Educator Recognized for His Work Supporting LGBTQ Students
June 11, 2024
Gary Santos Mendoza was honored by the country’s leading student affairs association
Gary Santos Mendoza had a hard time finding acceptance in college as a queer Latino.
After joining Phi Iota Alpha Fraternity, Inc., the oldest Latino fraternity in existence, while attending St. John’s University in New York City, he learned that some of his brothers were also queer but not out. That is when Santos Mendoza started to realize the need for greater visibility and representation in the Latinx community.
His experiences with anxiety and depression led him to enter the field of higher education providing support to students like him.