Meet Our Scholars
EnRico Rafael Gaxiola Melson
Santa Monica College
Anthropology
He/Him/His
BIPOC
Enrico Gaxiola Melson was born and raised in Los Angeles, California. He has always been interested in the world’s cultures, histories and languages. His early influence comes from all the sounds and colors he is fortunate to experience in LA. Enrico started studying foreign languages at an early age, and at fourteen, he was an international exchange student in Japan. He is now an Anthropology major with a specialization in East Asian Studies. In 2021 he began tutoring Spanish and Japanese and became the first non-native Japanese tutor for the modern languages department in the history of SMC. The same year Enrico traveled to Mexico to serve local groups that perform indigenous plant medicine ceremonies and healing therapies. It was particularly important to him to use his language abilities to aid in preserving knowledge of plant medicines, their practical uses, and their history within the region. This experience motivated Enrico to continue his academic study of cultures. From it, he found the opportunity to combine his love for languages and his heritage with service to others. His sincere desire is to contribute to deepening the understanding of the human story.