Graduate Student Fellows Biographies

2024 Fellows

Nancy Camarillo
Higher Education, Student Affairs, and International Education Policy
University of Maryland, College Park 

Nancy Camarillo (she/ella) is from Los Angeles, CA; currently residing in Tacoma, Washington. Nancy is the proud daughter of immigrants from El Salvador and Mexico and the youngest of six siblings. She was raised in a household that centered community uplift which has guided her professional journey. Nancy currently serves as assistant director for professional development with the Center for First-generation Student Success at NASPA. Additionally, she serves as a research assistant and editorial assistant for the Journal of Student Affairs Research and Practice through the University of Maryland, College Park (UMD). Her professional experiences include DEI programming, academic retention services, sorority and fraternity life, student organization advising, and first-year experience. Nancy is currently working toward her Ph.D. in higher education, student affairs, and international education policy from UMD. Her research agenda focuses on interrogating the monolithic assumptions within Latinx/o/s diaspora with a focus on multiethnic identity. Her research interests also include examining the experiences of first-generation Latinx/a/o student affairs early career professionals in their socialization process into the field. She earned a B.A. in political science from California Lutheran University and a M.S.in higher education administration from California State University, Fullerton. She is a proud first-generation college graduate.

Mitzi Ceballos
Writing and Rhetoric
University of Utah

Mitzi Ceballos was born and raised in Boise, Idaho, and is a daughter of Mexican immigrants. She is also a sister, comadre, former McNair Scholar, and proud Chicana. After completing a bachelor’s degree from Boise State University, and a Master’s from Washington State University, she now finds herself a PhD candidate in Writing and Rhetoric at the University of Utah. Her dissertation uses decolonial theory and archival methodology to examine the mutation of settler colonialism’s structural logics to white supremacy, and the effects of those logics in Idahoan communities, land, and memory. As a writing instructor, Mitzi uses local settler archives and non-Western rhetorical tradition to uproot students’ understandings of writing and identity in the hopes that her students of color can grow and learn on their terms. In the future, Mitzi hopes to expand her research to include archival collections in Mexico, and to join the professoriate.

Olga Correa
Educational Policy, Research, and Administration
University of Massachusetts, Amherst 

Olga M. Correa (she/her/ella) is a first-generation student, education scholar, and daughter of Colombian and Venezuelan immigrant parents. She has dedicated her career to improving college access, retention, and success for first-generation and students of color in secondary and post-secondary education.

Olga is also a Ph.D. Candidate in Educational Leadership at the University of Massachusetts Amherst where her community-engaged research focuses on contemporary school segregation in K-12 public schools. She is committed to working alongside families and youth to challenge and dismantle educational policies and practices that uphold racial discrimination.

Olga holds a bachelor’s degree in Sociology from William Paterson University (‘12) and a Master’s degree in Higher Education Administration from UMass Amherst (‘14).

Isaac Felix
Berkeley School of Education
University of California, Berkeley 

Isaac Félix (he/him/his) is a fourth-year doctoral student at UC Berkeley’s School of Education. Originally from Tijuana, Baja California, México, he grew up crossing the border daily to attend public schools in San Diego. Isaac attended UCLA and earned a bachelor’s degree in Human Biology and Society and Chicana/o Studies. Prior to pursuing his doctoral studies, Isaac worked as a middle school after-school program educator; interned for the California Department of Education; and served as the Faculty Diversity Center Coordinator at UC Davis’ Vice Chancellor’s Office for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion.

Currently, Isaac’s research interests are concerned with the educational experiences and possibilities of transfronterizx youth: (most often) U.S. citizens living in Mexican border cities who cross the Mexico-U.S. border daily to attend U.S. schools. Particularly, how transfronterizx high school students negotiate and make sense of highly dynamic and contested spatial ecologies across the Tijuana-San Diego border region. Most recently, Isaac’s work was recognized by the National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine, where he was awarded the Ford Foundation’s Pre-Doctoral Fellowship in 2022. Outside research, Isaac is passionate about educational justice and intergenerational mentorship for the next generation of students from non-dominant communities.

Veronica Gonzalez
Social Ecology
University of California - Irvine 

Veronica Valencia Gonzalez (they/she) is a social ecology doctoral candidate at the University of California, Irvine. Veronica is the eldest of six children born to Liduvina and Salvador Gonzalez, who immigrated from Mexico and worked as agricultural laborers in the Central Coast of California. Veronica's background and a non-traditional path to higher education are part of why they are passionate advocates for inclusive pedagogy and policies in higher education. Veronica attended the University of California, Irvine (UCI) for undergraduate studies, graduating in 2017 with Criminology, Law & Society, and Psychology & Social Behavior degrees. Their interdisciplinary, qualitative, and community-engaged approach seeks to include the voices and opinions of community members. Currently, Veronica's dissertation investigates the implications of colonial legacies and globalization on gender-based violence in rural communities of Michoacán.

Jose Gutierrez
Sociology
University of California, Irvine 

Jose Gutierrez is a first-generation college graduate from Montebello, CA. He is currently a 4th Ph.D. student in the Department of Sociology at the University of California, Irvine. He received his B.A. in Sociology at the University of California, Santa Barbara, where he was a McNair Scholar. Before transferring to UCSB, he attended East Los Angeles College and earned his IGETC transfer certification. As an undergraduate at UCSB, he worked in several student support positions, including as a peer mentor for the Undergraduate Research and Creative Activities Office, a residential assistant for the Educational Opportunity Program’s summer transfer transition program, and a student mentor at the St. George Youth Center. His current research uses qualitative methods and an intersectional lens to explore how working-class and middle-class Latina/o community college students’ pathways to and through community college are shaped by the raced, classed, and gendered inequalities that define their broader transition to adulthood.

Armando Lizarraga
Educational Leadership and Policy
The University of Texas at Austin 

A native of Inglewood, California, Armando Lizarraga is a third-year higher education leadership and policy doctoral student at The University of Texas at Austin (UT). He is a graduate research assistant for Project MALES (Mentoring to Achieve Latino Educational Success), a policy fellow in higher education in prisons for Texas Appleseed, and the director of pedagogy and practice with Texas Prison Education Initiative.

Armando’s research focuses on understanding reentry effects of participating in prison education programs for minoritized students, also analyzing how students make sense of learning in a carceral setting. Through this work, he aims to improve and maintain the quality and equity of higher education for incarcerated students.

Armando earned an Associate of Arts in general studies from El Camino College, a Bachelor of Arts in Chicana/o studies and sociology from the University of California, Los Angeles, and a Master of Arts in higher and postsecondary education from Teachers College, Columbia University. 

Gabriel Pulido
Higher Education, African American and Diaspora Studies, Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies
Pennsylvania State University 

Gabriel Pulido was born and raised in Sacramento, California, and first became involved with creative writing in the youth poetry slam scene. While at UC Santa Cruz Gabriel utilized classroom lessons to fuel his creative writing endeavors. Currently, he is a fifth-year doctoral candidate in Higher Education (with a double minor in African American and Diaspora Studies & Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies) at the Pennsylvania State University. Gabriel considers himself to be a transdisciplinary scholar whose work often travels across multiple fields. Ultimately, Gabriel seeks to perform the work while honoring the rich histories and legacies that scholar activist have fought for. Presently, Gabriel has three lines of research commitments: 1. Artistic Performance and Retention in Higher Education 2. Mentorship, Relationality, and Belonging and 3. Arts based methodologies and activism in social science research. Gabriel’s academic and creative writing often intersect and find a home at the center of healing. Gabriel considers himself a conjurer of joy, love, and resilience, as he uses both creative and academic writing to work toward collective liberation. When not writing, Gabriel can be found near a body of water dreaming of becoming just as free.

Stephanie Ramos
Science Education
Oregon State University 

Stephanie Ramos, a native Texan and a first-generation college graduate, is driven by her dedication to promoting the success of underrepresented and marginalized students pursuing science degrees in higher education. Stephanie initially attended community college at South Plains College and received her BS in Chemistry from Texas Tech University. She holds an MSc in Inorganic Chemistry from OSU and is currently pursuing a PhD in Science Education at OSU. Her research focus is centered on enhancing institutional support and best practices for historically excluded community college students in STEM engaging in undergraduate research.

As the Associate Director of Undergraduate Research at Oregon State University (OSU), Stephanie plays an active role in supporting students at every level, adeptly guiding them through their initial experiences into undergraduate research. Having been mentored herself during her undergraduate journey, Stephanie now finds joy in mentoring and guiding students as they embark on their own educational paths. Stephanie's commitment to academic excellence extends beyond her studies, as she is an Associate Member of the Younger Chemists Committee for the American Chemical Society and a lifelong member of the Society for the Advancement of Chicanos/Hispanics and Native Americans in Science (SACNAS).

Avelina Rivero
Human Development and Family Science
University of Missouri 

Avelina Rivero is a first-generation Latina doctoral candidate in the Human Development and Family Science program at the University of Missouri. She is the daughter of a Mexican immigrant mother and a first-generation Mexican father. She is the oldest of five and is originally from Arizona. Her research focuses on Latinx families (parent-child and sibling relationships), culture, and health outcomes in Latina young women. Specifically, she examines how culture influences parent-adolescent and sibling relationships. She also explores how culture and family members (mothers, fathers, sisters) influence young women's body image and mental health outcomes. Through her research, she has gained a deeper understanding of her own lived experiences. She is committed to conducting innovative research that promotes optimal youth development and serving her Latinx community. With her research, she hopes to develop programming that will promote positive body image, mental health outcomes, and healthy family relationships. At MU, she leads a weekly writing group for womxn of color and serves on the IDE committee to improve inclusivity for students of color at her predominately white institution. Outside of her research, Avelina enjoys hiking, listening to vinyl, and spending time with her dogs and sisters, Maudi, Gali, and Bridi.

Stacey Speller
Educational Leadership & Policy Studies/Higher Education Leadership & Policy Studies
Howard University 

Stacey Speller, (she/her/ella) an “HBCU Nuyorican” scholar-practitioner, is committed to combatting anti-Black narratives impacting legislation for HBCUs and Black HSIs. Raised in The Bronx, she holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees from The Great Bethune-Cookman University. Her research is shaped by her Black and Brown solidarity upbringing and culturally affirming HBCU education.

An Education Fellow for Congresswoman Frederica S. Wilson’s office and research graduate assistant in Howard University’s Educational & Leadership Policy Studies program, Stacey is in her third year and embarking on her dissertation. Her research examines federal funding for dually designated HBCU HSIs, which is one of the first studies from an organizational perspective with the potential to influence national policy discussions about MSI funding to HBCUs and Black HSIs.

Stacey is a staunch social justice and inclusion advocate. She is in the early stages of beginning her nonprofit, HBCUorgullo, which would operationalize enrollment, retention, graduation, and alumni conexción between the Latiné community and HBCUs.

Stacey is a wife to her college sweetheart – Ben, and a mother of three – Brice, Selina, and Blake.

Jasmin Tobar
Suzanne Dworak-Peck School of Social Work
University of Southern California 

Jasmin Tobar was born in Los Angeles to a Salvadoran father and a Salvadoran and Honduran mother. She has a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology with an emphasis in Global Studies and Human Rights from Mount St. Mary's University in Los Angeles. She received her Master of Science in Social Work from Columbia University, School of Social Work.  She grounds her social work practices on anti-oppression, abolition practice, and trauma-informed principles. During her time in New York City, she worked at the Roberto Clemente Family Guidance Center, where she worked as a psychotherapist intern with recently arrived immigrant families and youth. Jasmin’s research focuses on historical memory, oral history traditions, healing, and migration studies in the Central American community, which has a history of war, genocide, and forced displacement. Jasmin has over ten years of experience in nonprofit management, program evaluation, community organizing, and educational programs. She is also an adjunct Central American and Transborder Studies professor at California State University, Northridge. Jasmin is a doctoral candidate at the University of Southern California Suzanne Dworak-Peck School of Social Work.