Researcher. Thinker & Feeler. Corona, Queens Boy.

I am Julio Fernando Salas-Vargas, the son and grandson of Mexican and Colombian immigrants who immigrated to New York City in the mid to late 1980s from Puebla, Mexico and Bogotá, Colombia. My three younger siblings (Angie, Fernando, and Kevin) and I were all born in Elmhurst Hospital and raised in Corona, Queens, New York, by our mother, Angela, who was taken away from us by the COVID-19 pandemic and our grandmother, Maria, who is still with us in Corona.

Growing up, I couldn’t have imagined I would have attended college, let alone graduate school. The circumstances I was born into and remained in throughout my childhood and adolescence, in many ways, prevented me from envisioning a life beyond being relegated to the zip code of 11368, living a precarious life in all the senses – financial, emotional, psychological, etc. What once felt like a life where everything went wrong for little Julio, and he couldn’t understand why life was so exhausting, became and remains an unimaginably lucky second shot at life for my present self. This unimaginable life began in 2016 when I enrolled at Queensborough Community College (QCC), and a million factors began to line up - luck, many mentors entering my life and supporting me, pipeline programs supporting me, an educational awakening that led me to become enamored with learning, among others. Life took me from P.S. 28 to P.S. 14 to I.S. 61 to John Bowne High School to QCC to Cornell University, and now to the University of California, Berkeley, where I am a Sociology PhD student and Chancellor’s Fellow.

My research interests revolve around immigrant families living in the United States and sit at the intersections of immigration, emotion, race and ethnicity, social stratification, and health. My current study examines how Latino/a/e/x immigrant families grieved during and after the COVID-19 pandemic. My research prior to Berkeley—work I continue to do and collaborate on—focused on the social safety net and immigration. All of my work, be it professional, personal, or both, is aimed at invoking hope for a better tomorrow and is taking action towards that better tomorrow. Further, I hope that my life’s work and how I carry myself help others hurt less, feel more, and embody one of my favorite Kendrick Lamar lyrics, “I’m sacrificin’ myself to start the healing.”

I live with a lot of gratitude for all the people who played—and continue to play—a role in me getting to where I am. They believed in me, uplifted me, supported me, and continue to do so far before I had or encompass any of the things I do now. They saw things in me I had yet to see and still may not see, and they provided me with tangible resources and support that transformed my life and sense of self. There are too many folks to name, but so many people in NYC, at QCC, America Needs You, Cornell University, Urban Institute, the Congressional Hispanic Caucus Institute, in the Bay Area, and at Berkeley, among many other spaces and places. Both figuratively and literally, these people saved me, and I try really hard to repay them with how I live and conduct my life and work.

Work aside, I’m a lover of coffee, yummy food, experiencing life, emotionally laden shows and movies, hip hop and rap, and I love to read, think, wander and wonder, feel, reflect, and spend time with my loved ones sharing space, time, words, and food. Please feel free to connect with me about anything and everything at [email protected].