Paul Michael Leonardo Atienza

Candidate statement

My name is Paul Michael Leonardo Atienza. I am a doctoral candidate of anthropology and gender and women’s studies minor at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. My dissertation is a multi-sited ethnography investigating the lived experiences of gay and bisexual Filipinos in and between Manila and Los Angeles. I examine how transnational connections of technology and intimacy shape people’s notions of time and space, emotional attachments, and concepts of social difference. Before coming to Urbana-Champaign, I worked 10 years as an academic advisor at the University of California, Riverside where I received a master of arts degree in Southeast Asian Studies in 2010 and bachelor of arts degrees in music and English in 2002.
As student representative for AAAS, I will engage student members through my research expertise in social media. I plan to increase online activity and sustain a manageable presence for recruitment of new members, especially under-represented groups, in addition to informing current association constituents. These include creating online content to help first-time conference attendees, member spotlights, and highlight community collaborations. With my experience as an administrative assistant at UC Riverside in addition to multiple conference and symposia planning, I am prepared to take on this service.