Meet Rocío Rosales | Associate Professor of Sociology and Vice Associate Dean of Faculty Development and Diversity

We had the good fortune of connecting with Rocío Rosales and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Rocío, how do you think about risk?
I’ve always thought the biggest risk I took was leaving home in Texas for college in New Jersey. It might not seem like a risk. Universities offer protection and going away to college is a rite of passage for many. But, I came from a working-class, immigrant family from a small border town. Going away meant leaving home with no financial safety net provided by parents, with limited information and social capital. My senior year, I received a full ride, my parents gave me their blessing and I left. Culture shock does not begin to explain what I experienced at Princeton. It was a tough four years but I made so many good friends and was challenged in multiple arenas. It was one of the most enriching experiences of my life. It also set me down my current career path. I don’t think I become a tenured UC professor if I hadn’t decided to go away for college.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
Getting a PhD is not a decision people should make lightly. It took me seven years to finish. Then another five on the tenure track. The thing keeping you moving forward (apart from anxiety) is love for the work. I love interviewing people, learning about different communities, then reading and writing about what I learn. My first book (Fruteros: Street Vending, Illegality, and Ethnic Community in Los Angeles, UC Press) is based on my dissertation research. I wanted this book to exist so that I could tell the complex stories of the street vendors that I followed for six years.

I am now a tenured professor in one of the best public institutions of the country: the University of California. Tenure-track jobs are becoming scarce so I feel very lucky to work here for many reasons. At the end of the day, I know that my success is due to hard work, solid research, but also lots of luck.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
I moved to Los Angeles for graduate school (UCLA). I’ve been in southern California now for almost 20 years. I love the distinct neighborhoods and communities of the region, the art, the music scenes. If a friend came to visit, I would try to give them a little bit of everything. Day 1 would include sandwiches from Bay City, a picnic in Will Rogers State Historic Park, and a hike on one of the many trails there. Day 2 would be some nightlife in West Hollywood, maybe a music show at the Troubadour and drinks nearby. Day 3 and 4 would have to include some museums: The Getty, LACMA, the Broad, Hammer Museum … maybe even the Museum of Jurassic Technology in Culver City (out of town guests always love that one). After museums, if in Culver City, then a visit to Tara’s Himalayan Cuisine is in order. Day 5 would be a tour of downtown: the produce market, the flower district, some bacon-wrapped hot dogs or Sonoratown then north to Pasadena for the Huntington Library, which holds the archive of Octavia E. Butler. I’d then tell my friend that a week was not nearly enough time to see it all and to return for shows at the Hollywood Bowl, the Greek, the Upright Citizen’s Brigade, etc.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?

I’ve benefited from caring teachers, inspiring mentors, and forward-thinking pipeline programs at every stage and for every success I have ever had. In high school, Mr. Loweree, an English teacher, brought me in to join the Academic Decathlon team. On it, I learned how to study college-level material and I acquired so much cultural capital (topics year to year included world music, jazz, opera, art, psychology, etc.). We were working-class, border town, children of immigrants learning about Puccini and Verdi. About the art and life of artists like Alberto Giacometti. Years later, while in college, I went to the Guggenheim museum. I rounded a corner and came face-to-face with a sculpture we had studied in Academic Decathlon. I knew the piece (Spoon Woman) from a glossy booklet we received to study it and the artist. I was so overwhelmed at that moment. It was beautiful. I think that’s the day I realized that no matter how hard Princeton had been, how homesick I had gotten, how demanding the workload — it had been the right choice for me.

In college, Professor Patricia Fernandez-Kelly listened when I told her I wanted to do research abroad instead of returning to Texas for the summer. She understood I had to get financial help to do it. She helped me get funding to do research in Havana, Cuba. That research ended up being my senior thesis. And that thesis helped me get into graduate school at UCLA. In college I was a Mellon Mays Fellow — a pipeline program meant to diversify the professoriate. That fellowship provides funding and mentorship throughout undergrad and graduate school so I can finish my program. In graduate school I also benefited from the Ford Foundation Program — another pipeline program with similar goals. I owe everything I am to these and many more people and programs. I’m thankful to all of them.

Website: https://faculty.sites.uci.edu/rociorosales/

Twitter: @LaRocioRosales

Image Credits
Book cover illustration by Adrian Delgado; Cover design by Lia Tjandra Photo: Luis Fonseca, UCI Communications Office