06/10/2026
Valerie Gomez grew up navigating higher education without a roadmap. Now, as a Provost Postdoctoral Fellow at the Pullias Center for Higher Education, she's building one for others.
Her Spencer Foundation-funded research examines how Salvadoran immigrant mothers use storytelling to share war- and migration-related trauma with their daughters and how those narratives shape college aspirations across generations.
At the same time, she runs Latina Grad Guide, an Instagram platform she created to support first-generation Latinas through college and graduate school. Through a partnership with the TELACU Education Foundation, the platform's scholarship program has awarded $45,000 to graduate students to date.
Read about her research, her platform and what keeps her grounded in community.
USC Postdoctoral fellow Valerie Gomez reflects on her experience at the Pullias Center, her research on Salvadoran immigrant families and her mission to expand access to higher education.