Valeria Espinosa

Valeria Espinosa has a bachelor’s degree with distinction from the University of Calgary. She is a current Master of Political Science candidate at the University of Toronto. Her interests focus on migration issues. Valeria’s exposure to the topic began when she immigrated from Colombia to Canada at two years old. Since then, Valeria has used personal and academic opportunities to expand her knowledge of migration. During her undergraduate degree, Valeria wrote several papers on the European Union’s relationship with refugee law—she hopes to continue this research interest throughout her graduate degree. In addition to her education, Valeria tutored elementary children as a volunteer at Immigrant Services Calgary and several other organizations that supported newcomers. In 2023, she also coordinated an event dedicated to World Youth Day in Portugal, where she directed the global unification of over one thousand youths. Valeria believes that having a relationship with her community is paramount to understanding how she can support their immigration system. Overall, Valeria is excited to use this fellowship to explore various ways of creating policies that lead to more hope than hardship for migrants.