Bio

2026-27 GES Graduate Certificate Fellow

Xochitl Aguirre is a graduate student in the Master of Arts in Liberal Studies program at NC State University, concentrating in Science, Technology, and Society. She is a member of the NeuroComputational Ethics Research Group (NCERG), led by Dr. Veljko Dubljevic, where she also supports the group’s grant efforts through team management and grant writing. She earned her bachelor’s degree from Lake Forest College, with a double major in Sociology & Anthropology and Data Science. After completing her master’s, Xochitl plans to pursue a Ph.D. in Computational Social Sciences, continuing her work at the intersection of data driven methods and the social dynamics of emerging technology.

Before returning for her master’s, Xochitl spent two years in the corporate sector as an HR Data Analyst and HRIS Specialist. Working in SAP SuccessFactors and Power BI, she managed large administrative datasets and built reporting and visualizations that translated complex workforce data into actionable insight for non-technical stakeholders. Beyond the technical work, she developed strengths in cross-functional collaboration, communicating findings to varied audiences, and navigating the practical and ethical dimensions of sensitive people-data. This firsthand experience of how data systems and automation reshape workplaces and affect real people now grounds her interdisciplinary research on the societal implications of technological change, with particular interest in how communities are affected by advances in bioengineering and other emerging technologies.

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