Elena Calderón was featured as a keynote speaker

Recently, University of Arizona College of Education graduate Elena Calderón was featured as a keynote speaker at Pacific Lutheran University discussing her experiences growing up as an undocumented person in the United States.

Her keynote focused on utilizing frameworks like UndocuJoy and Funds of Knowledge that are asset-based to share her story. Now, a permanent resident, she uses these frameworks to discuss stories like working in agriculture (picking cherries), or finding places she could travel to in the U.S. such as Hawai'i or Puerto Rico.

During her keynote, rather focusing on the hardships of growing up undocumented, Elena wanted to feature UndocuJoy as highlighting the joy, humor, and other aspects of the undocumented.

Last year, Elena was also accepted into the Ph.D. program in Higher Education.