Meet Our Scholars

Yliana Roland (she/her) is a lesbian student, writer, and filmmaker raised in Houston and is currently attending university at the University of Texas in Austin. Yliana realized she wanted to become a writer as a young teenager after spending a childhood constantly reading books, yet seldom seeing Black and Mexican-American identities and experiences reflected on the page. Yliana realized that going to college, studying film and literature, and learning to tell stories would one day give her the position to improve representation in media for her communities. At the University of Texas, she received an honorable mention from the ACP Student Press for her successful advocation for the repatriation of indigenous remains to the Miakan-Garza Band. She acted as the opinion editor for Orange Magazine, wrote articles pledging the university to do away with racist campus traditions like The Eyes Of Texas, and acted as the director of photography, head writer, and secretary for Texas Black Lens. Writing is how she makes sense of the world, and how she will make it better. Yliana hopes to one day write coming-of-age books and TV shows that platform Black, Brown, and queer young women. When not writing, you can find Yliana making home movies with friends.