Jonathan was born and raised on the island of Guåhan (Guam) and identifies as a first-generation, queer indigenous CHamoru. Prior to coming to the University of Minnesota, Jonathan attended Marquette University in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in Speech Pathology & Audiology and Social Welfare and Justice with a minor in Educational Studies. Jonathan’s research interests center on personal narratives on CHamoru identity and various intersections with concepts or issues including the perceptions of gender and sexuality in ancient CHamoru society compared to contemporary CHamoru society, the militarization of Guåhan and how CHamorus reconcile being a colony of the United States, while being denied rights offered to other U.S. citizens, and race relations with other ethnic or racial minorities. Jonathan’s interests in interdisciplinary work stem from his McNair Scholar’s project that took all three programs he was studying to examine the effects of professional development on the phonemic awareness (PA) skills of early childhood educators (ECEs) in a low-income school in Milwaukee. Jonathan’s involvement as the Founder and Chair of the Guam + Islanders Student Association (GISA), as well as his work as a Program Assistant in the Center for Intercultural Engagement (CIE) and as an Apartment Manager in the Office of Residence Life (ORL) allowed him to become more confident in his ability to articulate to Marquette the ways in which they disadvantaged their marginalized students.