On June 8th, 2021, UCSB's official news site The Current highlights the 2021 awardees of the Racial Justice Fellowship. Among the awardees was one of our own Ph.D. candidates, Ricardo Delgado Solis, who is one of the 2021 Chicana and Chicano Studies Graduate cohort. The Racial Justice Fellowship was established in Fall 2020 with the stated goal of enhancing recruitment efforts of graduate students committed to teaching, research, and mentorship around racial justice. Ricardo Delgado Solis is one of the four who are the first fellows of this award. 

Ricardo was interviewed in the article and this is one of his quotes: 

“Because of my experiences as an undocuqueer Latinx college student, I realize what an amazing opportunity is presented to me,” said Delgaldo Solis, a first-generation student who hopes to pursue a career in academia after graduate school. “Getting the Racial Justice Fellowship validates my conviction that it is possible to pursue higher education despite the various challenges I’ve lived in life. This fellowship allows me to see many people in academia rooting for students who belong to marginalized groups. Obtaining the Racial Justice Fellowship is proof that even when I do not believe in myself, there is an academic panel cheering for my academic success!”

The other awardees are: Gaby Hinojosa (Clinical, Counseling & School Psychology), Brianna Reddick (Feminist Studies) and Maria Guadalupe Romo-González (Education).

To read more about the Racial Justice Fellowship and for more quotes from Ricardo, please check out the article on The Current!