Liliana Sánchez
UC Merced Sophomore | Co-Presenter at the 2024 Language Policy Conference for “Silenced Language” Paper
Liliana Sánchez is a sophomore at UC Merced, with plans to transfer over to UC Santa Barbara to major in ethnomusicology during her junior and senior years. She began her college journey as a freshman at Spelman College, a historically Black women’s institution in Atlanta, Georgia. A graduate of a K-8 Spanish/English dual language immersion program, Liliana continued her Spanish studies through AP Spanish at Patterson High School and has also explored Arabic through summer programs. She spent her sophomore year of high school at King’s Academy in Jordan and as a percussionist, she was the section leader of the PHS percussion section during her senior year.
An avid traveler who has explored four continents, Liliana is also deeply interested in politics and social justice. Liliana is a writer, poet, dancer, and musician who believes that languages and the arts enrich our world. She has shared her passion in various forums, including testifying before the California legislature, delivering motivational messages at state conferences, and co-presenting seminars on multilingualism, equity, and the arts.
She has facilitated professional development sessions and student focus groups and recently co-presented a paper titled “Silenced Language” at the 2024 Language Policy and Planning Conference in Ottawa, Canada. Currently, Liliana is interning with Parsec Education and Voices College-Bound Language Academies.
