As a doctoral candidate in the Department of Sociology at the University of Southern California and studying gentrification in Latina/o communities, I often take for granted the diversity of Los Angeles, the city where I reside and conduct research. Large academic conferences, however, are often stark reminders of the persistent marginalization of communities of color in higher education. Attending the American Association of Hispanics in Higher Education (AAHHE) conference was a firm reminder of the ongoing struggle to create, foster and advance Latina/o scholarship amidst mainstream academia’s neglect of such work. 
Having heard of AAHHE from graduate fellow program alumni Christine Vega and Joanna Perez, I learned of the supportive environment created by conference participants and fellows. As a graduate student, I have hardly felt so visible as a conference participant as I did at AAHHE. Throughout my time as a graduate fellow, I not only learned of the legacy that AAHHE advances each year, but I also saw the future in the graduate fellowship program. Meeting advanced and junior scholars, as well as leaders in an array of education and corporate fields, has helped place my academic journey within a larger network of Latinas/os tethered together by commitments to trail blaze for social justice in communities of color across borders. 
An aspect of graduate school, and academia broadly, is the difficult and at times intimidating work of networking, but the AAHHE community made it feel more like a genteel community meeting. While networking is an important component for many occupations, networking is particularly important for Latinas/os in academia and foundational to successfully navigating the dissertation, job search and tenure processes. I will not say it was easy networking at AAHHE, but it was a great time meeting supportive colleagues from various educational institutions and contrasted other, more mainstream, networking experiences. 
Additionally, pairing graduate students with faculty mentors through a mentor/mentee program structure demonstrates AAHHE’s commitment to forging dynamic pathways in advancing Latino scholars regardless of our varying professional goals. Such practices exemplify the processes I feel will maintain AAHHE as a critical space for Latina/o scholars for years to come. My academic journey has substantially benefitted from being paired with Dr. Jennie Luna from California State University Channel Islands as my faculty mentor. Her scholarship and pedagogy are constant reminders that the fight for social justice is a micro- and macro-social endeavor.  
Now at the latter stages of my doctorate, I am more confident and motivated as a result of attending AAHHE. Absent such community, I am not sure I would look forward to the next stage of my academic journey as I do presently. As an AAHHE fellow, I have a unique grasp on the stakes we have as a Latina/o community in opening new academic paths for those who follow, an opportunity I look forward to taking on alongside my AAHHE familia. Indeed, our current political juncture demands it. •