With Amy Gonzales, assistant professor, Department of Communication
1. She has two master’s degrees. Fitting for her research interests, which ask questions about how social interaction on the internet changes experiences of the self, Gonzales holds master’s degrees in both psychology and communication. ““Ultimately, a lot of the basic questions that I have been interested in stem from social psychology or the concept of symbolic interactionism—this idea that we all are playing different parts in different contexts, and our identities are defined in part depending on who we are interacting with,” she explains.
2. She is committed to keeping people connected online. Gonzales, who is deeply interested in problems of inequality when it comes to internet access, is also involved in practical solutions to help people stay online regardless of social class or income. She is currently working with people at CITS and the Blum Center for Inequality on an idea to start an inexpensive pop-up repair service for tech devices on campus. “A question that’s interesting to me is not just how to get people online but how to keep them connected. This stuff breaks, and it’s expensive,” she says. “Increasingly, you can do very little without having access to a device. What does that mean for exacerbating social inequalities if you don’t have reliable access?”
3. She’s a proud #firstgen student. Even though her parents didn’t go to college, Gonzales calls herself “a consummate nerd” who always knew she wanted to go to graduate school, even though she was worried about the debt she might incur. “I didn’t realize you often make a small stipend in research degrees,” she explains. She is committed to paying her success forward by making an announcement in any undergraduate class she teaches about the potential funding available to those interested in advanced research degrees. Gonzales says: “Almost every quarter, students come up and talk to me about it and I can see their eyes light up because they didn’t know that was an option.”
4. She’s happy to be back in California. Gonzales was raised in Delano, CA, and is especially excited to be back on the west coast because she still has a lot of family nearby. “With this kind of job, it’s not often that you have the chance to live near family,” she says. “Having the job of your dreams and also not having to sacrifice leaving your family is amazing.”
5. …especially because of the tacos. Prior to moving to Santa Barbara, Gonzales lived in Bloomington, Indiana. While she misses her tight-knit friend group and the sound of the cicadas in the summer, she has enjoyed reacquainting herself with high quality Mexican food. She cites Lilly’s as a current favorite, saying (with a laugh), “It’s especially good compared to Indiana!”
