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2017 Michele Alexander Early Career Award Winner

Dr. Rebecca Covarrubias is an Assistant Professor of Social Psychology at the University of California Santa Cruz. After receiving her doctorate in Social Psychology from the University of Arizona in 2012, she taught courses in Orvieto, Italy through a study abroad program and then joined the Center of the Study of Diversity at the University of Delaware as a postdoctoral fellow. She examines how delegitimizing learning contexts undermine educational, social, and mental health outcomes for marginalized students, and how culturally-grounded interventions can reverse these effects. As a first-generation faculty, Rebecca co-launched UCSC’s First-Generation Initiative to foster a sense of community among first-generation students, staff, and faculty. Rebecca is also involved in other campus initiatives, including being a faculty fellow for the Center for Innovations of Teaching and Learning and a faculty consultant for UCSC’s Hispanic Serving Institution grant team initiatives related to sense of belonging. She has been recognized for her mentoring and teaching, including receiving both the Inspiring Lecturer Award and the Going Above and Beyond Award for the Department of Psychology. With her amazing team of undergraduate and graduate student researchers in the Culture and Achievement Collaborative, Rebecca continues to develop strategies for improving the daily experiences of diverse students through teaching, mentoring, service and research.