Ernesto Orozco Jr.

Ernesto Orozco Jr. is a Ph.D. student in the Department of Education Studies at UC San Diego. He was raised by a single mother who immigrated from El Salvador. She instilled in him a powerful belief in the transformative power of education and never let him say ‘No puedo.’ He continues to work towards this belief by finding the many intersections between education and social justice. He graduated with a B.A. in Latin American and Latino Studies and Politics from UC Santa Cruz. He received his Masters in Education and a secondary school credential in World Languages: Spanish from UC San Diego. He has worked in K-12 education since 2104, starting his career as a substitute teacher. Most recently, he worked as a Spanish teacher at a local project based learning charter school in San Diego and his students remember that each class began with the phrase ‘Si Se Puede’ because he wanted his students to affirm their power in overcoming the challenges they face. He wants to focus his research on examining the teacher pipeline and how more teachers of color can be recruited, supported, and retained in K-12 schools. In his free time, Ernesto enjoys playing Son Jarocho music, playing soccer and hanging out with his family.

Curriculum Vitae

Education:

● Bachelor of Arts in Latin American and Latino Studies and Politics. UC Santa Cruz (2006)

● Masters in Education. UC San Diego (2018)

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