Community & Hobbies

BORI at Georgia Tech, community building, and hobbies outside of research — fitness, cooking, salsa, and reading.

Community & Hobbies

The part of the story that is not just papers and control theory.

Research is a big part of my life, but it is not the only part that matters. This page holds the longer version of the community work, culture, and everyday interests that keep the rest of it grounded.

Community

BORI at Georgia Tech

I co-founded BORI (Boricuas Organized for Impact) to make sure Puerto Rican students at Georgia Tech had a space that felt familiar, welcoming, and genuinely useful. The goal was never just to start another campus organization. It was to build something that could help people feel recognized and at home.

  • We built events around culture, food, and friendship rather than treating community as an afterthought.
  • We focused on making newer students feel less alone when arriving in Atlanta and Georgia Tech.
  • BORI gave me a way to stay connected to Puerto Rico while helping make campus feel more human for others too.

That side of my life matters for the same reason the research does: both are about building systems that people can trust.

BORI co-founders standing together
BORI co-founders, left to right: Gustavo, Camelia, Evanns
BORI logo
The BORI logo
BORI mascot Coquí with Coquito
The BORI mascot: Coquí with Coquito

BORI Moments

Event history

I'll update these with pictures and videos as well coming up soon 🙂

Fall 2024

Inaugural BORI Event

  • Homemade coquito, sandwiches de mezclita, sorullitos.
  • Introduced everyone to the club and its purpose and vision.

Trivia Night with Snacks

  • Puerto Rico trivia questions.
  • Snacks and a lower-pressure social setting.

Spring 2025

Winter Org Fair · Enero 30 · 11am-1pm

  • Poster, banderitas, bocina, Hershey Kisses.

BORI Kickoff · Febrero 6 · 5pm

  • Coquito, sandwiches de mezclita, sorullitos.

Festival de Chocolate · Febrero 21

  • Fresas con chocolate, tierrita, start-stop running game, papa caliente.
  • The Standard rooftop area.

March Gladness · Marzo 6

  • Tabling event with a traditional Puerto Rican jacks game.

BORI Game Night · Marzo 13

  • Traditional Puerto Rican games and Puerto Rico-themed games.
  • Snacks.

Fall 2025

Freshman Kickoff · Agosto 12 · 1:15pm · Skiles 169

  • Bienvenidos a GT and Atlanta, with an emphasis on being a resource for new students from Puerto Rico.
  • Krispy Kreme donuts.

Fall Org Fair · Agosto 27 · 11am-1pm · Tech Green

  • Poster, banderitas, bocina, Hershey Kisses.

BORI KickOff · Septiembre 3 · 5:30pm · Boggs 103

  • Publix cookies, snacks tipicos, dulcecitos.

BORI Professional Panel · Septiembre 24 · 5pm · IC Building

  • Prepared questions and participant gifts.

Dominos Tournament · Octubre · 11am-1pm · Kendeda Building

  • Funding request for $200.
  • Dominoes, Papi's Cuban catered empanadas, prizes.

Vamo a Jugal' · Octubre 10 · 4pm · Piedmont Park

  • Limber de parcha, cherry, and coco.
  • Soccer, volleyball, football, and a bocina for an active outdoor event.

Movie Night · Noviembre 13 · 7pm · The Connector Apt

  • Reserved the big screen on the 7th floor.
  • Puerto Rican film, popcorn, snacks.

Taller Coquito · Noviembre · 7pm · The Standard Apt

  • Leche evaporada, leche condensada, crema de coco, canela molida, vainilla.
  • Glass bottles so people could take home the coquito they made.

Spring 2026

Resume Review Workshop · Enero 22, 2026 · Crossland 2157

  • Professional-development event focused on strengthening resumes and preparing members for internship and full-time applications.

Cafezinho com Brasa · Enero 29, 2026 · The Connector 7th Floor

  • Joint social event with the Brazilian student organization to socialize and taste-test coffees from each other's countries.

Joint General Body Meeting with ALPFA and Cisco · Febrero 3, 2026 · Scheller 300

  • Collaborative event with ALPFA where we hosted recruiters from Cisco.

World Baseball Classic Watch Party · Marzo 6, 2026 · Inspire Apt

  • Watched Team Puerto Rico take on Colombia together and turned it into a community hangout around baseball and home-team energy.

Hobbies

Do Ph.D Students Have Lives?

When I'm not exercising my weak brain muscles I try to work out my other muscles, mainly so I can afford to indulge in my main hobby of cooking. When an find the time and discipline, I also love practicing my salsa technique at my dance studio and out at socials, as well as reading books about history, psychology and, recently, memoirs.

Fitness

To lift or not to lift, that is the question.

Cooking

I'm my own private chef. And my client has exotic taste.

Dance

Meh I'm getting better.

Reading

I do eventually finish books I start after the fifth time I try reading them.

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