This bilingual engineer is building a new path

Escrito por: Alexa Figueroa 🇸🇻

Headshot of Trinidad Cubillos Valdés. (Alexa Figueroa)

When the chance to run for a board position was offered, Trinidad Cubillos Valdés was thrilled to be a leader in the Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers (SHPE). She prepared a presentation for 40 individuals in the Jeong H. Kim Engineering Building to persuade them that she was qualified for the role of Vice President of Internal Affairs, which involves fostering a community. Since she was up against someone who was already a member of SHPE, she was somewhat anxious, but was thrilled when they offered her the role. 

Cubillos Valdés is an international student from Chile. She temporarily lived in the United States from ages one to five and later came back with her parents in 2017. However, her parents returned to Chile in 2023, and she has been living alone in the U.S. since then. 

Family of Trinidad Cubillos Valdés. (Courtesy of Trinidad Cubillos Valdés)

“I would not necessarily consider this my home, despite it being where I lived for the past eight years, I would consider home being where my family is as well,” she said.

In high school, she was interested in both biology and math but had no idea she could combine the two in college. After some investigation, she discovered the perfect match: a bioengineering major. When she started at UMD, she examined her four-year plan and decided she wanted to go beyond the required math courses, adding a math minor.

Cubillos Valdés feels very tied to her family and the Spanish language. She says that some of the cultural differences she sees between Latin America and the U.S. are family values and how the term Hispanic is defined by her peers. 

“People in Latin America, when they're born and raised and have lived there for a long time, when they think of the word Latino, Hispanic, from certain countries, they kind of assume that you embrace everything that comes with it. And I've learned that living here, that's not always true,” she said.

She says that a lot of her friends are hesitant to speak Spanish because of language insecurities, but she would want to have the opportunity to connect with someone regardless of their level of language proficiency. 

“Spanish is a very sentimental language, and I feel like the connection that you can make with someone in Spanish is just not the same in depthness compared to one like that you would make in English,” said Cubillos Valdés

As a May graduate, Cubillos Valdés is looking to pursue graduate school in Chile and receive a masters in bioengineering. 

¡Sin miedo al éxito! - Familia Cubillos Valdés