Camila Robles Ruiz
Loyola Marymount University
Camila Robles Ruiz is an accomplished junior at Loyola Marymount University (LMU), studying Theater Arts with minors in Spanish and Chicana/o and Latina/o Studies. She is a member of LMU’s selective University Honors Program and is actively involved on and off stage. During her first year at LMU, she was cast in two campus productions: In the Heights and Detained. Both plays tackle complex issues such as race and immigration and affirmed her interest in the intersection of theater and social justice. In the summer of 2021, she received an Honors Research Fellowship to explore the intersectionality of Latinx identity. She has career aspirations to use theatre to educate the public about the Latinx community. As a Newman Civic Fellow, Camila intends to form a student organization for Latinx storytellers and artists, with a focus on educating its members on issues like colorism and immigration.
Personal Statement
I am a Theatre Arts major and Chicana/o and Latina/o Studies and Spanish double minor at Loyola Marymount University (LMU), class of 2023. At LMU, I have participated in LMU Theatre productions that have sparked my interest in social justice theatre. I played Melida in France-Luce Benson’s Detained, a play focused on discussing the detainment and deportation system in the U.S. I also played Abuela Claudia in Lin-Manuel Miranda’s In the Heights where I began to focus on the concept of identity and race vs. ethnicity. During my time at LMU, I have focused many of my courses on social justice theatre practices, sparking my interest to pursue Latinx Theatre as part of my career. Latinx Theatre provides stories that educate the public on Latinx Identity, the racial, social, and economic diversity in the community. As a Latina, I have endured the difficulties of discovering my Latinx Identity. I feel strongly that if we use theatre to educate the public about the Latinx community, we can begin to form a society that breaks from stereotypes and focuses on celebrating, understanding, and respecting the Latinx community as a whole.
