Jessica Villarreal 

Nice to meet you. 

I have a love of writing, photography, social justice, learning about different cultures, and traveling, which cultivated itself into this space.

I have professionally worked or studied in Argentina, Colombia, Germany, India, Mexico, Morocco, Uganda, and the United States — they are experiences that have shaped my interest in transnationalism, forced migration, public health, and the politics of identity.

My academic work is situated within the field of Global Studies, with interdisciplinary training in sociology, political science, anthropology, and human geography. I am interested in symbolism, collective identity, and forced migration. My undergraduate work was in Psychology, so I draw from this discipline as well. I’ve had the opportunity to engage directly with displaced communities and survivors of torture, both in research and humanitarian settings, focusing on dignity-centered approaches to support and representation.
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Alongside these, I’ve spent over seven years teaching ESL — primarily in facilitating active reading, comprehension, and inference — often with students navigating multiple cultural and linguistic worlds.
​I speak English fluently and hold working knowledge of Spanish (B2), Portuguese (B1), German (A2), French (A1), and basic Arabic.
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This blog serves as a space to reflect on questions of belonging and cross-cultural understanding — drawing from both lived experience and academic inquiry.