Student Spotlights

Jose Lumbreras

Founder of Triton Underground Scholars - UCSD

Jose continues to be involved on anti-carceral projects and documenting how people continue to resist and create better spaces for people that experience incarceration despite the atrocious conditions that the carceral regime creates. Check out his interdisciplinary and collaborative mapping project with his colleague.

Christopher James Tobias

Major Psychology Minor Cinema Arts

Christopher James Tobias, also known as Kasper, is a third-generation Italian American and a first-generation college graduate. After spending over half a decade of his teenage and early adult years in state prison, he made the life-changing decision to walk away from gang and prison gang life. Determined to transform both the harm he caused and the suffering he experienced, he now dedicates himself to making a meaningful impact in every community he has been a part of. From the skateboarding scene to the prison-to-school pipeline, he strives to create positive change through purposeful action.

Career Goal

My goal is to have a private practice alongside a non-profit as a psychotherapist. I want to heal those who suffer from PTSD and Complex PTSD, using various modalities, like Somatic treatment, EMDR and CBT, to name a few. I would like to create a talented and creative, compassionate team of Formerly Incarcerated and System Impacted therapists and counselors to help guide those who have faced similar challenges. I want to heal, not only them, but myself as we grow through these process’.

Being a part of USI

I don’t think I would be here writing this response if it wasn’t for USI. I would have dropped out my first quarter, because it was very daunting and overwhelming when I arrived here at UCSD. I left my hometown to come here. The size of the University loomed over me. The sea of students, (many so much younger than me and from different backgrounds than me) drowned me, like crashing waves during a storm. I felt like a small boat, trying to navigate the inclement weather without hope. USI was a lighthouse for me. They brought me to safety and security. They gave me a sense of belonging. They were me. Their experiences echoed that of mine. I honestly have experienced some of the most, if not, the most meaningful bonds with some of my fellow USI members. I am beyond grateful to have the support and friendship I have gained in USI. They truly are my family

Conan Minihan

PhD Student/Data Science

Accomplishments

I found my research area when I discovered how the skills and knowledge I had been learning intersected with my lived experience. My research focuses on precision medicine for marginalized groups such as formerly incarcerated individuals, former foster youth, and survivors of abuse. My primary interest is in real-time symptom management with continuous biometric data from wearables for PTSD and addiction.

I graduated from UC Berkeley with a Bachelor's in Data Science with an emphasis in Cognition (GPA 3.82) and received a Certificate of Recognition from the California State Senate. I was in the inaugural class of the UC Berkeley College of Computing Data Science and Society and was recognized for receiving an award for outstanding data science student.

As a formerly incarcerated individual, former foster youth, and first-generation college student with disabilities from San Diego, California, I transferred from San Diego City College to UC Berkeley. Support programs like Underground Scholars and Hope Scholars have allowed me to learn from others who have had similar struggles, which helped me understand a lot about myself currently and during my time at Cal and City College.

Being Part of Support Programs

Support programs have been essential to my journey. They provide spaces where people with similar backgrounds can connect and support each other through unique challenges. These communities helped me navigate the complexities of higher education while dealing with my past experiences. The mentorship and guidance I received through these programs gave me the confidence to pursue ambitious research goals that combine technical expertise with personal insights into underserved populations.

Career Goals

I aim to develop data-driven healthcare solutions that address the unique needs of marginalized communities. By combining my technical skills with my lived experience, I hope to create more inclusive and effective healthcare interventions, particularly focusing on mental health and addiction recovery support systems that can be accessible to those who often fall through the cracks of traditional healthcare systems.

Fun Fact

Before leaving San Diego to transfer to my undergraduate institution, I was on the Comic-Con International Committee. Currently, I am planning a panel on AI in Marvel for this year's event.

Jennifer Gomez

Senior/Political Science - Race, Ethnicity & Politics

Accomplishments

In addition to working with USI at UCSD, I am also President of the Political Science Student Association which allows me to remain active in my area of focus and help me support my fellow students. Outside of UCSD, I have been a Rising Scholars Mentor since the inception of the program at Southwestern College in Fall of 2020. As a mentor I provide guidance and support for formerly incarcerated and/or justice impacted students at Southwestern College that are working on their associates degrees, as well as currently incarcerated students serving terms at Donovan State Prison who are working on their degrees as well. I also volunteer as a program assistant at Sharia's Closet non-profit organization. Sharia's Closet provides new and gently-used clothing to individuals and families in crisis or suffering hardship. Each organization I participate in provides something that my education cannot: Experience, the experience of those priceless moments you feel when you give yourself to helping others. I wouldn't give any of those moments away and I believe they are just as valuable as my education.

Career Goal

I want to work in policy and government or health program planning and development. I'd like to help develop programs that aim to "rehabilitate" or "reintegrate" formerly incarcerated and system impacted folx back into society.

Being Part of USI

USI is important for many reasons but I am grateful to USI for providing a safe space for students like myself who feel like they don't fit in with the typical cohort of UCSD students. As a returning student after a 20 year hiatus due to alcohol and drug abuse, coming back to college is an exciting thing but also a little intimidating. I mean I'm twice the age as most students in my classes. But USI shows me that's ok. I am so impressed by our grad students and all the undergrads that are out there showing the world that it's possible to do and get what you want if you never give up and just put your mind to it! It's that type of community and support that helps me succeed. We have eachothers backs in a way that people who haven't suffered like we have could understand. Keeps me motivated, grateful and grounded.

Alessandra Torres-Rojas

Junior/Global Health Major & Social Issues in Healthcare Minor

Accomplishments

My first accomplishment was getting accepted and attending UCSD to begin with. As a first generation college student, this is something that I will always pride myself in. In my time here, I have been involved in several orgs such as Students Against Mass Incarceration (SAMI), Underground Scholars Initiative (USI), and GlamourGals, among others. GlamourGals, for example, is an org that strives to combat senior depression by providing companionship, manicures, and makeovers to folks in senior homes. I built so many connections with the community I interacted with and hope to return to our in-person events soon! SAMI has allowed me to educate myself, and others, on issues surrounding the prison industrial complex through reading, research, presentations, and conversations with different folks. In addition to my org involvement, I participated in Health Frontiers in Tijuana (HFiT) which is a program where students volunteer at an absolutely free medical clinic in Tijuana to serve the population. Anyone is welcome to come in for a consultation, treatment, prescription, or any other needs they may have. Through this experience, I was also able to connect with folks I never would’ve imagined. Those who came into the clinic were always in such high spirits when speaking and interacting with students. All in all, it was an extremely rewarding experience that I will be participating in again soon!

Career Goal

My career goal is to become a physician assistant. I want to pursue this path because I want to give back to the community I grew up in. With so many cases of intentional medical neglect, institutional racism, and unevenly distributed resources among marginalized communities, I want to be the positive change for my people. Having grown up between National City and City Heights, I have seen and experienced the medical injustices first hand. We need healthcare providers that can relate to their patients, overcome language barriers, and genuinely cares about their community - that’s what I plan to do.

Being Part of USI

USI has become a community much like family for me on campus. It’s difficult to try to fit in to an unfamiliar environment and USI has provided me with the support system that I need to be successful in my college career and beyond. Before finding out about USI, I felt misunderstood, thinking that “people like me” just weren’t on campus. Now, knowing that I have folks that I can relate to has made this college process a bit easier to deal with, for that I’m grateful!

Kerry Keith

PhD Stundent/Communication & Crital Gender Studies

Accomplishments

At UCSD, I am working with others to develop a robust Underground Scholars Initiative. This year, I am also the coordinator of the annual community speaker series organized through Critical Gender Studies, in collaboration with the Digital Gym. This year's theme is "Materializing Abolition: Queer and Feminist Strategies," which focuses the practicality of transformative justice initiatives.

Career Goal

I want to begin, labor at, and grow a free and open university.

Being Part of USI

USI has been instrumental in working to make the ivory tower less vertical and more horizontal. While USI reinforces the neoliberal university in many ways, it also works to disrupt, take up space in, and shift the production of so-called Knowledge. The community of Underground Scholars at UCSD has been a vital refuge for me; it offers a space to think critically about the university from embodied, experiential, and emergent perspectives. The university and the prison are not poles, but are interlocked in important ways, and those who know both systems are able to see their relationality with a different clarity than those who do not.