Dr. Marcela Murillo graduated with the MA in Women’s Studies and PhD in Spanish in 2019. She is currently an Assistant Professor at Santa Fe College.
My incursion to the Center started out as simple curiosity. I took Dr. Shehan’s “Advanced Feminist Theory” class as an elective for my doctoral program in Spanish literature in UF. The class was like nothing I experienced before. There were real discussions of real problems and people with a real desire to change the status quo. I was drawn and fascinated with this new-to-me atmosphere, where students felt and were empowered to change the conversation and dare to criticize our surroundings. I started taking more electives in the Center. Not long after, I had enrolled in all courses that were offered. It was then that I decided to embark on the MA journey in Women’s Studies. The perspective, theory, and worldview that I learned at the Center shaped my doctoral dissertation as well as my own take on life.
In my time as an MA-PhD student, I had two transformational experiences. The first experience was the Women’s March in Washington D.C. (2017) where the Center collaborated with the Samuel Proctor Oral History Program to send students to interview the attendees. Although the trip’s purpose was academic, the experience opened my eyes to the true meaning of sorority and activism. The second experience was the National Women’s Studies Association Conference in Baltimore (2017). In this opportunity, I presented, alongside my classmates, on our experiences at the Women’s March from a student perspective. Besides the enriching academic opportunity, I had the pleasure to meet life icons Gloria Steinem and Angela Davis. Meeting these women in real life was transformational. In a sense, I felt that the pages of the books came to life. I saw the embodiment of activism and feminism and it was inspiring.
I graduated with the MA-PhD in summer 2019. Soon after, in Fall 2019 I started working as an Assistant Professor of the Humanities and Foreign Languages at Santa Fe College. It has been one year since transitioning from student life to professional work, and while I learn the ropes of being a professor, I am setting goals as a feminist scholar. I aim to develop a feminist studies class at Santa Fe and work collaboratively with the LGBTQ+ club. In my current classes, I highlight the work and contributions of members of understudied and underrepresented groups. However, I would argue that the biggest impact the Center has had on my professional life is my attitude with students. The professors in the Center were caring, encouraging, and loving. To me, the teaching gold standard of professorship is a result of the Center. Now, as a professor, I emulate them and try by making students feel as important and able to change the world, as the Center faculty did for me prior. I will be forever grateful to the Center’s caring faculty and personnel (Donna Tuckey), as well as my mentor and happy-to-call friend Dr. Connie Shehan.