Joana Chavez is a first-generation student raised in the Inland Empire. She attended Mt. San Jacinto College and then transferred to University of California, Riverside (UCR) where she got her BA in Ethnic Studies and Spanish in 2017. She is currently a PhD student in Chicana/o and Central American Studies at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). Joana is a graduate student researcher for the Archives division for Million Dollar Hoods Project. She is also a recipient of the Ford Foundation Fellowship and the Cota Robles Fellowship. Her research analyzes gendered carceral spaces (youth group homes) and uses testimonios to uplift young women of color’s voices in these spaces. She enjoys being surrounded by her community, family, and in nature to ground herself.