Announcing Our Undergraduate Award Recipients for 2023

From left to right: Allison Lake, Kat Sincuir, Iris Valenzuela, Patti Araiza-Merlin, and Jennifer Linares Espinoza

In late May, we gathered together at Southwest Campus Green to honor and celebrate this year’s incredible group of undergraduate award recipients. Students were joined by their family, friends, and University of Oregon staff and faculty to share about their work, which ranged from poetry and film projects, to research about the impacts of Coca-Cola on Mexico’s government, health, and religion. Opening remarks and comments were provided by  Janet Woodruff-Borden: Interim Provost and Executive Vice President, Chris Chávez: CLLAS Director and Professor of Advertising, Audrey Lucero, CLLAS board member and Director of UO Latinx Studies, and Jessica Lloyd: Board Chair for UO’s Patos Alumni Network.

Undergraduate Award Recipients

Kat Sincuir – Film: Y el amor triunfo

Kat, pictured above, created a film that follows her family on their lifelong journey to remain together and build a home founded in love, hope, and perseverance. The film features a series of anecdotes that speak about the highs and lows of the family’s experiences. Kat says the film is meant to inspire audiences to believe in the power of love, and the strength of family ties.

Click here to watch Kat’s film!

Iris Valenzuela – Booklet of poetry: Chingona Libro

Iris, pictured above, created a Cartonera booklet of poetry which tells personal stories about her life, and her perception of the world, while growing up in a Mexican household. Cartoneras, also known as chapbooks, are small books that originated in Latin America which were used to spread an author’s works in a cost-effective and simple way. While creating her Cartonera, Iris drew inspiration from the card game Lotería, which she loves to play with her family.

Click here to read Iris’ poems!

Jennifer Linares Espinoza – Research Paper: How have Coca Cola products impacted Mexico and its society which includes government, religions and cultures in the 21st century? 

Jennifer’s powerful research paper examines Coca-Cola products, and the company’s impact on government, religion and culture in Mexico. Jennifer was inspired to explore this topic while taking PS410, a Globalization and Development class centered around the theme of globalization, and the impacts that institutions have on economies around the world.

Click here to read Jennifer’s research paper!

Allison Lake – Film Analysis: Death of a Bureaucrat  

Allison, pictured above, created a video in which she analyzes the film “Death of a Bureaucrat” by director Tomás Gutiérrez Alea. In her video, she highlights the political messages, as well as the filmmaking methods that Alea used to convey meaning throughout the film.

Click here to watch Allison’s video!

Undergraduate Award Honorable Mentions

Patti Araiza-Merlin – Booklet of poetry: El American Dream

Rowan Glass – B.A. Honors Thesis: “Reweaving the Uaman L uar: Cultural Reproduction and Contested Autonomy among the Kamëntšá”