Stephanie Leon

sleon2@tnstate.edu
https://stephanie-leon.youcanbook.me/

Favorite Quote: "For me, forgiveness and compassion are always linked: how do we hold people accountable for wrongdoing and yet at the same time remain in touch with their humanity enough to believe in their capacity to be transformed?" - Bell Hooks, in a conversation with Maya Angelou, 1998

Job Title: First-Generation Specialist

Coaching Mindset: I believe that coaching is the process of encouraging and supporting others to unlock their potential and eliminating self-imposed barriers in order to become the best versions of themselves.

Higher Education Background:

B.A. - Chicano/Latinx Studies: California State University Los Angeles
B.A. - Sociology with a concentration in Law: California State University Los Angeles
M.A. - Education with a focus in Social and Cultural Analysis of Education - California State University Long Beach

Interests and Hobbies:

Thrifting
Creating and Crafting
Puzzles and Jigsaws
Learning about everything and anything
Movies and TV Shows, especially foreign and independent ones

Top Life Defining Moments in Higher Education:

During my freshman year of college, I volunteered on campus with America Reads and Counts, I was a tutor at a local elementary school nearby campus. We had an annual event called "Cal State LA: Here We Come!" and this event was what set my intentions to work in education. I had my 2^nd and 3^rd graders come to my college campus and sit in my college classroom with my professor and they pretended to be college students. It was a great way to build a bridge between the community I was serving and higher education.
I had applied to a highly prestigious school after I finished my Master's,--one that I was denied admission to as an undergrad. I was accepted with some scholarships and grants but unfortunately, it wasn't enough, and I had to decline my admission because it was too expensive for me. My family and I were experiencing tremendous economic hardships at the time. However, I felt really powerful knowing that a school with a huge reputation that had denied me when I first started my educational journey, 6 years later, had now accepted me and I was the one to tell them "no." I realized that I needed to give myself a lot more credit and hold more confidence in the academic space because we all deserve to obtain the type of education that we want to experience and learn from.

When in College, I Experienced:

Being a first-generation college student
Switching my major 3 times
Developing my identity, sense of self, and worth Being a part of MEChA , El Movimiento Estudiantil Chicanx de Aztlán (The Chicanx Student Movement of Aztlán)
Being a part of MALCS, Mujeres Activas En Letras Y Cambio Social (Women Active in Letters and Social Change)
Learning how to balance family priorities and that it was okay to be selfish when it came to my goals and studies
Realizing the importance of building community and how vital it was to my success