Raised along the El Paso, Texas/Ciudad Juárez, Mexico border, Vanessa Marie Juarez is a senior multimedia journalism major at the University of Texas at El Paso. She currently works in public relations at the Stanlee and Gerald Rubin Center for the Visual Arts and was able to gain additional museum and research experience at the El Paso Museum of Art. On campus, Vanessa serves as the vice president of Iota Iota Iota, a national women’s studies honor society. Working as a student journalist, she has also occupied several positions at The Prospector, the campus newspaper. Vanessa believes that public education institutions, like museums, have a unique responsibility to engage the community in discussions about history, culture and current events. Her research interests include representations of minority women in pop culture, gender studies in history, sexuality education, and Latino immigration issues.