Jasmine McBeath and Diana Chagolla named Department of Education Alumni Fellows; Gabby Gutierrez-Serrano named Philip & Helen Green Travel Fellow

Gevirtz Graduate School of Education doctoral students Jasmine McBeath and Diana Chagolla have received awards from the Alumni Fellowship in the Department of Education, in Excellence for Community Service and Excellence for Teaching/Mentoring, respectively. Generously funded by alumni, the purpose of this award is to support a deserving graduate student in the Department of Education who shows great academic promise and excellence in the areas of community service and teaching.

McBeath is a doctoral candidate with an emphasis in Learning, Culture, and Technology. Jasmine majored in Spanish and Ecology in undergrad at the University of Arizona. After college, she spent a year teaching English to indigenous leaders in Manaus, Brazil on a Fulbright Scholarship. Since then, she has enjoyed working for nonprofit organizations in California and New Mexico as a teacher, community organizer, and case manager. Currently, she leads a makerspace program at a local teen center integrating science, technology, and art into social action projects. She is also the coordinator of the Curie-osity Project where 4-6th grade girls learn about science through researching, interviewing, and writing a book about female scientists at UCSB. Jasmine is interested in afterschool programs that broaden the definition of science, and is passionate about getting more girls to participate in and contribute to STEM fields.

Chagolla is a doctoral student specializing in the area of Culture and Development; her advisor is Dr. Laura Romo. Diana obtained her bachelors degree in Sociology from San Diego State University (SDSU). 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). Diana 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.

Department of Education student Gabby Gutierrez-Serrano has received the Philip & Helen Green Travel Fellowship. Established in the memory of Philip and Helen Green. This fellowship supports academic conference related travel for graduate students, with a preference for a student doing classroom research that supports democratic practices and equity of access for immigrant and second language students from working class backgrounds. An overarching goal of this fellowship is to make visible scholarly work that uncovers effective practices that support students in gaining access to American society.

Gutierrez-Serrano is a third year doctoral student with an emphasis in Culture and Development. Her advisor is Dr. Laura Romo. Gabby received her B.A. from UC Santa Barbara in Chicana/o Studies with a minor in Education. Her current research focuses on how Latina and Latino college students compare in their perception of being first-generation in the context of their academic and social experiences. She is also interested in fostering Latina high school students’ motivation and interest to pursue STEM in college.