GGSE: What is your main area of research interest and why?
Marcela Alvarez (first year student in the Department of Education): I am interested in translanguaging as a form of culturally sustaining pedagogy. As a child I unfortunately did not have access to bilingual education, which motivated me to become a bilingual educator myself, however within my classroom experiences I often felt like bilingual education further marginalized students within the classroom space so I'm interested in how bilingual education can be transformed through culturally sustaining pedagogies, like translanguaging.
GGSE: What made you choose UCSB for your doctoral work?
Alvarez: I chose UCSB for two reasons: proximity to home and the beach!
GGSE: Where do you hope to see yourself five years after you earn your Ph.D.?
Alvarez: Within five years I ideally see myself as a faculty preparing future educators and engaging with policy makers regarding multilingual/bilingual education.
GGSE: In your spare time, if you have any, what do you like to do?
Alvarez: In my free time I enjoy roller skating and hiking.