By Christian Park-Gastelum, Oct. 1, 2024
Cal Poly Pomona’s Terri Gomez, provost and vice president of Academic Affairs, and Alvaro Huerta, associate professor in urban and regional planning and ethnic and women’s studies, were awarded the Latino Public Service Honor for their public service work Sept. 25.
State Sen. Bob Archuleta (D-Pico Rivera) honored Gomez and Huerta at the University Library, recognizing their commitment for lifelong public service to Latinx communities.
“Today we’re going to talk about just for a second about public service because all of you are coming together to acknowledge the men and women who are in public service, the Hispanic Americans that are doing something,” Archuleta said. “It is essential that we recognize the two that we have today, because without them, we wouldn’t be here.”
Archuleta then presented a plaque each to Gomez and Huerta, commemorating their continuous efforts to uplift the Latinx community.
Gomez received her award first from the senator then gave a speech addressing the work she does is empowered by the motivation for students to succeed at CPP.
“I was very humbled,” Gomez said. “Well, I very much appreciate recognition of the work. I always get a little uncomfortable. I would rather focus on the students who are the source of all our efforts, that are our North Star, the reason we’re here and the reason why we step into these roles, and it’s our obligation to serve them. But I appreciate the recognition from our elected officials very much so.”
The honorees are both first-generation college students and graduates of UCLA, Gomez obtained her doctorate at UCLA, and Huerta received his from UC Berkeley.
Gomez and Huerta spent years paving the way for Latinos to succeed in higher education by either being apart of programs in relation to student success or educating them of history and the importance to speak up for the community, earning them recognition for their support.
“I was surprised and honored because I wasn’t expecting it,” Huerta said. “I’ve been advocating for Latinos and Latinas since 1985, so it’s going to be almost 40 years. When you do this type of work, you don’t expect any type of rewards or recognition. You do it because it’s your vocation. It’s something that you’re inspired to do. So anytime I’m recognized, it is something that I don’t take for granted.”
From East Los Angeles, Huerta takes pride in coming from Boyle Heights and achieving his accomplishments, setting out to better the lives of the Latinx community.
As an undergraduate student at UCLA, Huerta recruited more Mexican students to higher education to increase the underrepresented community.
Huerta participated in the first hunger strike at UCLA in 1987, advocating for undocumented students to receive financial aid after then Chancellor Charles Young rescinded their funds.
“I come from the bottom of society, Los de abajo,” Huerta said.“It starts with my parents, being immigrants. My fathers’ a farm worker, factory worker, and mom cleaned houses for 50 years. Growing up in housing projects, being on welfare, being in environments where there was gangs and drugs and police abuse. So, I’ve always been rooting for the underdog because I’ve always felt like I was part of it. Even when I went to UCLA in ‘85, the reason I started advocating for more Raza students to be at UCLA because there wasn’t that many of us back then.”
Huerta co-founded the Association of Latino Gardners of Los Angeles in the ‘90s to stop a then city-wide gas-powered leaf blower ban that would have charged users with a misdemeanor, up to six months in jail and a $1,000 fine.
In an environmental justice campaign, he also led the movement to stop a power plant from being built in the city of South Gate, a predominantly Hispanic neighborhood, which would have released an hundreds of million tons of smog into the atmosphere.
“It’s definitely a win for our community,” said Victor Rodriguez, an urban planning student at CPP. “The fact that the Hispanic community can celebrate a win and see several Hispanic, successful individuals, I think it definitely brings pride, but more so motivation.”
Gomez searched for opportunities that would put her in a position to help students during her 25 years with CPP.
According to Gomez, she chose CPP because of its high population of Hispanic students motivating her to bring change to an institution, helping the Latinx community thrive through higher education.
She began as a lecturer, moving to a full-time professor in the ethnic and women’s studies and then became department chair and interim associate dean in the College of Education and Integrative Studies. Next, she was appointed as the associate vice president for Student Success and now serves as the provost and vice president for Academic Affairs.
Gomez was responsible for launching the Office of Student Success in 2016 and many other CPP programs, including the Bronco Advising Center, Undeclared Advising, Early Start Program, Learning Resource Center, FirstYear Experience, Common Read, PolyTransfer, STEM Success, Academic Innovation, Student Innovation Idea Labs, Kellogg Honors College, Center for Community Service Learning, Office of Undergraduate Research and the TRIO-funded Reading and Mentoring Program.
Gomez earned her baccalaureate in political science, intending to become a lawyer, following in her sister’s footsteps advocating for social justice. However, she later did not feel her passion was becoming a lawyer, ultimately deciding to follow her heart into teaching.
“I decided that it was a career for me to become a professor because I had such a deep commitment to social justice,” Gomez said. “I want to be part of that classroom engagement with students, particularly first-generation community college transfer students, so I picked Cal Poly Pomona because of the students, and I stayed because of the community in my department. So, I never thought I’d become an administrator. I love the work in the classroom, and I love being a part of that transformation with students. I’m walking that journey with them.”
Gomez and Huerta were honored during Hispanic Heritage Month and assured, their work in improving higher education for Latinx communities is far from over.
Feature Image Courtesy of Bryan Doan
*Para leer esta historia en español, haga clic aquí.*