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Students

The Kimberly Green Latin American and Caribbean Center at Florida International University attracts a diverse group of highly qualified students. Some students join LACC directly from an undergraduate program and others bring with them years of professional experience.

Select Current Student Profiles - Master of Arts in Latin American and Caribbean Studies (MALACS)

Patraillia Davis Bryant | Current Student

Master of Arts in Latin American & Caribbean Studies (MALACS)

Patraillia Davis Bryant, M.A. is currently completing her second master’s in the Latin America and the Caribbean Studies program. Upon completion this summer, she will start her doctorate in History Fall 2026. She is a graduate of the African and African Diaspora Studies 2024 Graduate cohort. Ms. Davis Bryant chose the MALACS program because it offers a uniquely interdisciplinary approach to studying Latin America and the Caribbean. The program brings together perspectives from history, anthropology, and cultural analysis, allowing her to examine the region through multiple scholarly lenses. For her research, this framework has been especially valuable because it allows her to situate the experiences of Afro-decensent communities in the U.S. and the Global South within broader African diasporic histories. The MALACS program’s expert faculty and mentorship has been “priceless” to her academic journey at FIU. Ms. Davis Bryant is currently the President of the AADS-GSA and a former SGA Graduate Senator. 

Lucas Sastre | Current Student

Master of Arts in Latin American & Caribbean Studies (MALACS)

Areas of Interest:

Urban Governance, Democratization, Populism, and U.S.- Latin American relations. 

Lucas graduated from Florida International University with a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science, International Relations, and a certificate in Latin American and Caribbean Studies. As a first year MALACS student, Lucas selected the program because of its renowned professors and distinguished interdisciplinary approach to the region. Currently, he has a wide variety of interests which include Political Behavior in Latin America and Metropolitan Governance, with a special focus on Argentina and the Southern Cone.
Previously, Lucas has interned at various institutions such as the U.S. House of Representatives with Congressman Espaillat, at the District Office of Representative Debbie Wasserman Schultz, and currently works as a part-time graduate researcher at the FIU Jorge M. Perez Metropolitan Center. 
Through these experiences and the distinguished MALACS program, Lucas intends to transition into foreign policy with a specialization in Latin American relations.

Allison Jones | Current Student

Master of Arts in Latin American & Caribbean Studies (MALACS)

Areas of Interest:

Hemispheric security, nuclear proliferation, and defense diplomacy.

I graduated from The United States Air Force Academy in May of 2025 with a BS in Behavioral Science and minors in Spanish and Portuguese. As my first assignment in the Air Force, I am attending Florida International University to get my master's degree in Latin American and Caribbean studies.

I chose FIU because it has one of the strongest Latin American Studies programs in the country and I like its interdisciplinary approach to regional studies. Upon completing the program in December of 2026, I will continue in my career as a Nuclear and Missile Operations officer with the goal of eventually becoming a Foreign Area Officer in Latin America and strengthening hemispheric military diplomatic ties.

Giovanni Vieira | Current Student

Master of Arts in Latin American & Caribbean Studies (MALACS)

Areas of Interest:

Immigration Policy, Adoption/Foster Care Reform, Migrant Adoption, Transracial Adoption, Kinship Dynamics in Mixed Families, Urban Youth Development, Decolonizing Body Politics, Youth Labor Rights, Maternal Health Outcomes, Immigration Trauma.

Giovanni received his Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology and Anthropology from Florida International University (FIU). Through his time working in academia and in the private sector, Giovanni has cultivated a skillset in expanding educational outcomes and a passion for supporting disadvantaged youth in receiving access to much needed social services. Now as a MALACS/GSS PhD student, Giovanni aims to implement a multidisciplinary approach to investigate the long-term psychosocial and socio-cultural ramifications of migration on undocumented youth and their complex kinship dynamics. He plans to conduct research on migrant children crossing the Mexico-USA borderlands who are placed into the US foster care system. Giovanni is interested in understanding how adoptive and birth parents navigate kinship systems differently given their unique sociopolitical needs.

 

Rose Laure Jean Joseph | Current Student

Master of Arts in Latin American & Caribbean Studies (MALACS)

Areas of Interest:

Haitian Culture and Studies, Haitian Creole, Women Studies, Disability Rights, Caribbean and Afro-Latino Studies.

Rose Laure Jean Joseph is a MALACS student at FIU, where she is also pursuing a certificate in Haitian Creole. She previously received her Bachelor’s of Arts from FIU in Latin American and Caribbean Studies in Spring 2024. Growing up in Miami as a Haitian American has impacted Rose’s love of learning about other people and their cultures. This love has anchored her through various courses, job opportunities, and volunteer opportunities she has held. Rose is currently volunteering at the ACLU and the Florida Immigration Coalition, using her bilingual abilities to better serve her community during a time when Haitian Creole speakers and translators are in high demand. After graduating, Rose plans to continue volunteering and working in South Florida.

Carlos Ricaurte | Current Student

Master of Arts in Latin American & Caribbean Studies (MALACS)

Areas of Interest:

Andean Region, Export-based Political Economy, Latin American Patterns of Development.

Carlos graduated in April 2025 with a Bachelor of Arts in International Relations and Political Science from Florida International University, with a Certificate in Latin American and Caribbean Studies. He is currently a first-year student attending Florida International University in the MALACS Program starting in the Fall 2025. 
Carlos aims to tackle Latin American Political Economy and its effects on Latin American broader development, with an emphasis on the countries of the Andean Region. His research is focused on the export of critical resources and agrarian goods and their impact on democracy within these countries. Carlos has chosen MALACS due to its wide outreach to an overarching framework of faculty, resources and a community of renowned Latin Americanists keen in seeing all MALACS Students succeed. He hopes to transition into academia to further expand the field through future contributions.