Professor of anthropology, Hilda Lloréns, encourages students to use their education to make positive change. PHOTO CREDIT: Lauren Drapeau | Contributing Reporter
Hilda Lloréns has been teaching cultural anthropology at the University of Rhode Island for almost a decade, with a special interest in advocacy work.
Before coming to URI, she taught at Brown University, Scripps College in Claremont, California and Middlebury College in Vermont. As an anthropology professor, Lloréns hopes to prioritize her students by providing an all-inclusive environment for open discussions which can contribute to large academic strides for a more just society.
“What I want them to take away is to think about the complexity of social life, the complexity of sociocultural life, and how there aren’t any easy answers but there’s always the right path, you know?” Lloréns said.
Lloréns appreciates her students and attributes them to part of her desire to stay at URI.
“I feel like the students here are really kind and generous… I find the culture here produces a really respectful, compassionate and smart student,” Lloréns said.
Lloréns lived in Puerto Rico until she moved with her family to Hartford, Connecticut at the age of 13. After entering high school in the United States, she said there was a part of her that was “a talker.”
Lloréns eventually graduated high school to begin her academic career at Eastern Connecticut State University, intending to become a lawyer and majoring in political science. She figured at the time that this would enable her to use her voice for advocacy work with individuals that belonged to socioeconomically disadvantaged neighborhoods.
She said that she quickly grew out of this after taking sociology classes. A particular professor with a focus in medical anthropology at the time was doing advocacy for reproductive rights, which inspired her to begin studying anthropology.
“She captured my attention because it was all advocacy for people who needed it, right? That was what I was passionate about,” Lloréns said.
In 2005, she then earned a Ph.D. in anthropology at the University of Connecticut.
Lloréns now studies environmental justice, advocating for communities in Puerto Rico and the Caribbean that are directly affected by pollution in their environment, which she says falls under categories of climate and energy justice as well.
Lloréns spoke of the importance of conscious decision-making and how one’s actions affect others around them, applying this mindset to her teaching as well.
“I work hard in my classes to make sure people feel seen, heard, no matter what, knowing that you have a place and that you can be yourself,” Lloréns said.
Lloréns encourages students to help those around them by getting their degree, obtaining the knowledge and helping themselves first to influence positive change, stating that this allows students to enact change from a more informed and empowered place.
Outside of academic studies, Lloréns said she works to find balance across the different areas of her daily life, practicing mindfulness and conscious awareness. She enjoys spending time in nature with her family and their two dogs around New England, finding places to hike. She also shared that she is an avid gardener, spending time taking care of her plants and landscaping to attract birds and pollinators to her garden.