Michelle Rendón Ochoa (she/her/ella) is a first-generation Colombian-American educator who spent her formative years navigating between the vibrant landscapes of Medellin, Colombia, and New York. With over a decade of experience, she has taught English and Spanish Language Arts across K-12 settings, all while serving as a dedicated mentor to BIPOC youth at her alma mater in Freeport, NY. Michelle is passionate about crafting curriculum deeply rooted in the ethos of critical and abolitionist teaching praxis. Currently pursuing her PhD in Urban Education at the Graduate Center, CUNY, she is on a mission to blend community-based research, arts-based methods and the co-creation of digital archives within the classroom. Her commitment extends to preserving and reshaping the counter-narratives of the Latinx community in suburban Long Island, a vital endeavor she aims to interweave into curricula.