Profile
Mayra Cortes is a candidate for the Ph.D. in literature at the University of California, San Diego. She is working on completing her dissertation, titled, The Sound of Acousmatic Empire: Spanish and English Sonic Warfare in Utopian ‘New Worlds,’ 1542-1638. Currently, she’s working on publishing her article, “Acousmatic Noise: Racialization and Resistance in The Tempest’s ‘New World’ Soundscape.” She attended Cerritos Community College and transferred to UCLA. At UCSD, she has had the honor to serve as an educator in various programs, including First Year and Transfer Year Experience (FYE/TYE) program for Warren College and Muir College, the Chancellor’s Associate Scholars Program (CASP) in the Education Studies Department, and Preparing Accomplished Transfers to the Humanities in the literature department. This summer she will be teaching a course she created, titled, “Sounds of Resistance: The Future is Now!” She has served as a leader of her community by bringing together the Graduate Student Association (GSA) and the Undocumented Student Services (USS) in order to make UCSD a more inclusive space for undocumented/DACA students. She volunteers for the USS, the Learning Communities, and the Academic Enrichment Program, where she shares her story and demystifies the graduate school application. One of her most fulfilling experiences has been being a mentor for undocumented/DACA students. Her purpose is to bring communities together to support the personal, academic, and career goals of students. She believes that with a courageous, generous, and creative voice we can all thrive, not just survive.
