Convocation 2026: Lisset Alburqueque Alcantara

Lisset Alburqueque Alcantara’s commitment to social justice is rooted in local activism in her home country of Peru where, as a public servant and feminist, she organized information sessions on women’s rights and collaborated with municipal leaders. While these grassroots efforts ignited her passion for feminist activism, it was her subsequent role within the Ministry of Women and Vulnerable Populations that truly reshaped her perspective.

Stepping into the field, she witnessed the stark disconnect between academic gender theory and the lived realities of women facing extreme vulnerability and violence. Recognizing that she needed to expand her education to address these deep-seated inequities, she chose the U of A’s Gender and Social Justice Studies program to bridge that gap, using her first-hand experience as the essential guiding thread for her research.

Now that her graduate degree program has come to a close, Lisset remains committed to supporting women navigating systemic vulnerability — including those who are newcomers to this province — with plans to continue her work as an advocate for women in situations of vulnerability.

Congratulations Lisset!

WHICH FACULTY, PROGRAM, AND DEPARTMENT ARE YOU GRADUATING FROM?

The Master of Arts in Gender and Social Justice Studies program in the Department of Women’s and Gender Studies.

WHAT LED YOU TO CHOOSE THIS FIELD OF STUDY, AND WHY THE U OF A?

I have a background as a feminist activist and public servant that strongly influenced my decision to pursue a master’s degree in gender studies. The rising number of femicides and the impunity with which the justice system operated in Peru led many of us women to organize in our neighbourhoods to defend our right to live free from violence. Thanks to the 2016 national march “Ni Una Menos,” women’s groups consolidated into feminist collectives, and together with some friends, I co-founded the collective Ni Una Menos Pueblo Libre.

As activists, we organized information sessions on women’s rights and coordinated work with the municipal government. It was within this collective that my interest in women’s studies, feminisms and social justice emerged. Later, I began working in the Programa Nacional Aurora (National Aurora Program) at the Ministry of Women and Vulnerable Populations in Peru, where I was able to see first-hand how social policy works in the field and what effects it has from the perspective of women themselves. The women who had experienced violence were not like the women in my own neighbourhood; they were in situations of much greater vulnerability. At the same time, I felt that the gender studies I had taken were insufficient and often completely incompatible with women’s lived experiences. That is why I decided to pursue graduate studies in gender and social justice, using my experience working with vulnerable women as the main tool and guiding thread for my future studies.

The U of A was one of my first choices for a master’s degree because of its reputation and academic quality: it had excellent reviews from international graduate students and ranked among the best in the world in gender research. It also had faculty members working in feminist legal studies and gender‑based violence, which aligned perfectly with my research interests. For these reasons, I chose the U of A.

TELL US ABOUT YOUR FAVOURITE PROFESSOR AND/OR CLASS.

My favourite professor is Lise Gotell. I was fortunate to have her both as a professor and as my capstone project supervisor. She was deeply committed to her students, both inside and outside the classroom. She allowed me to start working on my capstone project from the very first course I took with her, which made the path to completing the project less difficult. She also provided career guidance and discussed potential work opportunities for after I finished my degree. She was one of the professors who most valued my previous work experience in my home country and helped me incorporate it into my research. Connecting with academia in a graduate context was challenging for me after having worked for several years in state institutions, but she made everything more manageable by being very empathetic and understanding, while remaining professional.

Professor Gotell’s feedback on assignments was always thorough, detailed and constructive. She made me feel that she had truly read and understood my work, even when it was 15 or 20 pages long, and that she appreciated it. She marked my work with an awareness that the writer was not a native Anglophone and offered alternative phrasings that were more appropriate in English. She encouraged me to read other authors, whom I had not known before and who turned out to be vital for my capstone project. I think one of the things I appreciated most was that she understood that not all of us experience a master’s program in the same way. Those of us who come from abroad tend to face more challenges adapting to a new country, and her office door was always open to listen to these difficulties and help find possible solutions.

DID YOU FACE ANY SIGNIFICANT CHALLENGES WHILE YOU WERE A STUDENT, AND IF SO, HOW DID YOU RESPOND? 

The main barrier was language and, even after more than a year in Canada, it continues to be a limitation. To familiarize myself with technical vocabulary, at the end of each class I would prepare a list of new words or words my professor tended to repeat, and then review them at home. I also created a general dictionary with every new word I learned, both inside and outside the classroom, and updated it every day. The English Conversation Club, which is part of the university, helped a lot; there I met other Spanish speakers, and we were able to share the challenges we had in common and strategies to improve our English proficiency.

WHAT ADVICE DO YOU HAVE FOR CURRENT OR FUTURE STUDENTS?

One thing I discovered at the university is the wide range of resources available to help students achieve their academic goals. Many international students come from academic contexts where standards are high but learning resources for students are limited. The U of A offers one‑to‑one support for reading and writing, peer and specialized mentoring and workshops on note‑taking and time management. There are many resources available, including accommodations for students with particular learning conditions. I would encourage students to make use of the resources the university provides and to explore what else is available.

I would also say that, when it comes to language (and perhaps other areas), learning is not always a straight line. There are days when you feel your English has improved and you understand everything, and other days when you feel like you have forgotten the words you learned and that you are going backwards. It is even harder when people say things like “but your English is really good” or “your English is better than my Spanish,” and you know, deep down, that you did not understand half of what that person said. I think it is a process of constantly discovering your own learning and its rhythms, in an adaptation context that often limits that learning. I believe it is important to be patient and compassionate with ourselves and with our learning pace.

HOW DO YOU PLAN ON CELEBRATING CONVOCATION?

I have not planned the celebration yet, but I will probably get together with my landlord, my roommate and my partner for dinner.

WHAT'S NEXT AFTER GRADUATION?

I would like to continue working for the government, as I did in Peru, so I am interested in applying for positions in the Ministry of Assisted Living and Social Services or the Ministry of Arts, Culture and Status of Women. Non‑profit organizations involved in the protection of women’s rights are also of great interest to me.