Brisa Zavala
Honors at Graduation
2018 Convocation Speaker
Chemist, researcher, and most fluent non-native speaker of Nahuatl in the U.S., Brisa is graduating with a bachelor of arts degree in Latin American studies and a bachelor of science degree in chemistry. Her combined passions for medical research and indigenous language study led Brisa on remarkable journeys to La Huasteca, Mexico, where her interviews with native Nahuatl communities identified similarities between the active compounds in plants used to treat nemauhtilli and those found in drugs used to treat post-traumatic stress disorder. After graduation, Brisa will pursue advanced degrees in medical anthropology and continue working to preserve knowledge and use of plants to treat illnesses in indigenous communities.