Sharon Salgado Martínez, an alumna of the School of History, Philosophy, and Religion’s master’s in history program, focused on oral histories of Oaxacan women in Oregon.
Sharon Salgado Martínez
By Jessica Florescu, CLA Student Writer - November 20, 2024
Born and raised in Mexico City, Sharon Salgado Martínez, M.A. ‘23, was drawn to Oregon State University and Corvallis for its natural outdoor beauty, but while here, Salgado Martínez made incredible strides to expand cultural awareness on campus.
Salgado Martínez, a graduate of the School of History, Philosophy, and Religion’s (SHPR) master’s program in history, completed a thesis based on oral histories from Indigenous Mexican women who migrated to Oregon in the late 1980s and early 1990s, primarily from Oaxaca. Under the guidance of SHPR Assistant Professor Joel Zapata, Salgado Martínez successfully captured these women's experiences, preserving their stories through OSU Archives and Special Collections.
"I love oral histories because they enable scholars and the general public to learn from the histories of people who are often hidden or rendered invisible in the archives," stated Salgado Martínez.
From Mexico City to Corvallis
Salgado Martínez attended the Monterrey Institute of Technology and Higher Education (ITESM), earning a bachelor’s degree in international relations. For her senior year at ITESM, Salgado Martínez had the opportunity to attend OSU through an IE3 Global study abroad program. Salgado Martínez completed her ITESM International Relations degree at OSU, but wished to stay in Corvallis, leading her to enroll in SHPR’s newly created master’s degree program in history as a recipient of the Provost’s Distinguished Graduate Scholarship.
“In 2023, at the SHPR Graduation Ceremony,” Salgado Martínez stated the importance and the significance of scholarships and fellowships for people of color and international students like herself:
“I, a Mexican woman from Mexico City, had the opportunity to come to OSU through the Provost Distinguished Graduate Fellowship and continue my education the second year with a teaching assistantship. I want to emphasize how significant this award was to me in unlocking doors of opportunity to higher education. This year I will continue my Ph.D. graduate education at a prestigious history program in California. None of that would have been possible without the support of my professors and these awards available for International students, people of color and students from diverse backgrounds. In this journey of becoming an intellectual, a historian, I have reshaped my identity and strengthened my ties to Mexico by learning U.S. and Mexican history.”
Salgado Martínez found adjusting to OSU a challenging experience, not only because she arrived from ITESM just before the COVID-19 pandemic began, but also being surrounded by a completely new culture and conversing entirely in English, which she was still learning. Salgado Martínez felt “culturally isolated,” but as she became more familiar with her new environment and more comfortable speaking English, she ended up loving her time spent as an OSU student.
“I love all of the events that OSU organizes to help students feel more welcome and less isolated,” said Salgado Martínez. "The university's weekly events are a great way to meet new friends and become part of a community. It's also important to build a support system where you feel safe and to find activities that help you balance your academic workload."
Salgado Martínez shared her appreciation for the kindness that the professors showed her and their willingness to help either within or outside of the classroom. Aside from growing her support network through weekly classes and campus-wide events, Salgado Martínez also participated in many gatherings hosted by the various cultural centers on campus. She loved all of the exposure to different cultures within the Pacific Northwest through these events throughout each school year, such as the salmon bakes at the Kaku-Ixt Mana Ina Haws. She expressed a desire for a dedicated Latino Night, much like the annual African Night held at the Memorial Union, which celebrates the unique cultures of other communities. However, she is pleased that undergraduates have recently organized and founded the Association of Latin American Studies (ALAS) at OSU (@alasatosu), which provides visibility to Latino students and hosts events that uplift and empower their histories.
She also created a network of friends coming to study at OSU from around the world. It was in this community that she felt most understood and welcomed as an international student among peers.
Spotlighting Mexican and Indigenous Voices in Oregon
When considering what topic to write her master’s thesis on, Salgado Martínez wanted to contribute to the literature of women’s labor history in Oregon, focusing on migrants from Mexico. After a visit to Newport, Oregon, Salgado Martínez stumbled upon La Juquilita Mexican Grocery, a uniquely Oaxacan grocery store, located off Highway 101. Salgado Martínez struck up a conversation with the owner,Soledad Cortés Cortés, who told Salgado Martínez of her Oaxacan heritage and the story of why Oregon is a significant destination for Oaxacans looking to immigrate to the U.S.
Intrigued by this acknowledgement of growing diversity in Oregon, Salgado Martínez’s thesis, “Oaxaqueñas: Placemaking and Resistance Among Indigenous Mixtec and Zapotec Mexican Women Migrants in Oregon”, chronicles Oaxacan women who migrated to Oregon in the late-20th Century.
"Immigration history has traditionally centered on the experiences of men coming to the U.S.," stated Salgado Martínez. "However, this research only reflects one gender's perspective. I wanted to focus on the histories of groups that have not received the recognition they deserve, such as the domestic and agricultural labor carried out by Indigenous Mexican women."
Salgado Martínez expressed a sense of empathy for the difficulties that many Mexicans experienced when attempting to integrate themselves into unfamiliar, and culturally different communities. She believes that cultural awareness education is essential, especially in states like Oregon, where a history of racial exclusion has contributed to a less diverse population.
Expanding her scope and looking ahead
Salgado Martínez, now having just finished the first year of her history Ph.D. program at the University of Southern California, looks to broaden and deepen her research agenda is to analyze Native American studies and Chicanx studies altogether, two fields that talk about Indigenous peoples from the Americas; however, the former focuses on the U.S. and the latter on Indigenous people from Mexico, often kept separate by U.S.-imposed racial hierarchies. Her work will draw connections between the historical and ongoing oppression of Native American peoples and Indigenous Mexican farmworkers, highlighting their vital but largely unrecognized contributions to shaping the agricultural landscape of Oregon and the Pacific Northwest. She seeks to uncover the hidden narratives buried in archives that often overlook or marginalize these communities, challenging the dominant historical accounts that center on white agricultural workers.
For Salgado Martínez, graduating with her Ph.D. is only the start to creating a positive impact in underrepresented communities. Though there are many years between now and graduation, Salgado Martínez could see herself entering teaching or public service.
“I would like to begin teaching new generations to like history more,” said Salgado Martínez. “It should be way more interactive than just memorizing basic dates and names. History needs to be taught in a way that will touch everyone’s heart, and people need to find personal connections within historical information.”
For those thinking about entering graduate school, Salgado Martínez expressed that master’s programs can become progressively more difficult than undergraduate years, and it is important to make sure that one’s identity isn’t completely tied to academics. She advised to treat failures in college as learning opportunities for self-improvement, and to avoid putting extreme expectations on yourself.
“Focusing too much on trying to be perfect is super detrimental for your mental health, so just go through school one day at a time.”