Lucía Huerta Torres

Class of 2026

Faculty Advisor: Rebecca Tarlau

Peer Mentor: J. Rubén Díaz-Vásquez

I was raised in Tijuana, Mexico. Living just a short distance from the U.S.-Mexico border, I grew up close to migration and the militarization of borders. I earned a B.A. in Sociology from UC Berkeley because I’m interested in understanding these issues—specifically the relationship between forced displacement, gender, and state violence.

Before transferring from San Diego City College, I volunteered with organizations in Tijuana that support the migrant community, such as Espacio Migrante and The Border Church. While at UC Berkeley, I had the opportunity to work on an independent research project as a Ronald E. McNair Scholar, interviewing asylum-seeking mothers “stuck” in Mexico while awaiting admission into the U.S. This project focused on how caring for their children shaped their decision-making processes.

In the spring of 2023, I studied abroad in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, where I took Portuguese and various social science courses, including Anthropology of Violence. In the fall of that year, I participated in the Human Rights and Cultural Memory study abroad program in Argentina and Chile. Since I practice embroidery, I was especially interested in learning how textiles have been used throughout Latin America to denounce and preserve the memory of human rights violations. I collaborated with a collective of Chilean artists who continue creating textiles for political purposes. With Professors Hugo Rojas and Lieta Vivaldi from Alberto Hurtado University, I co-authored a research article based on my work with the textile artists.

I have presented my research in Mexico, Chile, Colombia, and the U.S., and I plan to pursue a Ph.D. to continue studying how women experience and collectively challenge violence.