Keynote Speaker Dra. Aurora Chang, Bio
Associate Professor, Higher Education, Loyola University Chicago
Educators can most effectively respond to the needs of undocumented students when they are keenly aware and mindful of what undocumented students experience, under what circumstances, and how they navigate everyday challenges. Indeed, extant research provides a strong foundation for educators to understand the socio-political contexts and personal circumstances that undocumented students face. But, as educators, how can we process these realities to inform our practice? What tools are at our disposal to respond to the barriers undocumented students navigate in an authentically caring and informed way? What models help us understand the decision-making processes of undocumented students and what might educators’ intervention(s) look like? In this talk, Dra. Aurora Chang names the dynamic process that some undocumented students undertake and, in this way, affirm their racialized realities.