Kaili Cuenca is a political science and international economics double-major. She is currently working with Professor Andrew Gould on his book manuscript which seeks to identify how political affiliation affects storytelling. This objective is accomplished by examining how allegorical messages change between different iterations of the same folktale. Under the direction of Professor Gould, Cuenca has assisted with translations from Spanish to English, citation entries, and research on the political positions of different authors.
During the summer of 2023, Cuenca traveled to Monterey, Mexico with the support of a Center for Social Concerns Summer Fellowship grant to volunteer for five weeks at a migrant shelter, Casa Monarca. Returning home to San Antonio, she built upon this experience by volunteering at the migrant resource center, Centro de Bienvenida. During the last six weeks of the summer, she studied in Salamanca, Spain with the support of a Summer Language Abroad Grant from the CSLC. Over the summer of 2024, Cuenca interned with the Exoneration Justice Clinic through Notre Dame Law School. She was part of the first student team to work on behalf of the clinic’s Program for the Defense of Mexican Nationals, which seeks to provide legal aid to wrongfully convicted Mexican citizens.