My name is Luis Toral, and I am a fourth year at the University of California, Irvine. As the first in my family to attend a 4 year university, I am proud to be graduating this June 2009 as a Spanish Literature and Global Cultures double major, with a minor in Business Management. The best decision I made in college was join the student run organization M.E.Ch.A. de UCI (Movimiento Estudiantil Chican@ de Atzlan). The organization has helped me discover my political, educational, social and cultural views; moreover, M.E.Ch.A. has allowed me to embrace my Chicano culture, and I am proud to empower the youth of my community with Chicanismo as the Co-Chair of M.E.Ch.A. my final year here at UCI.

I look forward to my teaching career as a professor at a prestigous university; the art of teaching and embracing the intellect of our youth has been a passion since child hood. One can grasp the themes and struggles of life through Spanish literatue, and take what is protrayed through rich text as a lesson by which to analyze our concept of the world. We are in the era in which acculturation of societies create a hybrid environment in which distinct cultures are respected. My future research aims to bring an understanding of a myriad of cultures and dissect the schisms that exists between cultures, that once analyzed, reminds us that we are ONE human race.