Get to Know: Ana Porta, Youngstown Marketing Intern
Ana Porta
Snapshot
- Third year student in the College of Arts, M
edia, and Design at Northeastern University in Boston, majoring in Media & Screen Studies and minoring in English - Aspiring visual anthropologist
- Lover of nature and fiction novels
Background
Ana was born and raised in the Chicago area, but college brought her to Boston, Massachusetts, where she studies at Northeastern University and is involved in labor justice organizations and other liberation work. She is currently finalizing her thesis, which is a paper and documentary film called “Policing Blackness” that explores the complex topics of race and social movements through extensive research and interviews.
She is very grateful to be living in Seattle for six months, while on co-op at Youngstown and DNDA as a part of her university’s experiential learning program. She feels so welcomed by the rest of the Youngstown office and continues to learn a lot about the Delridge community. As an arts student, she feels particularly passionate about the arts as a way to engage youth in a community and its ability to interweave with education and personal growth.
What inspires you about working in/for the community?
Ana has always felt an urge to become more connected in the communities she’s lived in, and feels that honest conversations, dedicated work, and meaningful relationships have historically created the most progressive and beautiful environments to live and work in. She believes that by investing in community initiatives, the focus can shift back towards individuals and families, and that these futures can be much more attainable.
What are you passionate about personally? What do you really enjoy?
Ana is very passionate about story-telling, and loves using the medium of documentary film to actualize it. She is inspired by the ability to resist dominant narratives of oppression, and to reveal truth through art. She also loves writing down thoughts and ideas and using them to reflect on later. She explores her spirituality through practicing yoga and connecting to nature.