandy Bray
Brandy Bray is currently a senior at UTEP studying history with a social studies composite concentration and a minor in secondary education. Brandy is also an active member of the Phi Alpha Theta National History Honor Society, and her academic interests include indigenous studies, feminism, and civil activism. Brandy looks forward to gaining research experience and working with The Humanities Collaborative at EPCC-UTEP and upon completing her undergraduate degree, she plans to apply for graduate school and continue to pursue a career as a researcher.
José Miguel Chávez Leyva
José Miguel Chávez Leyva is a Ph.D. student at the University of Texas at El Paso studying Borderlands History. As an undergraduate, he studied archaeology of the Southwest, and this has informed his work as a historian. His primary research is on the environmental ethnohistory of the U.S.-Mexico borderlands region during the pre-Columbian and Spanish Colonial eras. He is especially interested in mapping the foodways of indigenous peoples and how these foodways have changed through outside intervention. He is also training as a public historian, utilizing oral histories, creating archives, and working on digital humanities projects.
Katelynn Hernandez
Katelynn Hernandez is a sophomore student at El Paso Community College (EPCC) majoring in Early Childhood Education. She has received two certificates for service learning while at EPCC and has observed 80 hours in Elementary class rooms at El Paso Independent School District. Katelynn has recently studied Romanticism abroad in the United Kingdom and has become fascinated with eighteenth century literature and poets. She is currently working as an Undergraduate Assistant Researcher for The Humanities Collaborative at EPCC-UTEP.
Maria Schrock
Maria Schrock is a doctoral candidate in the history department at the University of Texas at El Paso. She focuses on Environmental History, Latin American History and Borderlands History. Her research studies the Water Treaties between Mexico and the United States, especially the 1944 Treaty. She received her M.A. in History at New Mexico State University. Her thesis, titled Juan Velasco Alvarado: The Agrarian Reform 1969-1975, looks at the successes and failures of the land reform in Peru. Currently, she is writing her dissertation titled U.S.-Mexico Water Treaty of 1944: The Forgotten Waters. She is also working as an adjunct professor at UTEP and EPCC.
Matthew Foster
Matthew Adam Foster is an undergraduate at The University of Texas at El Paso and is anticipating graduating in Spring 2019 with a Bachelor of Arts in English and American Literature with a minor in Creative Writing. After Matthew graduates, he hopes to complete his Master’s at UTEP and possibly pursue a doctorate degree later.
Kristina Bennett
Kristina Bennett is an undergraduate at The University of Texas at El Paso working on her bachelor’s degree in Anthropology with a minor in Art History with a certificate in Brazilian Studies. She is the Foundation Liaison in her sorority, Alpha Xi Delta, and is also the 2017-2018 President of the League of United Latin American Council 22350 located at UTEP. She is involved in the UTEP Anthropology Club and volunteers within her community. Kristina enjoys traveling and learning about different cultures, and she hopes to become a museum director in the future. She is working as an undergraduate research intern at the UTEP Centennial Museum through The Humanities Collaborative at EPCC-UTEP.
Jonathan Hinojos
Jonathan Hinojos is currently an Undergraduate Student Research Assistant in The Humanities Collaborative at EPCC-UTEP. He is currently majoring in Communications and Journalism at El Paso Community College, where he is completing his Associate’s degree transferring to The University of Texas at El Paso. Through conducting primary research on his current Humanities Collaborative project with Dr. Meredith Abarca, where he hopes to learn researching skills and techniques to become an effective interviewer and researcher. His goals include learning more about the dynamics of the El Paso-Juarez borderplex and how they define the residents, cultures, and economics of the Borderland, helping him to become an effective journalist. Jonathan enjoys reading, video gaming, and film analysis. His favorite novel is William Golding's Lord of the Flies, and his favorite film is Derek Cianfrance's The Place Beyond the Pines.
Saul Fontes
Saul Fontes is currently working as an Undergraduate Intern Fellow with The Humanities Collaborative at EPCC-UTEP at the UTEP Centennial Museum and Chihuahuan Desert Gardens, where he has he has gained considerable experience working in the dynamic environment of a museum. He is currently majoring in Chicanx Studies at El Paso Community College, where he plans to obtain his Associate's Degree before transferring to the Chicana/o Studies Program at The University of Texas at El Paso. His future goals include going to law school and specializing in immigration law; afterward, he wishes to begin his legal practice by helping people throughout the El Paso, Texas, Borderland region. Some of his pastimes include watching films and reading novels. His favorite film is Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight, and his favorite novel is On the Road by Jack Kerouac.