Del Mar College’s Center for Mexican-American Studies has a new coordinator: Assistant Professor and Doctor of Sociology, Isabel Araiza.

With a long career as a teacher and public sociologist, Isabel Araiza has been equal parts educator, researcher, and activist. Her office is decorated with posters and memorabilia that echo Hispanic heritage and the social movements that have shaped it, both in the United States and across Latin America. From that office, she brings her experience and enthusiasm to the college and community as its new coordinator for the Center of Mexican-American Studies.

Araiza was born in Corpus Christi to a 16-year-old mother and an 18-year old father. Her father attended and graduated from West Oso High School, while her mother left school by the time she was born.

Though she did not know it at the time, Araiza was one of the many students who took part in the integration of Corpus Christi Independent School District following the 1970 case of Cisneros v. CCISD, which determined that Mexican-Americans were an identifiable ethnic minority and as such were subject to the protections provided by Brown v. The Board of Education. Araiza had previously attended Solomon Coles Elementary School, a historically Black school with a notable Mexican-American population. At the request of her mother, Araiza was transferred and bused to a new school, Parkdale Elementary.

She later graduated from Mary Carroll High School and attended Del Mar College. She was the first of her family to attend college, and during her time at the college, she gave birth to her daughter, but continued her education even as a single mother.

“All the faculty when I had my daughter were super supportive of me… like Ms. Maynard would let me keep my playpen in her office.” Araiza said. She would go on to graduate with her Associates in English. “I don’t know if I would have finished had it not been for the faculty.”

After Del Mar, Araiza transferred to Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi, pursuing a double major in English and political science. There she found that continuing her education had become much easier because of her time at Del Mar College.

“Schooling at A&M-Corpus seemed really easy compared to the challenge of learning here. What I mean by that is that I feel like I developed all the skills I needed in order to be successful.”

After graduating, she got a job teaching GED classes at Windward Campus, known simply as West Campus at the time. There she met students that challenged her previous assumptions surrounding education and the people who do not complete their education.

“One, I was shocked at the volume of students that were coming in, but also two, many were really smart,” Araiza shared. “[They] may not have had the skillset, but once you started to show them the lessons, they picked up on it and it really challenged the assumptions that I had about students and people who dropped out.”

She learned how many of her students were failed by their households and by the education system. “I was taught that if you go to school, and you’re smart, they’ll recognize it and reward it and cultivate you. Clearly there were a lot of people not getting cultivated.”

Her newfound understanding compelled her to go back to school. She began to take classes again at TAMUCC, this time covering subjects such as social class, stratification, ethnic relations, and the sociology of the home; each informed by the things she had seen and heard from her students. A professor at TAMUCC recommended that she look into graduate programs, and with financial support, she pursued a Ph.D. in Sociology at Boston College.

During her time at Boston College, she discovered how little attention Mexican-American struggles and ethnic relations were discussed compared to that of other struggles.

Araiza completed her Ph.D. in 2004 and was hired by TAMUCC soon after. She worked as an Assistant Professor of Sociology until 2010, when she rose to the title of Associate Professor. In 2017, she became coordinator of the Mexican-American Studies program at TAMUCC and held that position until 2022.

As a public sociologist, Araiza’s research was heavily focused on the community and she became quite involved in its development and wellbeing. She helped organize the Costal Bend Social Forum in 2007, which is held every two years. She is also the co-founder of For the Greater Good, an advocacy group that focuses on environmental issues. Araiza has also declared her candidacy for the upcoming Corpus Christi mayoral election.

Araiza has received much recognition from colleagues and other scholars in here field, including letters of endorsement and publication in the Oxford Handbook of Methods of Public Scholarship, a textbook on the democratization of research and its availability to those outside of academia.

Yet, according to Araiza, she never quite received the support from the university for her work, which desired her to redirect her focus away from her more community-focused projects towards traditional research.

When an opening presented itself at Del Mar College, she took it, and now works as an Assistant Professor of Sociology for the college. As of this summer, she has also taken the mantle of coordinator for the Center of Mexican American Studies, a position previously held by Professor of Spanish, Javier Morin.

As coordinator, it is Araiza’s duty to ensure that the program can provide the proper coursework and create a space for students and community members to access the materials needed to learn about Mexican-American scholarship and the contributions of Mexican-Americans to the people and culture of the community.

She also oversees the many events hosted by the Center, including the observance of National Hispanic Heritage Month and the Mexican American Studies summer seminar.

As coordinator, Araiza seeks to demonstrate the intrinsic value of Mexican-American Studies and encourage more students to pursue double majors with the program. “Our classes are full, especially when you look at what’s happening in history, government, and literature. We don’t necessarily have the majors. People don’t understand… how that major can contribute to their education.”

Recognizing the success the center has had at bringing the community to campus events, Araiza has made plans to expand on it. One her ideas is to host public discussion with academic experts and artists, which she refers to as “platicas,” meaning chats or talks in Spanish. She expects to host the first of these platicas during the fall semester, with more being held in the spring.

She also looks forward to leading the next Mexican-American Studies Seminar, which is held annually each summer. “I am excited to bring in other aspects of Mexican-American culture to the MAS Symposium. I’m really excited about organizations that historically haven’t been a part of it.”