Helping students appreciate their cultural and intersectional identities

Meet Dr. Sandra Lopez-Rocha from the Student Success Office - By Tracelyn Cornelius University Relations - Born in Mexico, Dr. Sandra Lopez-Rocha has been working in the field of intercultural learning since the mid 1990s, at a time when the field experienced exponential growth. Since then, she has accumulated a wealth of both professional and academic knowledge on the subject matter. After completing an MA in Intercultural Communication and a PhD in Language, Literacy and Culture at the University of Maryland Baltimore County, she ambitiously pursued a second PhD in Social Anthropology in the United Kingdom.  "I'm intrigued by the exploration of cultural identity and how identities are interlinked," Lopez-Rocha says. "As I worked on my own research and engaged with people, I expanded my understanding of why people think or behave in certain ways, why they seek to preserve and transmit elements of their own backgrounds, and why they feel forced to hide some elements of their culture."   Asked why she felt compelled to pursue two PhDs, Lopez-Rocha acknowledges that although she has accrued a wealth of knowledge on the subject matter, intercultural learning is continuous. She explains that intercultural education requires expanding knowledge, adaptation and understanding of how actions and inactions create a ripple effect in society. As an intercultural learning specialist at the University of Waterloo, Lopez-Rocha supports students to better understand and appreciate their own cultural and intersectional identities, while identifying ways to engage respectfully with others with different experiences, at the university, and beyond.