About Alessandra/Prof. Bazo Vienrich
Alessandra Bazo Vienrich is a Peruvian-born, North Carolina-raised sociologist. She received a Ph.D. in Sociology from the University of Massachusetts Boston, an M.A. in Sociology from Lehigh University, and a B.A in Sociology and Not-for-Profit Management from Salem College. As an undocumented high school and college student, Dr. Bazo Vienrich needed the DREAM Act to become legislation. In her quest to understand why it never did and the impact it had on millions of undocumented immigrants, she forged an ongoing research agenda that focuses on how legal status, place, and Latinx identity intersect in the educational trajectories of undocumented youth often referred to as “DREAMers”.
Dr. Bazo Vienrich has written about this in works such as, “’I Used to Be One of Them’: Reflections on Researching DACA Students as a DACA Recipient” and “The Educational Trajectories of Latinx Undocumented Students: Illegality and Threats to Emotional Well-Being”. She is also writing a book tentatively titled, Conditioned to DREAM: The Education Gospel, Legal Liminality, and the American Dream, which is under contract with the University of North Carolina Press. Her work has been published in the Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies, Sociology Compass, the International Journal of Qualitative Studies in Education, and in Socius. Her research is currently funded by the Spencer Foundation. She is Assistant Professor of Sociology at Rhode Island College, and lives in Worcester, MA with her spouse and their cat.
Living
I believe that balance is the key to longevity in work and in life. In my quest to find balance I strive to find joy in my work and personal life. This allows me to be better at my job and a better human. When I'm not working I enjoy my family's company. I am also passionate about plant-based eating and cooking, and practice rowing as a sport with the women's team at Quinsigamond Rowing Club.
