SAMANTHA BERRIOS, COHORT 2
Samantha Berrios is a student at City College of New York double majoring in International Relations and Political Science and minoring in Women’s Studies. Growing up, her inability to comply with her world without fervently and relentlessly questioning it led to an intellectual and personal rage within her politics as a womxn, which are now deeply entrenched in unpacking the dynamics of poverty, the radicalization of bodies, and colonialism’s lasting effects in domestic spaces within the Global South. She is interested in working with other womxn and scholar-activists to help hone an active political voice, while fortifying her writing and ability to defy dominant narratives surrounding oppressed people through polemics and poetry. Her experience as part of the contingency to The Party for Socialism and Liberation has opened her eyes to collective resistance, which she seeks to translate into her current relationship with her cohort. Ultimately, Samantha hopes to use her degree to broaden her research and provide a basis for a political writing career on an international scope.
ROXANA HERRERA, COHORT 2
Roxana Herrera is a senior at The City College of New York. She is double majoring in Psychology and Political Science. She was born in the State of Mexico and migrated with her mom and two brothers at age of eight. She is a DACA recipient. Her encounter with the CCNY Dream Team during her first year at CCNY sparked her already existing interest in the immigrant rights movements and organizing. She became more involved with the group during her sophomore year which allowed her the opportunity to serve as president of the Dream Team as a rising junior. During her time as president, she has led weekly meetings. Leading discussions on a variety of topics: from how anti-immigrant narratives criminalize populations and influence policy to mental health issues specific in the undocumented community. Roxana is reclaiming herself in a state where bodies and masses of people are devalued through language like illegal and alien and experience oppression on a myriad of levels. By sharing her experiences as an undocumented woman in the U.S., she aims to highlight the multiplicity of the undocumented experience both politically and inter-personally. Roxana is in search of a place to call home and will continue to seek Home within her communities.