This week Marcella Rodriguez interviews Dr. Cirenio Rodriguez. Dr. Rodriguez immigrated to Los Angeles from Michoacán at the age of 14 and the oldest of 9 children, the only brother of 8 sisters. It was a regular part of his family's life to spend several months each year working in the fields in Lodi, California as migrant farm workers. His father wanted him to be a college professor and after graduating high school, he attended Los Angeles Community College where he earned his associate's degree. In the Summer of 1968, before he completed his education at LACC, he participated as an adult facilitator of the East LA student walkouts. These protests were a movement against the unfair conditions Chicano students were facing in their school district. It was here that he was encouraged to apply to the University of California Santa Barbara. He attended UCSB and earned his Bachelor Degree as well as going on to earn his Master Degree and PhD. While in Santa Barbara he began teaching the migrant community English courses and was encouraged to continue being an educator. He was also the Executive Director of La Casa de la Raza, a Chicano Organization in the area. After completing his PhD he was encouraged to apply to jobs outside the area and ended up at Sacramento State University. It was here that he spent the majority of his career, spanning over 30 years. He also served as an elected school board member for 28 years.  In this episode he shares the importance of understanding systems of higher education and strategically navigating these systems as a way to impact change and incorporate social justice. As a self-proclaimed son of the Chicano Movement, he shares what his journey has been like as a person of color and the constant fight for the Latinx community's equal representation. Thank you for listening!

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This week Marcella Rodriguez interviews Fabio Peña of Peña & Co. Fabio talks about growing up in Washington as the middle child of 3 boys, immigrating from Guadalajara, Mexico at a young age. He shares his ambitions to major in Business and attend the University of Washington. Although he did end up attending the University of Washington, he was rejected from the business program. He was forced to find an alternate major that still tied him back to his chosen career. He shares the highs and lows of his early career trajectory and how he is now finding his place in an industry that has not always represented the Latinx community. He shares his passion for dance and his wife's support through his journey. They finish by talking about how his consultation business is looking to highlight unfiltered and transparent stories of first-generation students. Thank you for listening!

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This week Marcella Rodriguez interviews Ketty Fernandez, a doctoral candidate at University of Central Florida where she is finishing up her PhD in Sociology. Ketty grew up in New Jersey, the daughter of Chilean immigrants who always expected her to attend college. As a consistent and strong student, Ketty took to academia and navigated through efficiently until it came time for her doctoral program. She shares how her experience took her to the brink of her mental, emotional and physical health and what she has done to reclaim her space in higher education. They talk about navigating the ivory tower and the lose-lose situation that those who decide to speak up and stand up for themselves can face. We also discuss how in her final semester, she contracted COVID-19 and how she has had to make adjustments. Thank you for listening!  

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This week Marcella Rodriguez interviews Michelle Guzman. Michelle is a former elite collegiate athlete in Cross-Country/Track and Field where she competed at Texas Tech University, a Division I school. She talks about how athletics took up such a large part of her time she had to be very deliberate and ensure she was also preparing herself for her career. She decided she wanted to be an educator and began teaching in Texas soon after graduating with her Bachelor's degree. While visiting an American friend who was working for a major retail company in England, she became inspired to teach abroad and currently resides in Manchester, England. Michelle has also started her own organization, Believe Mentoring and Tutoring. Her goal is to provide additional support to underrepresented students and ensure that all students, especially students of color, are provided equitable teachings as well as guidance to ensure their success. She recently found herself back stateside, in Dallas, Texas for the time being and has become very involved in the relief efforts for those severely affected by the snowstorm in mid-February. Click here to find out how you can contribute to the efforts on the ground. 

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This week Marcella Rodriguez interviews Andrea Martin, an engineering leader in the oil industry as well as the founder of Andrea Martin Consulting, a career coaching business aimed at ensuring all career moves are strategic and in line with your values and purpose. They discuss Andrea's move to the United States from Peru as a young teen and how her ambitious and powerhouse personality kept her focused on her goals from a very young age, while she learned to navigate her new world. Andrea talks about being a Latina in a male-dominated field and how she eventually came to find her harmony between her career-minded focus and her goal to have a personal life filled with her family. She shares her move to build her own business and how that has made her a better leader for her corporate team. This episode is filled with great advice for those who want to continue to grow in their career and will let nothing stop them on their way. You can connect with Andrea via her Instagram (@mrs.andrea.martin) or head over to her website to get access to many of her resources.

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This week Marcella Rodriguez interviews Sara Toussaint. Sara earned her bachelor's degree from the University of Chicago and her MBA from NYU. Sara talks about her bi-cultural identity, a product of a Puerto Rican mother and Palestinian Father, born on la isla and moving to Chicago at a young age. She shares the twists and turns of her career and how leveraging her ability to self-market herself and tapping into her alumni and professional network allowed her to always land on her feet, ensure that she can remain passionate about her work and engage with others in meaningful ways. They extensively discuss the value in engaging with your own alumni community and how this isn't always a comfortable place for BIPOC. She reminds listeners that they are deserving and entitled to occupy that space and the importance of being involved.

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This week Marcella Rodriguez interviews Christina Rodriguez, doctoral student and founder of Latinas with Masters (@latinaswithmasters). Christina talks about growing up in the Bay Area and how wanting to work in the non-profit sector encouraged her current work in the for-profit space as a way to remain engaged with the Latinx community. We talk about her current doctoral journey, attending Mills College to earn her Doctorate of Education. She explains her interests in bringing housing justice to the Latinx community, particularly those pursuing higher education. 

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This week Marcella Rodriguez interviews Doctora Pamela E. Harris, a Mathematician and Tenured Associate Professor at Williams College in Williamstown, Massachusetts. Dra. Harris talks about her family's twice attempt at finding new opportunities in the United States, growing up an undocumented immigrant, and the push to incorporate her own personality and identity into her work as a mathematician, a subject area long considered objective and void of personal influence. She talks about navigating academia as an undocumented student, staying close to home and then needing to move, and the struggle to help her parents understand the work she does. Dra. Harris shares her experience doing a post-doc at the United States Military Academy and how she is making a stronger effort to ensure that she and others feel legitimate in their identity as a mathematician. She does an amazing job giving visibility to difficulties and systemic issues with tenure-track positions. Please also support her recent book, Asked and Answered: Dialogues On Advocating For Students of Color in Mathematics and her podcast, Mathematically Uncensored.

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