Crossing borders
Border crossings and citizenship types may be common topics in international studies classes. But for third-year student Sofia Gomez-Inowe, they’re also part of daily life.
Before coming to UC Irvine, she crossed the border almost every day, driving from her parents’ home in Tijuana to her private high school in Chula Vista, California, where she competed on the golf team. She carried a letter from her principal and her U.S. citizenship documents.
Now a double major in international studies and French with a minor in linguistics, Gomez-Inowe brings her unique perspective to both academics and student advocacy, where she’s been active with undergraduate research, the Social Sciences Academic Resource Center, the Associated Students of UCI, and the club Visions for Change.
A personal perspective
The international studies major was the first thing that attracted Gomez-Inowe to UC Irvine during a campus tour she took with her high school. The appeal only grew once she started in the program. In one of her first courses, Alexander Huezo, assistant professor of global and international studies, lectured about political economy and the North American Free Trade Agreement while projecting photos of the U.S.-Mexico border – images all too familiar to her daily life.
“Seeing how he was able to connect a big idea like global political economy and NAFTA
to something that’s local, just two hours away from UC Irvine, was amazing,” Gomez-Inowe
says.
Now that she lives on the UC Irvine campus, Gomez-Inowe crosses the border to go home less often. But when she does, she’s keenly aware of all the surveillance technology – license-plate scanners, drones and biometric tools – being used to monitor her and other travelers.
“If you enter another country through an airport, or cross international borders in the European Union, it’s nothing like the land port of entry between the U.S. and Mexico,” Gomez-Inowe says.
This summer, Gomez-Inowe combined interviews with people who cross the border and analysis of public policy surveys to better understand attitudes about that surveillance technology for her project in the Summer Program in Research & Leadership, or SPIRL. The five-week program in the UC Irvine School of Social Sciences prepares students for graduate school by exposing them to quantitative and qualitative research methods through a quick-turnaround project while providing guidance on graduate school applications. At the end of the program, Gomez-Inowe earned the Caesar Sereseres Best Public Service Research Award, named in honor of the political science professor emeritus.
“The experience definitely affirmed my resolve to use my background in international studies to pursue law school with a focus on public interest,” Gomez-Inowe says.
But she’s already making a difference for the roughly 7,000 international students at UC Irvine. During a year-long term as the ASUCI Special Interests International Senator, she helped organize coffee chats and information sessions in collaboration with the International Center to help students navigate the array of resources available on campus. It’s not always obvious to international students how they can participate in things like local internships – which may require an additional form for eligibility. Gomez-Inowe has also encountered international students who did not realize they could access campus services like the Basic Needs Center.
“It’s about helping international students know what type of resources they’re eligible for,” says Gomez-Inowe. “Because sometimes they just say, ‘Oh, that's not for me because I'm not a U.S. citizen.’ But I tell them, ‘It is for you because you’re a student.’"
Creating opportunities, offering support
Gomez-Inowe’s efforts to create a welcoming environment for Anteaters extend beyond the international student community. As an ambassador in the Social Sciences Academic Resource Center, she provides information about graduate school and post-graduate careers to her peers. Her road to that role began in her first year, when she started making trips to the Social & Behavioral Sciences Gateway to use the SSARC’s printer and enjoy free snacks. Gradually, she started using other services including attending a panel on careers in the social sciences and having her résumé reviewed.
So it was a natural progression for her to become an ambassador in her second year,
sharing the SSARC’s benefits and opportunities with her peers, with a focus on supporting
students en route to graduate school. Nikki Gigante, coordinator for the Social Sciences
Academic Resource Center, has seen Gomez-Inowe’s hard work over the last year and
is excited for what the future holds.
“Sofia is an exemplary student who thrives in everything that she does,” says Gigante. “She amazes me every day with how much she is able to accomplish, and the impact that she has on her peers. Her kindness shines through in a way that makes it so easy for her to connect with fellow students and help them in every way possible. Sofia is a true leader that has already made a difference at UCI, and will continue to shine as a leader to the rest of the world.”
The most fulfilling part? Seeing students get so excited about what they’ve learned at SSARC about graduate school applications and wanting to come back to review their progress, get feedback and keep working toward their goals.
“It’s really rewarding to accomplish this mission of students helping other students,” says Gomez-Inowe. “Sometimes students compare themselves to others – I’ve done that, too – but the reality is the opportunities are there, and the support is, too.”
She also provides student support and mentorship through campus clubs. As a mentee in an Associated Students of UCI program, Gomez-Inowe helped organize a finals week event where students could decorate a pot and put a plant in it. The lesson was to “take care of yourself during finals just as much as you take care of your plant.” The following year, the program spun off into the club Visions for Change, and Gomez-Inowe now serves as co-president.
Through ASUCI, Gomez-Inowe had her favorite college experience so far: lobbying elected officials in Sacramento. As a delegate with the 2026 UC Student Association’s Student Lobby Conference, Gomez-Inowe met with elected representatives and legislative aides to advocate on issues including student data privacy and protecting research funding for the UC.
“It was a great professional development experience,” says Gomez-Inowe. “Being in the capitol building and having these conversations – it really reinforced that what you say and how you say it matters.”
Her advice to other students: “Definitely attend ASUCI programming and visit the resource centers on campus. Even if it's just for free printing, let people see your face and just sign up for whatever seems interesting to you. Ask questions. Get involved.”
As she embarks on her third year at UC Irvine, she plans to do more research on the U.S.-Mexico border and to work with Huezo to write an honors thesis. The research will help prepare her to apply to graduate schools and pursue a career at the intersection of law and international studies.
“My studies have really informed me, and I keep seeing parallels between what I’m learning and what’s happening in the world right now,” says Gomez-Inowe. “I think it’s good to have a global-local mindset, and it’s important to keep learning.”
-Christine Byrd for the UC Irvine School of Social Sciences
-pictured: Sofia Gomez-Inowe. Gomez-Inowe with her SPIRL cohort in front of SBSG.
Gomez-Inowe with the SSARC team at the Social Sciences BBQ.