The Consuelo W. Gosnell Memorial Scholarships are awarded to master’s degree candidates in social work who have demonstrated a commitment to working with, or who have a special affinity with, American Indian/Alaska Native and Hispanic/Latino populations. The 2025-2026 recipients are:
Marilynda Bustamante, University of Southern California
Bustamante is a first-generation Latina and second-year MSW candidate at the University of Southern California. She earned a BA in gender studies and Chicana/o studies with a minor in education studies from UCLA, graduating cum laude and with departmental highest honors. At UCLA, she led culturally responsive retention initiatives, securing more than $110,000 in grants to support first-generation Latine students while managing a caseload of peers navigating academic probation and systemic barriers. Later, she served as a residential counselor at a group home, providing individualized service plans for youth and their families navigating structural inequities. During her foundation year, Bustamante provided trauma-informed counseling to predominantly Latino children and families through her internship at Garden Grove Unified School District, using play therapy, CBT, mindfulness, and art therapy in English and Spanish to support students’ social-emotional development. At USC, she advocates for policy changes that recognize caregiving responsibilities as integral to student success. She wrote an article for Voice of OC advocating for sanctuary policies and sparking dialogue on how current political climates impact immigrant children, families and communities. California Social Work Archives (CSWA) recently presented her with the Madeleine Stoner and Ralph Fertig Student Scholar Award for her social justice and community advocacy contributions. She plans to earn her LCSW and eventually launch a women’s wellness retreat offering therapy, cultural healing practices, and financial literacy while fostering a community mentorship network.
Itzel Martinez Castillo, University of Wisconsin-Madison
Castillo is a first-generation college and graduate student from Madison, Wis., and a proud daughter of immigrants from Oaxaca, Mexico. She earned a BSW from the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee and is pursuing an MSW at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, with a focus on mental health. As an undergraduate student, Castillo mentored refugee families, supporting them as they navigated the transition from their home countries to life in the U.S. She also worked at a teen crisis shelter, providing basic-needs support and building relationships through team-building activities. Castillo works at a community health center, where she has held multiple roles serving at-risk families. She also co-facilitates the clinic’s Latinx Advisory Council, which is composed of patients who offer feedback on institutional changes, and the impact on the Latinx Community. Castillo is a Certified Medical Interpreter and contracts with Public Health Madison & Dane County, providing Spanish interpretation services for vaccine clinics, TB testing, and sexual health programs. This fall, she will begin a clinical internship at a mental health agency whose mission is to promote mental wellness within communities of color and underserved populations. After graduation, Castillo plans to pursue licensure as a CSW and provide psychotherapy to individuals from all backgrounds, with a particular interest in supporting immigrants, refugees, adolescents, and those affected by substance use.
Martha Corona Delgado, University of Southern Mississippi
Delgado is a first-generation college student from Mississippi. She earned her BSW from the University of Southern Mississippi in December 2024 and is now in the university’s advanced standing MSW program. Growing up in a mixed-status household, Delgado witnessed the challenges faced by undocumented families. These early experiences fueled her dedication to advocating for immigrant rights, particularly in the Hispanic/Latino communities. She recognized the gaps in mental health services for Spanish-speaking individuals and the lack of support for undocumented immigrants, which are barriers she is determined to break down. As an undergraduate, Delgado was the S.T.R.I.D.E. chair (Strategizing Toward Racial Inclusion, Diversity, and Equity) for the BSW Club in the School of Social Work. In this role, she worked to foster an academic environment free from bias, discrimination and harassment for both undergraduate and graduate classes. Her long-term goals include earning a clinical license, expanding access to immigration services through grant writing, and building equitable systems across Mississippi and the surrounding region.
Joanna Lara, Washington University in St. Louis
Lara is the daughter of Mexican immigrants and a first-generation Chicana. She was born in the Salinas Valley in California, where her parents and grandparents were farm workers. In 2017, Lara graduated from San Francisco State University with a BA in studio art. Throughout her undergraduate studies, she used art to tell stories about her experiences with poverty, acculturation, machismo, and the impact of the criminal justice system on the Latinx community. In 2018, Lara became a mother. Her postpartum experience made her aware of the barriers facing women from marginalized backgrounds as she sought mental health services, breastfeeding support, and childcare. That year, she shifted her career to social services, where she advocated for Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander women, helping them overcome intimate-partner violence and achieve economic independence. In 2022, Lara relocated to Missouri to pursue her MSW at Washington University in St. Louis. She is employed full-time as a medical case manager at Washington University, where she supports Spanish-speaking individuals living with HIV and AIDS. In the evenings, she works as a psychotherapy intern at a clinic that serves uninsured immigrants and refugees, providing therapy in Spanish to children, teens and young adults. Upon graduation, Lara wants to become an LCSW and provide therapy in Spanish to first-generation and Latinx teens. She also is interested in supporting asylum seekers with forensic mental health evaluations as they seek safety from violence and persecution.
Nathalie Lobato-Flores, University of California, Berkeley
Lobato-Flores is a Master of Social Welfare student at University of California, Berkeley. She is a first-generation college student from Guerrero, Mexico, born in Acapulco. As a child, she emigrated from Mexico to the U.S. with her family, where they built their life in Los Angeles. As a DACA recipient and child of undocumented immigrants, Lobato-Flores grew up navigating the mental health and economic challenges that often plague immigrant and undocumented communities. In 2021, she earned a BA in child and adolescent development, with an emphasis in early childhood, from San Francisco State University. While attending school full-time, she also worked full-time in Head Start programs across the Bay Area, supporting communities whose experiences often mirrored her own. Her inspiration for pivoting to social work is rooted not only in her personal journey, but also in the challenges and injustices faced by the disadvantaged children and families she worked alongside. At Berkeley’s School of Social Welfare, she plans to refine her skills in trauma-informed care and provide effective intervention strategies through the Social Work with Latinos Certificate. Her experiences have motivated her to pursue a career focused on addressing mental health disparities, family violence, and substance use disorder within migrant and Latine populations.
Daisy Muniz, CUNY Lehman College
Muniz is a Mexican-American, first-generation graduate student. She earned a BS in criminal justice from John Jay College of Criminal Justice and is currently pursuing an MSW at Lehman College. Over the past five years, Muniz has worked as a case manager for Alternative to Incarceration programs and as a case planner at a foster care agency. These experiences helped shape her understanding of the systemic barriers many individuals and families face, which fueled her commitment to social justice. Muniz is passionate about increasing access to culturally competent mental health services for the Hispanic community. Growing up, she witnessed the stigma surrounding mental health in her culture and understands the importance of having providers who not only speak the language, but also understand the cultural values and challenges that shape those experiences. After graduation, she plans to become a licensed social worker and provide bilingual culturally responsive care to help reduce stigma and improve outcomes for Hispanic individuals and families.
Karina Rosales, University of Chicago
Rosales is a first-generation college student from Compton, Calif., where she was born and raised by her immigrant mother as the middle of three daughters. She earned a BA in psychology and social welfare from UC Berkeley in 2020. As an undergraduate, Rosales volunteered as a health advocate at Highland Hospital in Oakland, where she supported patients by connecting them to community resources aimed at reducing health disparities. After graduating, she worked as a research coordinator at the Digital Health and Access Lab at UC Berkeley, where she helped implement digital health interventions for Spanish-speaking adults. This experience deepened her understanding of the real-world barriers Latinx communities face in accessing care—including language differences, cultural stigma, and the lack of representation among health care providers. It also reinforced the urgent need for bilingual professionals and the importance of advocating for culturally adaptive resources to better serve Latinx patients. Now entering her second year in the MSW program at the Crown Family School of Social Work, Policy and Practice at the University of Chicago, Rosales is committed to supporting youth and adolescents within the Chicago Public School system.
Beatriz Sanchez, Columbia University
Beatriz Sanchez (she/ella) is a first-generation Dominican-American. She graduated from Colorado State University with a BSW in 2024. She has a combined eight years of experience in community organizing, policy work, advocacy, and research. As a bilingual professional, Sanchez has dedicated her career to serving immigrant communities and advancing social justice initiatives. As an Undergraduate McNair Scholar, Sanchez conducted research on the engagement of paternal relatives in child welfare cases, focusing on racial and ethnic disparities within certain practices. She served as a legislative intern during the 2025 Colorado legislative session, working in the office of Rep. Elizabeth Velasco, Colorado’s first Mexican-born state legislator. Sanchez is pursuing an MSW in policy practice at Columbia University, and will intern with the Latino Social Work Coalition.
Patti Schevers, University of Wisconsin- Milwaukee
, a fourth-generation European American, was born and raised on the Oneida Nation Reservation where her family still resides. Her story is one of healing, service and connection to land, people and practices. Her travel experiences have has circled the globe and exposed her to people from all walks of life, culminating in an appreciation for all practices and philosophies, from the East to the West, and including Indigenous teachings. Returning home in her early 30s, Schevers began to pursue higher education, first obtaining an associate’s degree at Northeastern Wisconsin Technical College in 2020, then earning a bachelor’s degree in organizational leadership at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay in 2022. Schevers has dedicated herself to community engagement and organizing, and aligning with various agencies, programs and nonprofits to support those who have been historically marginalized, with a particular focus on becoming a community ally to support Native American youth. She began her MSW studies at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee in fall 2024, and is simultaneously completing a graduate certificate in Yoga therapy from the Paramanand Yoga Institute. She also is completing an internship at the local crisis center. Schevers plans to become an LCSW and implement yoga into clinical practice.
Danielle Urista, University of California, Berkeley
is a first-generation Latina from Los Angeles whose passion for social justice was ignited by witnessing how housing instability devastated her community. This drove her to UCLA, where she earned a BA. in history and labor studies, exploring the historical roots of housing inequality. Determined to transform academic understanding into direct action, she dedicated seven years to working at a nonprofit focused on housing justice. Through this work, Urista discovered that housing instability often intertwined with deeper challenges, like depression, anxiety, PTSD and other behavioral health issues. The work also revealed critical gaps in culturally responsive care, particularly for Latinx clients who struggled to access services that honored their cultural and linguistic needs. These experiences crystallized her understanding that sustainable housing solutions must integrate mental health support with culturally grounded approaches. Now pursuing her MSW, Urista is working toward becoming an LCSW and providing on-site support to individuals and families in shelters, transitional, and permanent housing. She aims to not only help clients achieve stable housing but empower them to maintain it long-term.