Each year incoming students to Pomona College are encouraged to write a letter introducing themselves to their first-year advisors. After reading the thoughtful letters from my advisees, I decided to return the favor and write a letter of introduction of my own. I have sent this piece to all of my first-year advisees the past few years and now wish to make this available more broadly so that I can reference this as I write new letters that can build on this introduction.

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When I arrived at Pomona College in the fall of 2017, many wonderful folks introduced themselves and greeted me with open arms. Yet it was the welcome that I received from the deans and those associated with my hiring that stuck with me, in addition to their warm welcomes they would each proclaim, “we have been waiting for you.” When Pomona College offered me the position of Assistant Professor back in 2016, I had already secured a post-doctoral fellowship to conduct research on the spatial distribution of infectious diseases in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. I asked them to wait a year for me so that I could take advantage of both opportunities. So yes, they indeed had been waiting for me.

However, hearing those words “we have been waiting for you,” meant so much more to me—a dark-skinned, queer, Afro-Mexicano, whose parents never went to college, and who was the first in his family to attend a four year university and graduate with a masters and a PhD. As a young boy, I could only dream of one day becoming a college professor, even if I didn’t know how to make that a reality. Hearing, “we have been waiting for you,” provoked a visceral response that sent a shiver down my spine as the reality that the long and winding journey of the preparatory phase of my academic training had concluded and indeed, I had arrived.

When I was applying to colleges, I knew that I wanted to make the world a better place. Don’t we all think that at 16? My family didn’t have the money to spend on college applications, let alone to think about paying for a private university. At the time neither I, nor my parents knew that private universities often gave generous scholarships and aid packages. So I focused on the state colleges, where I qualified for a reduced application fee. When I received offers of admission to UC Berkley, Davis and Riverside, I had little choice but to stay at home and live with my parents to save on housing expenses.

While I didn’t have the opportunities or the knowledge that would send me on a direct path to where I am today, I took advantage of the opportunities that did arise. I couldn’t afford to study abroad in college, but I learned about the Peace Corps and how they provided an opportunity to live two years in another country where I could gain the international experience I had wanted, as well as apply the skills I was developing in my environmental science major immediately out of college. I went to every informational session they offered on campus and familiarized myself with the ins and outs of the application process so that upon graduation I would be ready to apply. Six months after graduating from the University of California, Riverside, I headed out for Bolivia.

My grades in undergrad weren’t as good as I had hoped, so I worked to build experiences that would make me a compelling candidate for a graduate school. My Peace Corps experience proved vital in getting a job as a Community Health Coordinator for the US EPA Superfund project. I got to work with community organizations, and local, state and federal agencies and learn the complexities of collaborative health projects that were steeped in an environmental justice ethos.

I applied to UCLA for a masters in urban planning, and was accepted with a fellowship. I worked hard and earned excellent grades. I learned a lot, and built long lasting friendships. I was openly gay, and openly engaged in the goings-on of my department – two things that I was not confident enough to be in my undergrad.

When I completed my masters, I started looking for PhD programs. I visited programs in England, in Boston, and in California. Then the housing market crashed. Funds were tight, but my job(s) managed to be secure. So I had to wait to get into my PhD program.

I worked as a research manager for an air pollution study at UC Irvine. I cultivated relationships with Communities for a Better Environment to be a part time staff researcher, which eventually grew into a position as a three quarters time researcher. I got to teach at Antioch University, as one of the founding faculty in the Masters of Urban Sustainability program. I held all of these positions concurrently. I learned to hustle.

Then it was time to get my application to PhD programs in order. I moved for the heart – the romantic heart and the intellectual heart (it is quite wonderful when the two can meet up). David, my long distance boyfriend at the time had been living in Sacramento, and we were determined to actively work to get us both in the same city. UC Berkeley is where some of the most influential scholars whose work I had read and wanted to work with were located. When I was accepted into the PhD program at UC Berkeley, David requested a transfer to his company’s Oakland office, and the two halves of my heart were together.

While working on my PhD, I had the opportunity to engage with more international work, developing connections with colleagues focused on social determinants of health in Brazil, and merging my interests and expertise in spatial analysis and mapping with social science research. I forged a path that was at times solitary, but filled with opportunities for collaboration.

When I was approaching the end of my time at UC Berkeley, I jumped into the job market. David, my now husband, and I had since moved back to LA. We loved our time in the Bay, but were excited to be back in the Southern California sun, and to reconnect with old friends and family. When Pomona College opened a position that matched my diverse and collectively unique interests and expertise I worked hard to fulfill my dream of being college professor. To continue to work to reshape our world into one that is more just. To share my knowledge and experience with a new generation of scholars, activists, and future leaders in the environmental field and beyond.

As you commence your college experience, I am sure you are filled with hopes, aspirations, frustrations, anxieties and many more emotions. While you may or may not know the destination you are headed, the path you want to take, or where or how to begin, I will be on this journey with you. I will not have all the answers for you, but I will do my best to help you find your path, at your pace, and in your time. Though we have not yet met, know that I am excited to meet you, because I have been waiting for you.