About Me

From the Rio Grande Valley, Texas.

My name is Erika L. Vallejo. I am a Doctoral Candidate (ABD) in the Department of Political Science at Michigan State University. I specialize in American Politics and public policy with a focus on class, race, ethnicity, and gender politics. I earned a B.A. in political science and philosophy from the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, and an M.A. in political science from Michigan State University.

I was 2020 American Political Science Association (APSA) Minority Fellow and am a 2023-2034 recipient of the Julian Samora Endowed Scholarship. I have obtained graduate certificates in Chicano/Latino and Women's & Gender Studies. I am currently the course instructor for Gender & Politics. In Spring 2024 and Spring 2023, I taught two of my own introductory political science research methods labs, where the students learned how to use R and perform statistical analyses. I also regularly guest lecture in both political science and Chicano/Latino studies courses. Lastly, I have been a teaching assistant for various political science courses since Summer 2020 to present-day.

In my spare time, I enjoy reading Latinx fiction books, writing poetry, cuddling with my dogs, crafting jewelry, and trying new foods.