Barriers to Success:

In this essay, Jannell Robles explores and discusses some common themes found in her experiences as a Latina undergraduate student. During the summer of 2008, she conducted fieldwork in a rural town in Mexico. Her experiences as the only Latina student on this trip were similar to her experiences at her university and those discussed by Latina scholars. Robles considers the pros and cons of being an insider and an outsider to a rural town in Mexico, the use of Latinos as cultural brokers while denying their contributions as social scientists, and the blame she experienced for her lack of adjustment. She also discusses the ways she resists these obstacles through survival strategies.

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Jannell Robles is an undergraduate student and Ronald E. McNair Post-Baccalaureate Achievement Scholar at the University of North Texas (UNT). After beginning her academic career at San Jacinto College, she transferred to UNT to pursue her passion, anthropology. Prior to being accepted into the McNair program, she researched the experiences of Mexican women in the United States as part of UNT’s National Science Foundation Summer Research Program in Sociocultural Anthropology. She published a study on Mexican women’s survival strategies in the Eagle Feather, a journal for undergraduate research. Her recent work, together with her mentor, Dr. Mariela Nuñez-Janes, includes identifying Latina anthropologists, their experiences, and their contributions to the discipline. Robles plans to enroll in a PhD program to pursue her research interests and eventually teach at the college level.