Valerie Chavez was born and raised in Albuquerque, New Mexico. She is a multigenerational Nuevomexicana and centralizes her querencia in her academic pursuits. Valerie has studied at the University of New Mexico since 2015 earning her B.A. in Intercultural Communication with a minor in Chicana/o Studies in 2019 and an M.A. in Chicana/o Studies in 2024. Her M.A. thesis research project is titled The Contributions of Nueva Mexicanas to the Albuquerque Lowrider Community: How do Young Chicanas Express their Cultural Identity through the Albuquerque Lowrider Community? This plática-based oral history and visual documentation research project explores the ways young Nuevomexicanas express their Chicana identity while actively participating in Albuquerque lowrider culture. Valerie plans to continue to expand on themes in her thesis with her doctoral research. She aims to understand, discover, and document the roles of Nuevomexicanas and how their actions over time have maintained and enabled New Mexican communities to practice cultural traditions and rituals.