2021 AAHHE Graduate Student Award Recipient 

Angel Gonzalez, MA, PhD (2022)
San Diego State University

As a first-generation queer, joto, Latinx scholar, Ángel’s passion lies in making a difference in their comunidad through education. As a son of immigrant parents, Guadalupe y Miguel Ángel, a brother to three sisters, and a tio to seven nieces and nephews, their familia are the foundation and pillars of their successes. As an aspiring faculty member, Ángel recognizes the support, validation, and cariño that numerous femtors and mentors have provided them.

Currently, Ángel is a third-year doctoral candidate in San Diego State University’s Ed.D. program for Community College Leadership. They also serve as a Graduate Research Associate for the American Council on Education (ACE). Using a ground theory approach, their dissertation seeks to develop a Latinx leadership model from the experiences of Latinx community college administrators (mid-to-senior level) via testimonios (personal story telling) and queer chisme (gossip) sessions.

Their research agenda explores (1) experiences and outcomes for minoritized community college students, with an emphasis on LGBTQ+ and Latinx students; (2) Latinx student identity development at the intersections of queerness and latinidad; and (3) racial equity policy implementation. Ángel’s inquiry includes both qualitative and quantitative methods, such as queer phenomenology, testimonio, queer chisme, critical policy analysis, observational strategies, descriptive analysis, OLS regressions, and content analysis.

Ángel is the Managing Editor for two academic journals, the Journal of Applied Research in the Community College (JARCC) and a special issue for the Education Policy Analysis Archives (EPAA). They also sit on the Journal of Student Affairs Research and Practice (JSARP) as a graduate board member and as a reviewer for the Community College Journal of Research and Practice (CCJRP). Recent scholarly accolades include their selection to the University of Texas at Austin, Project MALES Graduate Scholars Program and the TELACU Graduate Fellowship. Most recently, Ángel was awarded the NASPA Latinx/a/o Knowledge Community Outstanding Doctoral Student award and the NASPA Region VI Graduate Rising Star award. Ángel is actively involved in various professional associations, such as the American Association of Hispanics in Higher Education (AAHHE), American Educational Research Association (AERA), American College Personnel Association (ACPA), Association for the Study of Higher Education (ASHE), Council for the Study of Community Colleges (CSCC), National Association of Student Personnel Administrators (NASPA), among others.

Ángel earned a M.A in Postsecondary Educational Leadership with a Specialization in Student Affairs from San Diego State University (SDSU) and a B.A. from Whittier College where they doubled majored in Environmental Science and Spanish. Born and raised in South LA, South Gate, and Bell Gardens, California. Ángel is committed to fostering environments that advocate for diversity, equity, inclusion, and social justice so that all individuals may reach their highest potential. Their passion to support the Latinx/a/o community is innate to their own lived experience, moving them forward to pave the way para los que siguen.

January 2021