Perez Gutierrez, Richard (Richard)

Hello Class! My name is Richard Perez Gutierrez. My preferred pronouns are he/him/his. I am a second-year transfer student majoring in sociology and maybe possibly minoring in Chicana and Chicano studies. I'm from the San Fernando Valley where I attended Los Angeles Pierce Community College before transferring here. I didn't really know what I wanted to major in. I hopped from computer science to nursing to eventually sticking with sociology. I just found the major to be really interesting and I never was bored or dreaded attending class. I have enjoyed most of my classes here so far. I am attending this class because I am interested in majoring in Chicana and Chicano studies and this class fills in one of the electives. 

I chose this class in particular because I have no knowledge of Chicana art and would like to learn more about it, especially being from Los Angeles I am unaware of most of the Chicana/o art influence it has on the city. This class stood out from the previous Chicano classes I have taken as this one emphasizes art. When I read “Conditions for producing Chicana art” it reminded me of the previous Chicana/o classes I had taken where women in farmers/labor rights movements were also cast aside and their work was undervalued. And when women did put themselves out there they faced tons of backlash, but it led to change in the social attitudes of Chicana women. 

Aside from that, I am a first-generation college student and I am excited to hopefully graduate this year and be the first in my family to have a college degree. I hope to later pursue a career in social work so obtaining a master's degree in social work seems to be the next step. I would like to remain living and working within my community and help contribute to making my community better. Other interests I have are mainly watching cartoons and playing video games.