This past summer I was given the opportunity to interview LLS alum Celina Villanueva (BA, ’08, Latina/Latino studies) who represents Illinois' 12th District in the Illinois State Senate. Sen. Villanueva represents much of the southwest side of Chicago, including her home neighborhood of Little Village and other neighborhoods such as Pilsen, Bridgeport, and Brighton Park. She began attending U of I in 2003 and graduated in 2008 with a bachelor’s in Latina/o studies. After completing her bachelor’s degree, she went on to work for the Illinois Migrant Coucil and the Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights, among other organizations. Her political career began 10 years after obtaining her bachelor’s when in 2018 she was appointed as the state representative for the 21st District. She then became a state senator in 2020.
Surprisingly, when Sen. Villanueva was a student, Latina/o studies was not a department or even a major; there were just a handful of classes that made up a minor. In order to have a BA in LLS, Sen. Villanueva had to find her own advisors, such as recently retired LLS advisor Alicia Rodriguez, and pursue an individual plan of study. While her individual plan of study may have been different than what LLS majors have now, she described the program as being incredibly robust. She also decided to pursue minors in both Spanish and African American studies. This allowed her to have a well-rounded education that gave her a concrete foundation of knowledge on the issues that impact black and brown communities.
While the senator is in the amazing position that she is in today, that wasn’t without a few changes in her career plan. Originally she came to U of I as a psychology major but quickly realized that it was not for her and decided to study Latina/o studies. After completing her undergraduate degree, she said that she wanted to be a corporate lawyer but got waitlisted for law school and then got into an educational policy studies PhD program. Unfortunately, after she was accepted, the professors that she wanted to work with moved away, causing her to decide to not do the program. Later on, when she applied and was accepted into NYU, the financial aid package that she was going to receive fell through because of the recession, once again causing her to not pursue higher education. Even through all this, she found a successful career that she loves, helping and representing her Latino community.
If there is one thing that a major in Latina/o studies afforded the young senator, it has been knowledge. She described how Latina/o studies classes gave her a space to become more informed on the issues that directly impacted her community. Her classes, such as Latina/o Social Movements, empowered her to take a stand for Latinos on campus. During her time as an undergraduate, a fraternity hosted a “Tacos and Tequila” party. While the theme of the party itself is not alarming, what ensued was a large group of white students dressing up as racist and stereotypical depictions of Mexicans. Photos of this party were then spread on Facebook, where Celina raised her concerns to the university’s chancellor. She understood that unless she stood up for her community, like how many of the activist groups she learned about in class had, racist parties such as that one would continue to take place on campus. Even now, the senator says that the research methods that go into her legislative work are based on the practices she learned and developed during her LLS program.
When hearing about Sen. Villanueva’s story, the pride and passion she shared for being in a growing community of young Latino leaders was clear. She proudly stated how the majority of the Latino Legislative Caucus is younger than 40 and that there is a generation behind hers that is ready to step up as leaders. In a statement she said, “We literally are Donald Trump’s biggest fear…They’re afraid of our power, of our ability to organize, and our ability to have self-determination. All of those are things that I learned about through LLS.”
If you would like to keep up to date with Sen. Villanueva’s work you can follow her on Facebook, Instagram, and X (formerly Twitter). Furthermore, for those interested in getting involved, Sen. Villanueva shared that not only does her office have internships, but the Latino Legislative Caucus also hosts fellowships for all interested undergraduates.
By: Zion Trinidad, a junior with a double major in history and LLS
Editor's note: This interview originally appeared in the Fall 2023 issue of the LLS newsletter.