TEACHING
PEDAGOGICAL PHILOSOPHY
My teaching is guided by a commitment to making global politics legible through the experiences of people who are most affected by it. Whether in an introductory survey or an upper-division seminar, I ask students to engage Political Science themes and questions not as a set of settled facts, but rather as an ongoing conversation about power, justice, and governance – a conversation they are a part of and capable of joining. I draw directly from my research on migration, security, and health politics in Latin America to bring primary sources, field-based knowledge, and real-world cases into the classroom, making them legible to students.
My approach emphasizes critical thinking, close reading, and analytical writing, skills I treat as inseparable from civic and intellectual formation. To that end, I center students within the classroom by limiting lectures to 15-20-minute intervals and including discussion, video, reflection, social media, and short reading activities in-between. This approach shifts emphasis away from the PowerPoint and instructor as the primary sources of knowledge and allows students to engage closely and collaboratively with the subject matter. In 2024, I was recognized for my pedagogical efforts at Ohio State with the department's “Mathews and Gilkerson Distinguished Undergraduate Teaching Award.”
Texas A&M University-San Antonio
POLS 4370: Global Migration Politics: An upper-division seminar examining the politics of human mobility at the global level. Topics include migration governance, refugee law, border security, and labor rights, with a focus on cases from Latin America, Europe, and the Middle East.
POLS 4354: Government and Politics of Latin America: A survey of political institutions, social movements, and international relations across Latin America, covering themes of democratization, authoritarianism, inequality, and U.S.-Latin American relations.
POLS 3351: Comparative Politics: An introduction to the comparative study of political systems, institutions, and behavior across countries. Students develop analytical tools for understanding regime types, state capacity, political economy, and contentious politics.
GOVT 2305: Federal Government: A survey of the U.S. federal government, covering constitutional foundations, the three branches of government, civil liberties and civil rights, and contemporary policy debates.
GOVT 2306: Texas Government: An examination of Texas political institutions, history, and policy, situating the state within the broader U.S. federal system, and allowing students to better understand how municipal, state, and federal policies interact.
The Ohio State University
POL 3910: Identity Politics: A seminar exploring how race, gender, sexuality, class, and other axes of identity shape political behavior, institutions, and policy, with attention to both U.S. and global contexts.
(Syllabi for each of these courses are available upon request.)
Mentorship and Teaching Activities Beyond the Classroom
Beyond the classroom, I mentor students on a variety of research projects and methods, working with them to develop original research questions, navigate qualitative and quantitative methods, and produce scholarly work. I believe that mentorship is one of the most consequential forms of teaching, and I take seriously my role in supporting students seriously, as they develop their identities as researchers and thinkers.
In July 2026, I co-organized a Summer Qualitative Methods Research Camp at TAMUSA alongside colleagues in the Political Science program. The camp consists of a four-week, four-module training program designed to introduce undergraduate and graduate students to qualitative and interpretive research methods, with a particular focus on preparing students to conduct their own original research including field observations, interviews, and focus groups.
I also serve as a country expert witness for asylum cases related to Brazil, Cuba, and Venezuela, providing pro bono testimony that draws on my research expertise to support individuals navigating the U.S. immigration system. I consider this applied work an extension of my teaching mission as it translates academic knowledge into direct support for the public.