Courtney Wright, a PhD Candidate in the Gevirtz Graduate School of Education, is our 2025 Commencement Speaker.
Wright's research focuses on community engagement, social equity in education, and transformative learning environments. Her experience ranges from directing operations at Brownsville Preparatory Institute to serving as a consultant for state-level educational programs. Throughout her career, she has been instrumental in designing virtual schools, pioneering curriculum frameworks, and securing substantial funding for educational projects aimed at expanding access and improving outcomes for underserved communities.
In this Commencement Q&A, Wright shares what drew her to choose UCSB for graduate school and what inspires her to pursue her path in education.
Q&A
This year's Commencement is something that I have been dreaming about. I feel as if it's been a long journey. I've been in school for now, approximately five and a half years trying to obtain my PhD. So to be able to not only graduate but to represent my class and to give a speech that I feel will motivate the class…is something that I'm extremely excited about, and I'm so happy that I was able to have the opportunity.
My time here as a graduate is going to UCSB was, absolutely amazing. I learned so many lessons.
I actually came from China – I was in China for three years. We evacuated due to Covid. I thought that I was going to actually go to Spain. And then that February, when I was living in Miami, I got my acceptance letter from Dr. Rios. So instead of going to Spain, I made my way to Santa Barbara. The first two and a half years were really rough for me because I came as a single mother, along with coming from another country. Essentially we didn't have the opportunity to bring all our belongings, so it was just me and my daughter. We learned so many lessons. It was really difficult for me, but that time really allowed me to learn and and to grow.
Eventually, I moved to L.A. and I was able to take those lessons in to write my first memoir. One of the things that I feel I truly value about being a scholar here at UCSB would have to be the family that I made. I was able to truly connect with my advisor, doctor Rebecca Amaryllis Rios. She really took me under her wing and provided me with opportunities for publications, along with guiding me through the writing process. I'm super thankful about that. Also, just being near the beach…nothing beats being able to run to the ocean and and make it back in time for class. T
here were a few challenges that I ran across while attending UCSB. I would have to say that one individual that I would like to highlight is my therapist, Mario, who works here on campus. Being able to connect and talk with him through those hard times allowed me to get to the finish line.
The reason why I chose UC Santa Barbara for graduate studies was because I got an opportunity while I was obtaining my undergraduate degree at Florida A&M University (FAMU) to participate in a program called the UC-HBCU initiative that provided HBCU students with an opportunity to travel to California to learn about graduate schools at the different UCS. The UC that I attended was UC Santa Barbara.
During my undergraduate time here, I learned about grad school and life on the beach in Santa Barbara as well as how to publish and how to write. Towards the end of that program, I obtained a fellowship to go to any UC. The only UC that I chose was UC Santa Barbara because I loved it so much. The one thing that motivated me the most to take on this academic journey was my drive to t obtain the highest degree possible. I was dead set in my heart to obtain my PhD. Luckily, I had the ability to do so by way of the UC-HBCU scholarship.
The labyrinth is special to me because it provided me with a sense of healing. When I first came to Santa Barbara, I was extremely, extremely sad. I came during the height of Covid, so we didn't have in-person classes. We took classes on Zoom. A lot of my time was spent in isolation, along with being a single mother. It was through my therapy sessions where I realized that I had to get outside. I had to spend time, and to truly invest it in nature. And this place was special because it allowed for me to truly conceptualize and to be able to think those happy thoughts. It provided me with a lot of healing during those dark times.
After I graduate, I am looking forward to launching my book Spiraling in Control. I am looking forward to being able to go out and speak to individuals who are going through difficult times and offer them an ability to gain strategies in order to work through those challenges, and then eventually connect with other universities and hopefully be able to spread the word that way.
The biggest thing that inspires me to do what I do every single day is my daughter, Yara Elise Scott. She is my baby butterfly. Yara means the rebirthing of a new soul. Elise means oath to God, She has been all of that, plus more. So every day that I wake up and put in the hours, the tireless hours of completing a dissertation...has all been because of her.
DID YOU KNOW?
During the pandemic, Wright worked with other UCSB graduate student research teams in collaboration with the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) and the Latinx and Indigenous Migrant COVID-19 Response Task Force to develop health equity solutions with local health officials and community members. During that time, she lead the team working with the local NAACP to collect data on the impact of COVID-19 among the county’s communities.
Read the UCSB Current feature here.