Jessica Trejos

Jessica Trejos is a Ph.D. candidate in the Department of Education Studies at UCSD, with a specialization in Critical Gender Studies. She received her Master of Science in Social Work from Columbia University, with a concentration in Advanced Generalist Practice and Programming, a specialization in Family, Youth & Children’s Services, and a minor in International Social Welfare and Services to Immigrants and Refugees. Jessica has over a decade of experience providing advocacy and counseling services to adolescents from historically minoritized backgrounds at a variety of settings, including hospitals, child protective services, community-based organizations, and post-secondary institutions. Before that, Jessica received her Master of Science in Teaching from Pace University, with a concentration in Adolescent Education, a specialization in Foreign Language Arts, and a minor in Spanish. She also has over a decade of experience as an inner-city educator; five of which she spent teaching seventh and eighth grade at the middle school in New York City that she graduated from. Jessica's research interests draw greatly from her personal and professional experiences, and she is currently studying the sociocultural, behavioral, and cognitive development of Afro-Indigenous adolescent girls recently arrived from Central America. Her passion for and commitment to supporting the resilience, agency, and self-efficacy of institutionally under-served youth drives her long-term goal to influence and affect educational policy and practice on a national scale. When she's not busy learning how to save the world, Jessica enjoys expanding her collection of magnets from the different countries she's visited around the globe.

Curriculum Vitae

UCSD Education Studies Summer Dean’s Scholars Grant

UCSD Education Studies Summer Research Fellowship

UCSD Education Studies Doctoral Student AERA Spring Travel Grant

UCSD Competitive Edge Fellowship