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Karla Gonzalez

3x

Finalist

2x

Winner

General information

Gender
Female
Ethnicity
Hispanic/Latino

Hobbies & Interests

  • Running
  • Volunteering
  • Yoga
  • Travel And Tourism
  • Education
  • Science
  • Surfing
  • Weightlifting
  • Learning
  • Community Service And Volunteering
  • STEM
  • Exercise And Fitness
  • Business And Entrepreneurship
  • Dog Training

Reading

  • Adult Fiction
  • Biography
  • Classics
  • Travel
  • Social Issues
  • Literature
  • Technology

I read books multiple times a week.

Bio

I’m a doctoral student passionate about educational equity. As a first-generation college graduate who grew up in a low-income family and former public school teacher, I’ve seen firsthand how education can change lives. Today, I partner with school districts to ensure hundreds of thousands of students can access high quality educational resources and build their AI literacy skills. At UCLA, I’m currently completing my dissertation on how school districts implement artificial intelligence to accelerate student learning. Your support today can play a critical role in building the toolkit I'll need to continue driving outcomes at scale for students from under-resourced communities. Thank you for your consideration!

Education

University of California-Los Angeles

Doctoral degree program (PhD, MD, JD, etc.)

2021 – 2025

Majors:
  • Education, General

Johns Hopkins University

Master's degree program

2014 – 2016

Majors:
  • Education, General

Stanford University

Bachelor's degree program

2010 – 2014

Majors:
  • History

Miscellaneous

Desired degree level:
Doctoral degree program (PhD, MD, JD, etc.)
Majors of interest:
Educational Leadership and Administration, General

Career

  • District Partnerships Manager

    E-Learning · Khan Academy

    Jan 2022 – Present

  • Individual Giving Manager

    E-Learning · Khan Academy

    Jan 2018 – Jan 2022

  • Director of Client Relations and Senior Consultant

    Education · Cortex College Consulting

    Jan 2017 – Jan 2020

  • Academic Initiatives Coordinator

    Education · The SMART Program (Schools, Mentoring, and Resource Team)

    Jan 2017 – Jan 2018

  • Strategic Planning Associate

    Education · The SMART Program (Schools, Mentoring, and Resource Team)

    Jan 2016 – Jan 2017

  • Trip Director (Summer)

    Leisure, Travel, & Tourism · Travel for Teens

    Jan 2016 – Jan 2016

  • Senior Counselor (Summer)

    Leisure, Travel, & Tourism · Travel for Teens

    Jan 2015 – Jan 2015

  • Teach for America Corps Member and High School Teacher

    Education · Baltimore City Public Schools

    Jan 2014 – Jan 2016

  • Asia Field Intern (Summer)

    International Trade and Development · The Solidarity Center

    Jan 2013 – Jan 2013

  • Research Assistant

    Research · Stanford University

    Jan 2012 – Jan 2014

  • Asia Field Intern (Summer)

    International Trade and Development · The Solidarity Center

    Jan 2012 – Jan 2012

  • Office Assistant, Undergraduate Advising and Research

    Higher Education · Stanford University

    Jan 2010 – Jan 2011

  • Young Ambassador, Smithsonian Latino Center

    Museums and Institutions · The Smithsonian Institution

    Jan 2010 – Jan 2010

  • Math Tutor

    Education · Long Beach Unified School District

    Jan 2008 – Jan 2010

Miscellaneous

Dream career field:
Non-Profit Organization Management
Dream career goals:
CEO
Has nursing license:
No

Future Interests

  • Advocacy
  • Politics
  • Volunteering
  • Philanthropy
Future Female Educators Scholarship
Winner
As a first-generation, low-income Latina, inequitable circumstances were a reality growing up. At fourteen, I learned to balance school while working twenty hours a week. At seventeen, I navigated college applications without the generational know-how afforded to the children of college graduates. Soon after, I arrived at Stanford, where I committed myself to opening doors for students from backgrounds like mine. Growing up I faced a lot of challenges, but future students might not have to if changes were made to our existing systems. After graduation, a desire to help others access educational opportunities led me to teach in Baltimore. Growing up I learned that hard work, even if that meant working twice as hard, translated into opportunity and success. In Baltimore, I learned that sometimes inequity is so vast that a student’s hard work alone is not enough. My students deserved better, so I organized college tours, offered free SAT prep and college counseling after school, and tried to fill in the gaps my students faced. As I removed barriers for my students, I wondered how all students, not just those in my classroom, could be supported at scale. When I left the classroom, I committed to making every space I touch more equitable. Today, I determine what to spend my time on based on its potential to build an equitable world. I have raised millions of dollars for Khan Academy, an online platform that provides free, educational resources to millions of students every month, coached low-income students through the college application process, and led a giving circle that invests thousands of dollars a year in Latinx led nonprofits educating youth. I have also advocated for the needs of low-income students of color in spaces of privilege I can access. At Khan Academy, this advocacy translated into an organizational wide shift to better serve historically under-resourced students. At UCLA, as the Graduate Student Association's Director of Campus Relations, I spearheaded a project to interview dozens of graduate students, focusing on students from under-resourced backgrounds, to better understand how UCLA can create an environment where all students can thrive. Along the way, I learned a lot about education’s shortcomings, particularly for students from low-income backgrounds like mine, and how I can contribute. Since starting my Ed.D. in the Educational Leadership Program, I have a better understanding of how to address educational inequity. In the future, I hope to lead a team delivering world-class educational technology resources to students and serve on an elected school board where I can drive student outcomes at scale. An Ed.D. at UCLA is a unique opportunity to hone the research and leadership skills that will ensure I can contribute in educational spaces where voices like mine— those of a first-generation college going woman of color from a low-income background—are too often missing. Students from low-income backgrounds deserve as much opportunity as students from more affluent backgrounds, and I am committed to making that a reality.
Karla Gonzalez Student Profile | Bold.org