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Critical Race, Gender & Sexuality Studies, B.A. | Class of
Corrina Wells
Director, College of Professional Studies Student Success Initiatives, Promotoras Critical Scholars Grant
Employer: College of Professional Studies and School of Education, Cal Poly Humboldt
Job description: My current appointment as Director allows me to design, implement, and support programming focused on supporting our Cal Poly Humboldt students. Whether through paid assistantships, internships, or scholarships, my position is focused on offering Cal Poly Humboldt students funded opportunities to engage with their majors within the College of Professional Studies and related to teaching. The work of the Promotoras Critical Scholars grant includes designing and implementing learning communities like Creando Raices and Teachers for Social Justice, sponsoring and supporting the Promotorx Transformative Educator Program, and more!
About Corrina
Why did you choose this program?
Finding Critical Race, Gender, and Sexuality Studies was like finally coming home. The classes gave me the language to describe the problems I witnessed in my own communities and the language to connect those problems with communities all around the world. I came into the classrooms wanting to understand the struggles and challenges faced by my family and communities and left with the skills to impact them for the better. The emphasis on intersectional feminist theory and praxis continues to provide the building blocks and tools to imagine endless futures.
How did this program prepare you for your job?
The CRGS classroom practice of supporting student organizing and collaboration helped me become a well-rounded critical player in any collective effort. This program (the classes, the community, the projects, the internships) gave me the fundamental skills to lead, organize, and collaborate with multiple stakeholders successfully. While I am technically the director of a large project, I use the coalition-building skills I learned in CRGS to lead multiple activities that reach across the university. CRGS taught me how to navigate complex relationships and dynamics with compassion and care and when to stand firm on issues of liberation and justice. This program helped me understand how to move through multiple spaces with integrity.
What did you enjoy most about the program?
This program felt like a home away from my own home. I started in the program in 2009 and over a decade later the faculty, students, and projects of the department continue to feel like my family's work. I am proud of my CRGS community every single day.
What would you say to prospective students who are thinking about applying to this program?
This program challenges you intellectually and emotionally. It begs you to do the internal growth work that all organizers need while offering you the skills to imagine a world beyond what you've ever been offered. CRGS is about building the world you want to live in.