2020 Recipient

​Dissertation Title: Complicating “Hispanic” and “Servingness”: A Phenomenological Study on the Experiences of LGBTQ+ Latinx Students at California Community College Hispanic-Serving Institutions

Her research agenda focuses on advancing and supporting LGBTQ+ Latinx students on campus. Her dissertation topic centers the experiences of LGBTQ+ Latinx students attending Community College HSIs in California. 

Yolanda Cataño

Yolanda Cataño is a third-year doctoral candidate in San Diego State University’s Ed.D. in Community College Leadership Program. She serves as Cohort Infinity’s (12) leader. Yolanda earned her M.A. in Sociological Practice and B.A. in Women’s Studies at California State University, San Marcos. Currently, Yolanda serves as the Interim Associate Dean of Institutional Effectiveness, Equity, and Student Success at Imperial Valley College (IVC), a designated Hispanic-Serving Institution (HSI). IVC is located in the border region between Calexico, CA and Mexicali, Baja California, Mexico., both of her hometowns.

Her passion for HSIs is infused in the work that she does in and outside of academic spaces. Her community advocacy and engagement as a board member for the Imperial Valley LGBT Resource Center has been instrumental in bridging her commitment to scholarship and her comunidad. Yolanda also serves as a board member for the ACPA Latinx Network (LN) as the Educational Programs Co-chair by providing outreach, advocacy, research, and professional development for the advancement of Latinx student success. Lastly, she is a proud member of SDSU’s Community College Leadership Alumni Group. Yolanda’s involvement and commitment to equity, social justice, and diversity are heavily influenced by relationships she’s helped create and nurture throughout the years.

As a proud first-generation, queer, Latinx scholar and practitioner, Yolanda intends on using this scholarship as an incentive to give back to the students who will be participating in her study, but also as a way of “paying it forward.” 

2019 Recipient

Dr. Melissa Abeyta

melissaabeyta.com
Melissa E. Abeyta, Ed.D. is a higher education researcher. Using an anti-deficit lens, her research explores the experiences of formerly incarcerated students in higher education and aims at identifying how administrators, faculty, and practitioners can academically and socially prepare these students in postsecondary education. Her research and assessment projects have included institutional needs assessments for disproportionately impacted students in community colleges. Dr. Abeyta was awarded the Ron Jacobs Outstanding Research Award for her dissertation, A Phenomenological Study of Formerly Incarcerated Latino Men in California Community Colleges. Her research has been recognized as a model of transformation and change. Dr. Abeyta is committed to serving traditionally underrepresented students in higher education through research and policy. She also serves as the inaugural chair for the NASPA Formerly Incarcerated Students & System Impacted Families Knowledge Community. 

Dr. Abeyta is a 3x San Diego State University alumna earning an Ed.D. in Educational Leadership, a M.A. in Postsecondary Educational Leadership specializing in Student Affairs, and B.A. in Communication and Chicana/o Studies. She is also a first generation transfer student who earned her A.A. degree from Southwestern College.  
Dissertation Title: A Phenomenological Study of Formerly Incarcerated Latino Men in California Community Colleges

Dissertation Description: This study explored the disparities that formerly incarcerated Latino male students encounter while attempting to achieve positive educational outcomes in community college, and to advocate for policies, programs, services that support students in successfully navigating the higher education pipeline. 

2017 Recipient

Dr. Mireya Gutiérrez-Aguero

Dissertation Title: Perceived Experiences of Latino Male STEM Scholars

Dissertation Description: This study explored the experiences and perceptions of Latino men who initially attended a community college and graduated from a four-year university with a STEM degree in Southern California. Grounded in critical race and self-determination theories, findings revealed the importance of family, peers, institutional agents, support programs, and intrinsic motivation on student success.