Abstract In this interview, Xochitl Gonzalez, Brown University class of 1999, shares her memories of her time on campus on the eve of her 25th reunion. Gonzalez begins by discussing her childhood. She describes growing up in a working class Brooklyn neighborhood and being raised by her maternal grandparents. She explains that her mother, Andrea […]
Latine Students
Sebastián Castro Niculescu, class of 2020
Abstract In this interview, then Brown and RISD Dual-Degree student Sebastián Castro Niculescu discusses her experience growing up in and around Queens, New York, her childhood education, admittance to Brown-RISD, and social life around the turn of the Trump Administration. The child of an Ecuadorian immigrant and Romanian refugee, Niculescu begins by detailing how she […]
Charise Castro Smith, class of 2005
Abstract In this interview, Charise Castro Smith, Brown University class of 2005, talks about why she decided to attend Brown, what her campus experience was like, and how she pursued a career in theatre and film. Smith begins by describing her childhood as a first generation Cuban-American in Miami, Florida, and her high school education […]
Maria Manuela Goyanes, class of 2001
Abstract In these interviews, Maria Manuela Goyanes, Brown University class of 2001, describes why she decided to attend Brown, her experience in the Theatre Department, and her career in theatre after Brown. Goyanes begins Part 1 by describing her childhood in Queens, New York, her parents’ immigration stories, and her early education at Bronx High […]
Bernadette Aulestia, class of 1994
Abstract In these two interviews, Bernadette Aulestia, Brown University class of 1994, discusses her time at Brown, her career path, and her family’s experience with the COVID-19 global pandemic. In part one, Aulestia begins by describing her childhood living in various places throughout Asia and Latin America. She explains that her father, who worked in […]
Johanna Fernández, class of 1993 (interview 1 of 2)
Abstract In this interview, Johanna Fernandez highlights her undergraduate experience as an activist at Brown University. She spends the first fifty minutes discussing her parents’ backgrounds as immigrants from the Dominican Republic and the effect that had on her childhood growing up in the Bronx, New York. She explains how she was raised differently from […]
Nicole Kathleen Harrison, class of 1992
Abstract In this interview, captured during Brown University’s 2018 All-Class Black Alumni Reunion, Nicole “Nikki Strong” Harrison, class of 1992, details her activism within theatre and dance programs on campus. Harrison begins by sharing her childhood in Spanish Harlem and her education at the Chapin School in New York City. She discusses how she learned […]
Yvonne Ruiz, class of 1977
Abstract In this interview conducted during the 2018 all-class Black Alumni Reunion, Yvonne Ruiz, Brown University class of 1977, discusses her time on campus as well as her subsequent legal career. Ruiz begins by sharing some family background including her parent’s relocation to the United States from Puerto Rico in the 1950s and her childhood […]
25th Reunion, class of 1994
Abstract This interview with members of the Brown University class of 1994 documents the undergraduate experiences of Jessica Rachel Arons, Daphna Caperonis Cox, Gladys Mendez, Ava Natasha Nepaul, and Gladys Xiques, at their 25th reunion. The alumnae begin by introducing themselves and where they grew up. They continue to discuss what made them decide to […]
Johanna Fernández, class of 1993 (interview 2 of 2)
Abstract In her second interview, Johanna Fernández, Brown University class of 1993, shares her experiences as a professor and radio show host in New York City during the COVID-19 global pandemic. Fernández begins by explaining how she came to host the morning show on WBAI (99.5 FM) in November 2019. She describes learning how to […]