I am a PhD Student at the Department of Combinatorics and Optimization of the University of Waterloo. My supervisor is Olya Mandelshtam. 

I did my Master's in Mathematics at Universidad de los Andes in Colombia, under the supervision of Carolina Benedetti Velásquez and Kolja Knauer. In the same university, I studied my Bachelor's in both Mathematics and Physics.

I study Algebraic Combinatorics, but I am particularly interested in symmetric functions, lattice polytopes, and discrete objects related to hopping particle processes. 

Apart from math, here are some fun facts about me:

• My most-liked Pokémon are Ghost-type, and my favorite one is Mimikyu.

• I collect pins from places I have visited and put them on my colorful Wayuu mochila. 

• My (former) DnD character is a green gnome with a tree companion because I love plants.

You can contact me at: j2valenc [at] uwaterloo [dot] ca