Alumni Spotlight: Dr. Valerie Gómez
Provost’s Postdoctoral Fellow, USC Pullias Center for Higher Education at the Rossier School of Education
Transfer track to four-year university, 2010
Dr. Valerie Gómez is building more than a career in higher education. She is creating pathways for Latina scholars to access, navigate, and succeed in spaces where they have long been underrepresented.
As a Provost’s Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of Southern California and founder of Latina Grad Guide, her work brings together research, mentorship, and community building to expand opportunities for the next generation.
That dedication comes from her own experience. As a first-generation college student and the daughter of Salvadoran immigrants, Gómez navigated her educational journey largely on her own. Her parents, while supportive, lacked the knowledge and resources to help her pursue higher education.
After graduating from high school, Gómez enrolled at Cerritos College. It was on the Cerritos campus where she found the support and direction she had been searching for.
Taking advantage of the college’s resources, she credits Career Counselor Tracy Ukita with helping her explore her interests and map out a path forward. She decided to enroll in anthropology courses and fell in love with the subject.
Gómez also joined the Forensics (Speech & Debate) Team, a decision that would prove pivotal. She traveled across California and the country to compete, honing her research, critical thinking, and public speaking skills. The experience introduced her to diverse perspectives and gave her the confidence to speak up about ideas and issues that mattered to her.
“My time at Cerritos College was truly lifechanging,” she recalls. “It’s where I found my voice and began to envision my future.”
In 2010, Gómez completed the transfer pathway from Cerritos College to a four-year university in anthropology. She then continued on at UCLA, where she earned her bachelor’s degree in anthropology. There, she deepened her interest in educational access and equity through The Civil Rights Project and related coursework.
Following graduation, Gómez. took a gap year to reflect on her goals. That time helped her realize her calling to support students and confront the systemic barriers she had faced in college.
She went on to earn a master’s degree in student development in higher education from California State University, Long Beach.
Gómez began her professional career at UC Irvine working with transfer and undocumented students, many of whom were Latino. She observed the cultural challenges they faced and recognized that many were focused on reaching graduation, often without the opportunity to imagine what might come next.
After working for a few years, Gómez returned to school to pursue a PhD in Education Studies at the University of California, San Diego. Her dissertation, “Quiero Que Mi Hija Sea Mejor Que Yo:” How Salvadoran Immigrant Mothers Shape the Academic Aspirations of their Daughters earned the 2025 Ruth Strang Award from the NASPA Center for Women, recognizing her contributions to understanding the educational experiences of Latina students.
Today, Dr. Valerie Gómez is a Provost’s Postdoctoral Fellow in the USC Pullias Center for Higher Education at the Rossier School of Education. Her research centers on advancing educational access and success for first-generation college students, students of color and those from working-class backgrounds.
She has also amassed a social media following of 70,000 and is the founder of Latina Grad Guide, an online community that supports and uplifts Latinas in higher education.
"I want students to see themselves in higher education, to know that they belong, and to feel supported as they pursue their dreams,” Gómez says.
The organization hosts both in-person and virtual events and, in partnership with the TELACU Education Foundation, has awarded $40,000 in scholarships to date to help ease the financial burden of graduate school.
Looking to the future, Dr. Gómez hopes to become a college professor and mentor the next generation of scholars and leaders. She also plans to continue producing research that informs policy and practice and hopes to lead a research center dedicated to advancing educational equity for Latina/o/e students.
Learn more about her work by following Latina Grad Guide on Instagram @latinagradguide.
An earlier version of this story has been updated to reflect accurate information regarding Dr. Gomez’s transfer pathway to a four-year university and her dissertation.