麻豆视频 has selected artist, musician and scholar Yesenia Navarrete Hunter 鈥�14 as the 2025 recipient of the Distinguished Alumnus Award.
The award provides recognition to an alumnus who attended YVC for a minimum of three quarters, earned at least 45 credits, and has distinguished themselves in a positive manner. Established in 1982 and first conferred to Catherine May Bedell, the award has been presented to a variety of notable graduates of YVC. The selection is made by the President鈥檚 Office from nominations submitted by faculty, staff, students and community members.
鈥淎s a student at YVC, I was also working full time and, together with my husband, was raising our four young children,鈥� says Navarrete Hunter. 鈥淚t wasn't easy to fit my education into our already busy lives, but YVC offered workable schedules and supportive professors who challenged me to succeed.鈥�
Navarrete Hunter, a first-generation college student, was born in Mexico before coming to the U.S. as a child as part of the migrant farm working community. After YVC she earned a bachelor鈥檚 degree from Heritage University and master鈥檚 and doctoral degrees in history from the University of Southern California. She now is an assistant professor of history at Heritage University.
She credits her experience at 麻豆视频 as a catalyst for her success.
鈥淚 remember my history professor inspiring me with his lectures and my English professor pushing me to write fully and succinctly 鈥� skills I now practice as a professional historian,鈥� said Navarrete Hunter. 鈥淎s a professor working with a diverse body of students, I hold YVC with gratitude for their important work in our community.鈥�
Her current book project, titled 鈥淓ntangled Histories of Land and Labor,鈥� centers on the braided histories of immigrants and Native Americans in the Pacific Northwest. By looking at movement, migration and material practices, Navarrete Hunter explores how groups made places of belonging and crafted opportunities for new relationships through cultural practices. Her public history work is guided by the question: How do people make place and create rhythms of belonging in fragile spaces?
鈥淢y advice to current students is to find joy in their learning and to build community, because our histories are connected just as our futures are,鈥� she said.
The Distinguished Alumnus Award will be presented during YVC鈥檚 Commencement ceremony on June 13.