As a UC Chancellors Fellow, Alexis Meza is a Ph.D. Student in Education in the Critical Studies of Race, Class, and Gender at the Berkeley School of Education. He received his Bachelor's Degree from UC Riverside in Psychology and Education and a Master's from New York University (NYU) in Higher Education and Student Affairs. Under the tutelage of Dra. Gina Ann Garcia, he serves as the Graduate Student Researcher for the Higher Education Action Research for Transformation Lab. He also serves as the CASA Magdalena Mora Graduate Student Fellow for the Latinx Student Resource Center (LSRC), guiding Latinx-identifying freshmen at Cal through campus resources and university life.
As a first-generation, son of Mexican immigrant parents, Alexis is a thinking-artist-in-practice who blurs the lines between artistry and HSI scholarship. His research centers on the experiences/ journeys of Chicanx/Latinx students at Hispanic Serving Research Institutions (HSRI) and how cultural centers facilitate student empowerment and transformation at HSRIs. Specifically, analyzing how these 'third spaces' manifest, expand, and impact the broader university’s HSRI organizational identity. His research interest and experience stem from his undergraduate services as a co-researcher in a participatory action research project called ESPARiTU. Through this initiative, he was able to analyze and reclaim the origins of servingness for Chicanx/Latinx students at UC Riverside during the 1960s-70s, the climax of the Chicano Movement. He was able to document, transcribe, and caretake these narratives of resistance to contextualize the initial growth of Latinx enrollment and student success in the 1960s-70s at UC Riverside.
Alexis has served students and the community as a staff member in the office of Chicano Student Programs and as a Graduate Student Coordinator for the NYU Office of Diversity, Equity, and Belonging. These experiences inspired his interest in cultural identity centers, campus climate, HSIs, and Latinx student success. His most recent co-authored publication in the Journal of Hispanic Higher Education centers on the voices of graduating undergraduate Chicana/o/x/Latina/o/x students as they reflect on their experiences at an HSI, sharing physical, academic, and social “entradas” that opened the ""camino"" to their academic success. He has presented at various national conferences such as the Hispanic Association for Colleges and Universities (HACU), the National Association for Student Affairs Professionals (NASPA), the College of Arts Association (CAA), and the Alliance of Hispanic Serving Institution Educators (AHSIE).
As the proud product of the first Hispanic Serving Institution in the UC System, he has cemented his commitment to Chicanx/Latinx student transformation, success, and access to higher education. As UC Berkeley emerges as a Hispanic Serving Institution, he hopes to co-conspire alongside the Latinx Student Resource Center to build capacity and fortify the Chicanx/Latinx educational pipeline at UC Berkeley. As a future faculty and administrator, Alexis is committed to researching, challenging, and transforming Hispanic Serving Institutions for equity, justice, and community liberation.
Specializations and Interests
Hispanic Serving Institutions; Cultural Identity Centers; Latinx Student Success; Organizational Change; Third Spaces
