Raised in farming communities, Adriana P. Ramírez is keenly aware of the challenges migrants face on a daily basis and the struggles they encounter with the U.S. immigration system. The UC Berkeley Sociology graduate student, who is a Berkeley Institute for the Study of Societal Issues (ISSI) Fellow, wants to raise the visibility of these challenges and help find solutions to obstacles migrants face when they return to Mexico.
As part of her fellowship, Ramírez is conducting research to examine social change and inequality and how it impacts various communities, including young migrants who return from the U.S. to Mexico because of a parent's deportation or a family's voluntary decision.
Ramírez, who aspires to become a professor, spoke recently to UC Berkeley Social Sciences about growing up in a small town, her journey to Cal and her scholarly work in the two-year ISSI Graduate Fellows Program. The interview is edited for clarity.
Tell us about your background and how you chose Berkeley Sociology?
Adriana P. Ramírez: I grew up between a small town near Sacramento, California, and a small town in Jalisco, Mexico, as my parents were seasonal farm workers. Although I graduated from UC Davis with a B.A. in Anthropology and International Relations, pursuing a Ph.D. seemed unattainable at the time. However, a handful of professors I met during my B.A. and M.A. studies encouraged me to apply and, more importantly, guided and mentored me through the process.
Ultimately, I chose Berkeley Sociology because of the quality of mentorship I knew I would receive from the professors I would be working with. The conversations I had with fellow students and professors, as well as the theoretical curiosity that I knew would challenge my thinking, solidified my decision. The proximity of Berkeley to my family and the beautiful hiking trails was a bonus!
How did you become an Institute for the Study of Societal Issues (ISSI) Fellow?
Adriana P. Ramírez: I became an ISSI Fellow through the support of my academic community. A former fellow spoke highly of the fellowship and encouraged me to apply. I applied because working on my dissertation sometimes felt isolating, especially during the interview coding and writing process. I also liked the structure of weekly meetings focused on the professionalization needed to enter the job market.
So far, this program has given me an amazing cohort that I can work with outside of our weekly meetings and not make the dissertation writing process isolating. Each week I have learned something new from a peer or from Ethnic Studies Continuing Lecturer Pablo Gonzalez, ISSI's graduate fellows program co-director, about how to approach publishing, framing research and setting a plan for the semester and year ahead.
What does the fellowship mean to you?
Adriana P. Ramírez: In general, this fellowship represents community and support to me. Coming from interdisciplinary programs before the Ph.D., this fellowship has offered me a similar space to build a community across disciplines. It allows me to explore how to translate my work beyond sociology and academia, in an environment where I can be open about my insecurities.
I have the privilege of sharing a space with brilliant, thoughtful and empathetic fellows; receiving feedback on my work; and learning about their exciting projects. Beyond the sense of community, the program's structure also helps me hold myself accountable and stay consistent with my dissertation work. This fellowship is also demystifying the professionalization factors of academia by providing me with support for applying to fellowships, tips on how to publish and how to network.
What are you hoping to accomplish as an ISSI Fellow?
Adriana P. Ramírez: As an ISSI Fellow, I hope to explore and refine the type of scholar I aspire to be. For me, this involves considering how my work impacts the communities that have welcomed me and how to co-create knowledge with them. Through this fellowship, I aim to discover different ways to achieve this and learn how to navigate academia with these goals in mind.
Additionally, I hope to put these ideas into practice by working on an article manuscript based on my dissertation research. With the support of this fellowship, I hope to bring greater knowledge to the experience of returning migrants; the challenges they experience in the process of return; and the role of a failed immigration system in this. Outside of academia, I hope to provide accessible, short briefs for U.S. immigration attorneys, Mexican consulates, and other organizations and schools in Mexico to help diffuse information and help advocate for mixed-status families and return migrants.
Visit https://issi.berkeley.edu/ to learn more about the ISSI program.