Medina (Dina) Miranda is a third-year student at Northwestern University double-majoring in American studies and English. She is a second-generation Filipino American and Mellon Mays fellow from Long Beach, California. Dina’s academic interests include the intersections of environmental history, race, and labor in the 20th-century United States, as well as how built and natural environments interact and collide with social constructions. This summer, under the guidance of Dr. Sarah Dimick, Dina investigated how the literary metaphor of dust became an active agent for revealing and obscuring characters’ racial identities in two 1930s texts. She was also a research assistant under Dr. Shana Bernstein, exploring the toxic history of the California strawberry industry and its effects on migrant workers and communities. Dina is currently a Leopold fellow through Northwestern’s Department of History and ultimately hopes to pursue a PhD in American studies. Outside of the classroom, Dina serves as an outreach chair for NU Kaibigan (Filipino Students Association) and is an active member of NU Students Organizing for Labor Rights. You can find her singing in a Bienen practice room, volunteering at the Rizal Center in Chicago, or studying in one of Evanston’s many coffee shops.
Medina (Dina) Miranda is a third-year student at Northwestern University double-majoring in American studies and English. She is a second-generation Filipino American and Mellon Mays fellow from Long Beach, California. Dina’s academic interests include the intersections of environmental history, race, and labor in the 20th-century United States, as well as how built and natural environments interact and collide with social constructions. This summer, under the guidance of Dr. Sarah Dimick, Dina investigated how the literary metaphor of dust became an active agent for revealing and obscuring characters’ racial identities in two 1930s texts. She was also a research assistant under Dr. Shana Bernstein, exploring the toxic history of the California strawberry industry and its effects on migrant workers and communities. Dina is currently a Leopold fellow through Northwestern’s Department of History and ultimately hopes to pursue a PhD in American studies. Outside of the classroom, Dina serves as an outreach chair for NU Kaibigan (Filipino Students Association) and is an active member of NU Students Organizing for Labor Rights. You can find her singing in a Bienen practice room, volunteering at the Rizal Center in Chicago, or studying in one of Evanston’s many coffee shops.