Gonzalez, Jerry (Jerry)

Hey there!

My name is Jerry Gonzalez, I'm a second-year Cognitive Science major and my pronouns are he/him. Despite being born and raised in South Central Los Angeles, my mother and father immigrated from El Salvador and Mexico respectively. I have always felt a strong interest in psychology but I am not against the idea of including cultural studies somewhere in my degree. 

Although I am not exactly sure what I want to do in terms of my career, I have a background in community empowerment and education that will help guide me. I've been involved in programs that aim to educate black and brown communities of the food inequities that exist in our neighborhoods and how to combat these issues. These interests are significant to me because I believe that the youth in the lower income neighborhoods of Los Angeles could flourish if given the right tools and opportunities. 

However, I also believe that I must understand my people as well as their culture in order to be a strong community member. That is why I became interested in taking a course where I can hear the stories of Chicana artists that I may not have known about before taking this course. I never thought that there would be a class at UCLA where I would be able to learn about Chicana art and artists so I am excited to be here! This will be my first Chicanx studies class but I hope that it won't be my last!