Sam del Castillo, a graduate student in the Gevirtz School's Department of Counseling, Clinical and School Psychology, has been named the latest Diversity Peer Advisor for UCSB’s Graduate Division. They will be working with staff and students all across campus to make UC Santa Barbara’s graduate student body even more diverse, representative, and supportive.
Sam is a doctoral student in Counseling Psychology working with Dr. Tania Israel. Sam received a BA in Psychology from the University of Houston. Post-graduation, Sam developed a diverse professional experience ranging from working at a nonprofit organization that worked to create computer literacy for adult Latinxs, to working as a Center Coordinator for a cancer research center at a research university in the Houston medical center. Broadly speaking, Sam is interested in LGBTQ and Latinx mental health. Their current research interests center around gender expression and parental acceptance of LGBTQ Latinx youth. Outside of the department, Sam is heavily involved in the community. Sam is the co-founder and President of the Queer & Trans Graduate Student Union at UCSB and works with many organizations to serve the LGBTQ and Latinx communities.