Mario and his wife Maria Galicia
Mario Galicia of UC Santa Barbara’s Gevirtz School has been chosen to be the student speaker at the UC Santa Barbara’s 2015 Graduate Division Commencement. Galicia will be receiving his Ph.D. from the Department of Education in the focus area of Cultural Perspectives and Comparative Education. The commencement will take place Sunday, June 14 at 4 pm on the Faculty Club Green and will be live-streamed for those unable to attend.
“I never would have imagined being in such an honored position,” Galicia states. “Growing up in a working-class household nothing was ever guaranteed. I learned from an early age the value of hard work, dedication, and commitment. I guess when I applied to be commencement speaker I just wanted the opportunity to be able to send all of us off onto the next stage of our lives, whether it be our careers or more education.”
Mario Galicia, who will be receiving his Ph.D. from the Department of Education, has been a teacher’s assistant in the Sociology, Black Studies, and Chicana/o Studies departments. Galicia received both a dual B.A. in Chicana/o Studies and Sociology in 2008 and his M.A. in Education in 2013 from UC Santa Barbara. His research focuses on youth perspectives in the gang and violence intervention program. His research not only highlights issues associated with the school-to–prison pipeline, but also offers alternative methods for school discipline and classroom pedagogy for marginalized youth. Galicia has presented his research at various academic conferences over the past 3 years and has also published an article in 2013 (“Smoking Guns or Smoke & Mirrors: Schools and the Policing of Latino Boys”) based on his research work. Additionally, he has also worked for various student affairs departments while at UCSB including financial aid, EOP, admissions, and most recently as an outreach and diversity peer at the Graduate Division. Galicia most recently won the 2014-15 Academic Senate Outstanding Teaching Assistant Award.