Chasing Encounters

Mike Mena spent some time with us to discuss his cultural and linguistic background. He helped us understand the intricacies of being Latino or Latinx in North America and other sometimes confusing identity markers such as Hispanic, Chicano or Mexican American. In our conversation, we challenged the identity labels that have been imposed when we navigate the different academic and non-academic spaces. Now, as a graduate student in New York, he problematizes what it means to be a diverse scholar in elite institutions when academic linguistic registers promote hierarchies and question our intelligence. Also, he recommends people of color to surround themselves and support each other as he suggests that the academic world can become difficult and prevent marginalized peoples to have access to certain funds of knowledge. Finally, he promotes his academic YouTube channel to provide resources to scholars of color so they do not feel intimidated by academic discourses. Bio: Mike Mena (@MikeMenaNYC) studies how ide