UT’s Embedded Scholars program is sending its 2024 cohort to Latin America later this month to support democracy and electoral assistance programs this summer. With at least 73 countries—eight in Latin America alone—holding elections this year, amid rising polarization and democratic challenges, the stakes are high for national and international actors working to promote free and fair elections and robust democracy.

The Embedded Scholars program provides academic training and on-the-ground experience to launch students’ work in the field while supporting democratic development. Following their preparatory course this spring, the 2024 fellows will work in International IDEA’s Regional Office for Latin America, Chile Country Office, and Panama Country Office supporting democracy assistance programs this summer.

While the program is based in the UT Government Department, the 2024 fellows hail from departments across UT, bringing diverse academic and research experience in government, international relations, law, migration, public policy, social work, and sociology—all with an interest in democratic institutions in Latin America. Below are the nine graduate and undergraduate students heading to Latin America as Embedded Scholars in Summer 2024.

Bourne is a senior majoring in International Relations and Global Studies and participating in the Liberal Arts Honors Program, focusing on international security and Latin America. They have worked as a policy analyst in the Travis County Commissioners Court, policy specialist in the Texas State Senate, and intern in the U.S. House of Representatives. They are also active in leadership roles at UT, serving as advocacy director in UT Student Government, leading Longhorns for a Culturally Competent Campus, and serving as a resident assistant at their UT residence hall. Their current research interests include constitutional law, public policy, cybersecurity, and environmental sustainability.

Taylor Crownover is a senior majoring in Sociology and Plan II—UT’s interdisciplinary honors major. She spent a semester at Korea University studying global health sociology. She has worked as a legislative intern for the Wye River Group on Healthcare, analyzing legislation related to public health, and as a project director for Amigos de las Américas, which she credits with developing her global mindset, leadership skills, and Spanish language skills. She is active in community service, serving as a volunteer at Hospice Austin’s Camp Braveheart, as a COVID-19 contact tracer for UT’s Dell Medical School, and as social and recruitment director for UT’s Beevo Beekeeping Club.

Geraldine Fandiño is a first-year Master’s student at the LBJ School of Public Affairs, with an undergraduate degree in Political Science. She hails from Colombia and has a keen interest in democracy, development, and human rights in Latin America. She has worked on policy analysis for civil society organizations in Colombia, where she specialized in legislative policy analysis and advocacy for human rights. She has also conducted surveys, interviews, focus groups, archival research, photo narratives, and data analysis in research positions with the UCLA Department of Social Welfare, the Universidad de los Andes, and the University of Texas at Austin.

Andreana Faucette is a junior majoring in Psychology and Spanish, pursuing a minor in Law, Justice, and Society. She is also participating in the Liberal Arts Honors Program and spent a semester abroad at Universidad de Cantabria studying language and culture. At UT, she has served as president of the Black Honors Student Association, senior print editor and staff writer for SPARK Magazine, and a student mentor for the UT Liberal Arts Honors Program. She has also held positions at a campaign consulting firm and law firm. In the long term, she plans to go to law school and practice law while serving the immigrant community in which she grew up.

María Mercedes Gómez is a first-year Master’s student at the Teresa Lozano Long Institute of Latin American Studies. Her research focuses on the recognition of victims and minorities in Latin American democracies. She was born in Colombia, earning undergraduate degrees in History in Colombia and in Mexico. She was a researcher at the Colombian Truth Commission, helping document the Colombian armed conflict through archival research, interviews, and development of an interactive public history platform. At Universidad Iberoamericana in Mexico, she served in student government and cofounded the student academic journal El Hilo Rojo.

Ariana Guerrero is a senior majoring in International Relations and Global Studies and in Race, Indigeneity, and Migration. She earned a minor in Portuguese, a Business Spanish certificate, and a Human Rights and Social Justice certificate. Her father’s migration and her upbringing in Mexico and the Rio Grande Valley sparked her research interest in immigration policy, border operations, human rights abuses, and the root causes of migration. She has been a fellow with the Strauss Center for International Security and Law, Mellon Foundation Engaged Scholar Initiative, Equal Justice Center, ACLU, and La Unión del Pueblo Entero. She will be attending the UT Law School in the Fall of 2024.

Paulina Licon is a senior majoring in Social Work with a minor in Government. Born in El Paso, Texas, and raised in Ciudad Juarez, Chihuahua, she credits this blend of cultures with fueling her passion for social justice and immigrant rights. While at UT, she has actively engaged with the immigrant community in Austin as a case worker at Casa Marianella, where she provides support services for displaced immigrants, helps find sponsors for immigrants in detention centers, and works with the legal team to process asylum applications. At UT, she is involved with Minority Women Pursuing Law and the International Affairs Society. She plans to pursue graduate studies in social work and law school.

Andrea Meador-Safont is a senior majoring in Government and Plan II—UT’s interdisciplinary honors major—with a minor in Spanish. Her honors thesis focuses on the Russia-Ukraine war, its impact on the Global South, and the barriers to prosecuting food crimes. She has served as an intern at the U.S. State Department, the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, and the Travis County Commissioners Court. She is also active in community service, serving as a research coordinator for UT’s Plan II program and a tutor for students learning English. Her research experience, coursework, and multicultural family background have spurred her interest in international politics and a career in foreign affairs.

Alejandra Vadillo is a junior majoring in Mexican American and Latina/o Studies. At UT, she is a member of the national championship Texas Speech team where she advocates for her communities at the national level. As the daughter of Mexican immigrants, she has always been interested in equity and minority political participation. She has worked as a research assistant studying the effects of language brokering on Mexican American youth, as a program assistant at Texas Global, and as marketing manager producing engaging social media content, all of which she credits as foundational to her passion for helping others. After graduation, she plans to attend law school and specialize in immigration law.

For more information on this year’s activities or applying for the fellowship in future years, please reach out to Zachary Elkins (zelkins@austin.utexas.edu) and Ashley Moran (ashleymoran@utexas.edu).