Diana Chagolla of UC Santa Barbara’s Gevirtz School has been chosen as the 2019-20 John Dewey Fellowship recipient. Generously supported by donors including the Cushman Family Foundation, this fellowship recognizes a graduate student for the accomplishment of being the first in their family to attend college and for their commitment to higher education despite personal obstacles.
Diana Chagolla is a doctoral student in the Department of Education, specializing in the area of Culture and Development; her advisor is Dr. Laura Romo. Chagolla obtained her bachelor’s degree in Sociology from San Diego State University. While in San Diego, she worked with community-led organizations to address educational and human rights concerns in her community. At UCSB, she has served as a graduate mentor for first generation undergraduate students participating in the New Heights Mentoring Program offered through the Chicano Studies Institute (CSI). Chagolla continues to mentor undergraduate students via her role as a graduate student research assistant at the CSI Center for Research in Latino Health and Adolescent Development. Her research interests are health education and health psychology as it pertains to Latinx/a/o adolescents, families, and communities. Her current research focuses on how Latina mothers communicate with adolescent daughters about healthy lifestyles, while providing messages that encourage healthier eating and exercising habits, and messages cautioning daughters about chronic health diseases.