Anette Diaz ('25) Field Experience

Anette Diaz (She/Her/Ella) is a senior Latin American Studies major and Education Studies Scholar in Stiles. While she was born in New Jersey, her upbringing in México gave her a profound interest in Latin American education and community. “I want to do something that has a tangible effect on society,” she says. Anette looks at Latin American Studies and Education Studies as interconnected fields, and she now uses her combined knowledge to drive meaningful change. When talking about studying issues in Latin America alongside U.S. education, Anette explains: “There’s a lot of overlap, but what’s being done [in the US] to address these issues doesn’t necessarily transfer.” However, by adapting what is being learned in one discipline to another, “I can come in less with the intention of pushing forth what I think they need, and more so with a willingness to hear out their perspectives and involve these in the solution process” (If you would like to learn more about Anette’s educational interests, read her Student Profile here).

For her field experience, Anette worked with El Colectivo Sin Fronteras, a communitarian migrant organization that focuses on youth, in Santiago, Chile. As an intern, she worked with immigrant families of children aged 5-12, assisting with visas and school enrollment in the morning, and running educational and enrichment workshops in the evening. The experience allowed Anette to interact with a much wider sect of the Latin American community than she had previously, meeting immigrants from Peru, Bolivia, Venezuela, and Dominican Republic. “Before, there were no faces to the numbers,” Anette says. “But I got to know the kids on a personal level, which gave meaning to the texts I read in class.” Additionally, it gave her a newfound appreciation for K-6 education and all of the people, not just teachers, that tirelessly work together to provide young children with academic opportunity. After graduation, Anette hopes to continue working for communitarian or migrant organizations, further strengthening their local impact. 

Through her field experience and her time in the Education Studies program, Anette has found that her most important takeaway has been humility: “[The Education Studies Program] teaches you to have a real grasp about research and education outside of Yale. There are so many pathways into education — it comes from working together.”