A native of Veracruz, Mexico, Olimpia Underwood earned her Master of Arts in Literature at New Mexico State University in Las Cruces in 1993 and has lived and worked in Little Rock for many years. She teaches a range of lower-level languages courses as well as advanced-level skills courses. As a native speaker from Veracruz, she incorporates many of the idioms and customs from her region into her classes, providing students with authentic cultural experiences and consequently the opportunity to grow in their cultural competency.
In addition to her work at the university, she enjoys volunteering as an interpreter at local health clinics for low-income people and has worked with the Mexican Consulate near campus to educate the Latino population about opportunities in higher education.
In her free time, she likes doing yoga, meditating, and reading books on philosophy.