Katy Maldonado was born in Honduras. At the age of seven, she migrated to the U.S. with her mother to reunite with her father. She is the oldest of five children and a first-generation DACAmented college student. She is currently a senior at UCLA double majoring in Chicana/o Studies and Geography. Her research interests are shaped by her experiences as a Central American immigrant. Under the guidance of Dr. Leisy Ábrego, Katy Maldonado’s most recent project focuses on the particular experiences of Central American students in higher education. She  challenges the homogenization of Latinx student experiences by highlighting the lived academic realities of Central American students at UCLA, a largely underrepresented and overlooked Latinx student group. She hopes to pursue a PhD in Latina/o Studies or American Studies and further complicate the heterogenous realities of Latinx students.