Pacific Oaks College alumna Karina Murillo, M.A., worked as an early childhood educator for nearly eight years after graduating with her bachelor’s degree from Pacific Oaks.
It was while working with children in the classroom that she first began to take notice of children’s lack of exposure to issues surrounding equity and diversity.
“As a minority, I realized this was an important topic to talk about—not just for adults, but for children as well,” Murillo says. “I noticed people aren’t really comfortable talking about class, race, and how those things affect our lives.”
Then Pacific Oaks launched its M.A. in Advocacy and Social Justice program. Murillo returned to school to broaden her own knowledge about racial discrimination, community marginalization, and biased curriculum, receiving a full scholarship to the program.
“I had never seen a degree program like this before,” Murillo says. “It was transformational. As a minority Latina who grew up in a one-parent household, I understood the repercussions of what it means to have a racialized experience. Hearing about similar experiences from classmates and reading about them in our textbooks made my lived experience feel valid for once.”
In the summer of 2019, Murillo was part of the program’s first graduating class. She now plans to return to the field of education with more control over the narratives that children are exposed to and to create a space where children can explore issues such as diversity and equity.
“There is a need to educate parents as well and, really, our communities as a whole, about the importance of these issues and their history,” Murillo says. “Understanding the power in our individual stories and making sure that we are always using it to uplift each other for equity and change is essential. But it doesn’t occur unless we all do it together as a form of collective liberation.”
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