Allison Hermosa Oral History

The person that I interviewed was Allison Hermosa, she is 21 years old and she is from Southeast San Diego, and she is a Latina first-generation student that attends UC San Diego. She shared her experience in preparing to attend UCSD and how she felt that her high school did not prepare her to succeed in higher education. She explains how many programs for underrepresented students actually helped her to get into UCSD such as Changemakers and Price Program. She also talked about how she feels that UCSD does not do enough to support first-generation students and how Thurgood Marshall College and MEChA were the few resources that she had. This interview covers topics such as the intersectionality of different identities within UCSD, the education system in the U.S., and the impact that UCSD has on communities of color. I met this interviewee through MEChA and SPACES because I noticed that she had a rich experience and story to tell before she graduated from UCSD. I tried contacting a parent from BLCI but they did not reply to me, so I felt comfortable reaching out to her. The interview was conducted by Cristian Fuentes Hernandez, a third-year Ethnic Studies major at UCSD who is interested in becoming a Professor and inspiring change through education.