Director's Message

I am pleased to share the fall 2020 edition of the Academic Community of Excellence newsletter. Our students and alumni continue planning for and thriving in graduate and professional school and their careers amid the challenges associated with COVID-19, a virtual educational experience, and an election season. This newsletter provides a snapshot of their activities while also featuring the ACE program's first transfer students.

As the year progresses I am mindful of the importance of supporting our scholars, especially in this unprecedented moment. As you read on I trust that you will be encouraged by our four students' and one alum's activities and commitment.

Steven Neal

Director, Academic Community of Excellence

Lizbeth Ramales Arango

ACE Scholar Participates in DIA Jumpstart Summer Research Program

Last summer, junior Lizbeth Ramales Arango participated in the USC Diversity, Inclusion, and Access (DIA) Jumpstart program. DIA aims to increase the pool of diverse Ph.D. applicants by providing academic and financial support and professional development opportunities. Lizbeth was among about 20 rising juniors and seniors of different educational focuses who dedicated 10 weeks of their summer to research in various departments.

Lizbeth researched internships early in 2020. Thanks to ACE, she learned about the DIA Jumpstart program in an email she received. She also contacted a professor who knew about the program, who helped her navigate the extensive application process. She applied to the Sociology Department, which focused on voter disenfranchisement connected to COVID-19. Lizbeth and her four team members focused on comparing the effects of voter ID laws and COVID-19 on immigrant rights organization strategies across political contexts. “The program was amazing, but the skills that I acquired because of it and the confidence I gained to be able to reach out and ask for help and to really seek what I need were because of the advice and all the insight I got from this program.”

When Lizbeth was asked how ACE has helped her pursue her post-graduate endeavors, she stated, “[Steven] Neal encouraging us to start early, defining certain terms and explaining the small details that other students...who are not first-generation may not know, it’s just a starting point. He’s uplifting us and providing the support system and the representation, and showing us that we can do it, will do it and are continuing to do it, which has been the best part.” She is thankful that ACE provides students these opportunities because, without the program, she believes she would not have learned about DIA. So, what does the future hold for Lizbeth? She is looking to pursue a dual graduate degree in law and either sociology or political science.

Malcom Kam

ACE Senior Spotlight

Malcolm Kam is a senior majoring in Asian and Pacific Studies and minoring in business administration. Originally from Honolulu, he came to LMU looking to leave the islands and gain new experiences. What drew him to LMU were the smaller class sizes, the sense of community, diversity, and the LMU College of Business Administration.

While working in the Asian and Asian American Studies Department, Malcolm’s supervisor informed him about ACE. He recalled, “I thought hey, you know, I want to maybe go into business school after I graduate. It seems like a good program to do it. I’m working in a field that involves a lot of interactions between ethnic minorities.” For Malcolm, ACE could not have come at a better time. He recalled that as an ACE student, he has learned about various professional and graduate school programs.

Near sophomore year, Malcolm became more interested in law. He credits Steven Neal, ACE director, for teaching the students how to network and look for internships. Subsequently, Malcolm obtained an internship at a private law firm in Hawaii. Also, he earned the ACE Outstanding Academic Achievement Award in sophomore and junior years. Today, Malcolm plans to pursue a career in law and he acknowledges the ACE program for helping him prepare for the LSAT. Currently, Malcolm is applying to law schools and plans to have his applications completed around December. He expects to return home to attend the University of Hawaii at Mānoa William S. Richardson School of Law. Go Malcolm!

Jasia-Jemay Henderson

Angel Rading

ACE Welcomes Its First Transfer Students

Jasia-Jemay Henderson and Angel Rading are the ACE program’s first transfer students. Jasia-Jemay, a junior majoring in psychology and soon to minor in African American Studies, transferred from California State University, Northridge. Angel Rading, also a junior is an African American Studies major who transferred from Santa Monica College.

Jasia-Jemay discovered ACE through her interest in LMU’s living-learning communities. After researching the program, she emailed director Steven Neal in hopes of becoming a peer scholar and then joining the transfer cohort. Regarding her interest in ACE, she stated, “Being in a space around people of color who share those same goals as you and...want to go to graduate school, it helps with mind motivation and my confidence.” Along with her admission to ACE, she is a peer scholar, which entails assisting with recruitment, classroom instruction, and event planning. After she graduates from LMU, Jasia-Jemay wants to pursue education and teach on the psychology of black women.

Angel was fortunate to have a mentor who was an alum of LMU and ACE. She stated, “I really appreciate that it’s a little community. It’s a little escape as well, helping me refocus, so I don’t forget the long-term goals. You can get so caught up in course work that sometimes you think you can focus on law school and grad school until your last year or the last semester. It’s nice to have the [ACE] class because it’s a constant reminder that you have to keep going.” Angel wants to attend USC for either family or corporate law.

Luz Jiménez Ruvalcaba

ACE Alum Reflects on Time Spent at LMU and Plans for the Future

ACE alum Luz Jiménez Ruvalcaba is a first-generation college alum who graduated from LMU in 2010. Luz is a Ph.D. candidate in the modern thought and literature program at Stanford University. We caught up with Luz, now in her eighth year, and is expected to finish by June of 2021.

Describe your experiences as a first-generation college and graduate student.

My first year [at LMU] was particularly challenging. I grew up in Inglewood, and so moving to LMU, even though it's only a 15-minute drive, was just so shocking to me. At first, I felt dumb, and then my grades came back after the first semester, and I had a 4.0, and I had a 4.0 for the rest of the semesters. Back then, I didn't even have the language to say that what I was feeling was imposter syndrome. And the thing that helped me was Ethnic and Intercultural Services, which was home base for me for the four years...MEChA. And then, of course, I found good mentors, professors on campus that made me feel like my ideas were good and helped me develop those ideas. But the first year was very difficult.

What are you currently studying? How did you choose this topic, and why did you choose Stanford?

I'm working on the intersections of literary criticism, race and ethnic studies, and feminist studies, and my dissertation focuses on the persistent representation of sexual and domestic violence in contemporary Latino literature. So, I am thinking through the reasons why this motif is not more centralized in our discussions of Latino literature. Stanford has the professors with whom I most wanted to work. It was beautiful, and the financial package they were giving me was excellent as well. I [also] wanted to be back in California. So those things made it for me.

What were the most meaningful or impactful aspects of your experiences in ACE?

The thing that really stands out for me is the relationships that I was able to build with folks who were a year or two older than I was. Because again, as a person who was looking for models of what I could do, after LMU, that was the thing for me. So, I really, really appreciated the peer-to-peer mentorship opportunities.

What advice do you have for ACE students?

It’s important for us to remember that our experiences are valid. The things that we gain because of what we’ve seen, what we’ve lived, and what we’ve survived are unlike the perspectives that most people have in our prospective field. Appreciate where we come from and [do] not look down on it, which we tend to do as first-gen folks.

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