Meet Our Scholars

Born and raised by his grandparents in El Salvador, Kevin moved to the United States to live with his parents in 2005. Despite constant bullying and an unstable living situation, Kevin has been able to combat the challenges that come with growing up queer and undocumented.   As a first-generation college student, Kevin has dedicated himself fully to his activism and studies on campus. At Santa Monica College, Kevin helped found the Gender and Sexuality Alliance and helped launch the school’s first-ever Pride Week, creating multiple inclusive spaces where students could feel free to be themselves regardless of sexuality or gender identity. Through his work in student government, Kevin has advocated for the creation of an LGBTQ+ exclusive scholarship and a Social Justice and Gender Equity Center. In addition to pursuing his mathematics degree, Kevin has explored his professional interests, working at UCLA conducting biochemical research on protein nanocrystals in the Summer Scholars Research Program. This experience helped Kevin understand what it’s like to be undocuqueer in the sciences and demonstrated the clear lack of representation evident in STEM fields as Kevin was the only openly gay and undocumented research intern in his cohort. Kevin plans on pursuing further education after obtaining his bachelor’s degree at the University of California, Berkeley, and hopes to continue working in research and related STEM fields. As he pursues his education, Kevin hopes to mentor and work with other marginalized students in community colleges.