Latinx Grad Student Travel Costs

I was accepted to present my research at the upcoming Pacific Ancient and Modern Language Association (PAMLA)'s conference in Honolulu, Hawaii on November 10-12, 2017. I am a Latinx (and proud Salvadoran-American) woman in my second year of the MA program in American Literature at San Diego State University (SDSU). The opportunity to present at PAMLA is a dream come true, but without folks' financial support, I will be unable to make the trip. Although I currently teach two courses at SDSU, work at the campus press house, and tutor two homeschooled families while being enrolled in my MA program, my current income is not enough to afford the plane ticket from Southern California to Hawaii or the hotel stay for the three day conference. Additionally, I help my family pay bills, and I commute from Temecula to San Diego five days a week, which leaves me with little money to work with.

I would be grateful for any contributions (including small amounts) because every dollar helps me as I try to save for my partner and I to make this trip in a few months. 

What/why I want to present at PAMLA:
In my MA program, I focus on applying an intersectional feminist lens to my research on the criminalization of Latinxs/Xicanxs in popular culture. My dream is to be accepted to a PhD program where I can study and contribute to the field of Latinx studies, as I want to help make space in academia for other marginalized folks. In order to achieve my goal of being accepted to a PhD program, it is critical that I present at conferences in my field to gain professional experience and demonstrate what my future research projects are building from. 

The paper that I have been accepted to present at PAMLA in November focuses on how Instagram provides a physical and visual space for people of color to participate in the creation of Latinx/Xicanx images consumed by the public. In particular, I argue that people of color can utilize social media as a subversive space for disrupting mainstream media's control over representations of Latinidad. This essay is part of a larger project I am working on about how to combat media stereotypes of Latinxs.