Dear Professor Perks,

My name is María Isabel Pachón, and I am applying to the PhD program in Literature at UC Santa Cruz for Fall 2022. On Sunday morning, I had a meeting with Professor Poblete, who advised me to contact you for more information about the program.

I have a B.A. in literature and philosophy from the University of Los Andes, Colombia, and an MFA in bilingual creative writing from the University of Texas at El Paso. For my master's thesis, I worked on a novel about the assassination of social leaders in Colombia. This novel was awarded the “2021 Rosario Castellanos International Short Novel Award” and will be published next year.
What strikes me the most about the UCSC program is the possibility of pursuing my research questions, while working inon a creative project. The bilingual approach of my MFA program led me to acknowledge that I also have a voice in English. As a PhD, I would like to continue exploring this voice in a collection of auotofictional essays. I would also like to focus my research on the political possibilities of autofiction. Specifically, specifically, in the autofiction written by Latin American women living in the United States.
I have attached my CV with a bit more about my background and the work that I have done.
Thank you for your time,.
Best regards,
María Isabel Pachón.