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Cantú Interns

The Cantú Queer Center welcomes students of all identities to join our staff by becoming interns. We offer two types of internships.

ACADEMIC INTERNS

Join the Cantú Queer Center team and get academic credit! Academic interns may sign up for an independent study (with a sponsoring faculty member) and earn 3 or 5 units per quarter. Academic interns will acquire a range of skills as they research, plan, and implement various GLBTIQ related programs. For more information about academic internships, contact the center at queer@ucsc.edu

WORK/STUDY INTERNS

The center's budget allows for a small staff of work/study eligible student interns. Work/study interns are vital to the smooth functioning of the center. The library, QConnect weekly e-news, reception, resource tabling, website, programs, and publicity are some of the many projects work/study interns focus on. Work/study intern hours range from six to ten per week. When positions are open, they are posted on the Career Center website and are announced in QConnect. We give priority to work/study interns who are able to make a one year commitment. We regret that due to a limited budget, we are rarely able to hire students who are ineligible for work/study as part of their financial aid.

Steve Aguirre

I am a 4^th year Sociology major and 5^th year vegan (hehe). I love everything that has to do with bicycling, music and the punk culture. I am currently working at the Cantu center to pursue a career in social advocacy for transgender teen’s acceptance in and around the private and public sphere.

Josue Ayala

Hello!

My name is Josue Ayala, but I prefer to go by Josh. I am an LA baby born and raised, but now I am an undergrad here at UCSC. The transition from LA to Santa Cruz has been very interesting and full of new opportunities. I am a proposed Psychology major & Spanish minor. I am the new academic intern here at the Cantu and am excited to work with the community and become more involved. Being a first generation Latino student has brought about many challenges but as well many opportunities to strive. I look forward to this new quarter and getting to meet all your pretty faces!

Cory Barton

Vice President of Queer Geeks; Cantu Queer Center Intern; Food and Sustainability Coordinator for WRC2013; Care Council Representative for the Cantu.

I'm a 5th year student wrapping up a degree in Plant Sciences and a second in Environmental Studies. I've been fairly involved in the queer community at UCSC for the past three years and it has definitely made my experience here more fulfilling. I've been the VP of Queer Geeks since last year, and have been working for the Cantu since this past Fall. I've also been involved in helping to plan this year's Western Regional Queer Student Conference since we started discussing hosting the conference back in Spring, and I'm anxiously waiting for it.

D.J. Bott

Originally from Miami, Florida, D.J. is a Junior Creative Writing and Art in Graphic Design double major. She is also the President of Delta Lambda Psi, UCSC's queer gender-neutral fraority. She started working in graphic design in high school, and has fallen in love with the profession ever since. D.J. enjoys sports, video games, romantic poetry, F. Scott Fitzgerald stories, has an obsession with Spongebob Squarepants, and loves spending time with her friends, her Delta Lambda Psi family, and her Florida family. She will be overseeing the Cantu's advertising campaigns, as well as creating aesthetically pleasing images for the center.

Adrian Diaz

Adrian began volunteering at the Cantu Center during Winter Quarter 2013 during his second year at UCSC. Adrian studies literature with hopes of focusing in creative writing. You may find him regularly attending Coffee House and Craftin' Cookin' Queers every Tuesday evening. Adrian claims to be extremely excited to be a part of this family, and couldn't be happier to begin volunteering his abundant services to the Cantu Center.

"I'm extremely excited to be a part of this family!"

Wesley Goto

Wesley is the new academic intern this year and will be doing his independent studies in Psychology with the Cantú Queer Center for the next two quarters to study the issues that LGBTQ individuals face on campus. Because of Wesley’s focus on LGBTQ issues as an Intensive Psychology major, he was drawn to the Cantú Queer Center in the fall of 2012 while working on his senior project, “The Identification and Response to Sexual Orientation Microaggressions in College Climates”. Wesley will be working with both Residential Life Staff as well as individuals from the Cantú to develop good educational material, interview any individuals interested in sharing their stories about their LGBTQ identities, and proposing programs to improve the residential life of LGBTQ individuals. Wesley can be found floating around Porter College or at the Cantú Queer Center Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.

“If you have built castles in the air, your work need not be lost; that is where they should be. Now put the foundations under them.”

Gabryel Guttierrez

Gabryel is new to the Cantu Queer Center as an intern this year. He first got pulled to the Cantu by Queer Geeks, which quickly escalated to being an avid member of Blender as well. (All because of the fluffy couches in the center… and the people… but mostly the couches) Gabryel is very proud to be working with Ginger this year to frighten away all the new lovely people in our community with the Queer, Questioning, and New to the U group, and will also take a lead role in Blender, the on-campus Trans* group. Gabryel loves using others as pillows, cooking more meat than is probably healthy and hugging people that glare at him. The only times you will not find him talking are when he is reading, writing, or playing the violin.

“When I take over the world, there will be significantly more chocolate. And boybands. And hugs. And… what do you mean this has to be relevant to the Cantu? Of course it is! Where do you think my army is going to come from?”

Jordyn Hartley

Meow! My name is Jordyn Hartley and I am a fourth year Kresge student, a Feminist Studies major, with a concentration in Gender and Sexuality Studies, and a Latin American and Latino Studies minor. My preferred gender pronoun is "xe" and I identify as gender fluid and queer. I keep the Center bright and happy as much as possible. If it's just setting up the KPop channel on Pandora or straightening up the flyers, books and other odds and ends, I usually like to work with a smile. :) I am also one of the main coordinators for the next Western Regional LGBTQIA College Conference, to be hosted at UCSC in February of 2013 and as an intern, I make sure to keep the queer community aware of this event. Additionally, I am a member of Delta Lambda Psi, UCSC's all inclusive, gender neutral and queer friendly Greek organization, and strive to strengthen our organization's relationship with the Cantú Queer Center.

Melissa King

Melissa is the current "webmistress" of the Cantu website, and has officially started her internship in the 2012-13 Winter Quarter. She is one of the many resident nerds on staff, and will likely engage you in long-winded discussions of science fiction, fantasy, RPGs, history, and writing theory. Seriously, tangents within tangents, seemingly without end. A double major in Creative Writing and European history keeps her busy outside the center, along with the likes of her fiance. At the center, you will usually find her huddling over a keyboard like any "productive" student should be.

"I got so much love I don't know where to put it"

Stephanie Parks

Hey cuties! My name is Stephanie. I am new to the Cantu working to make friends, fun, and food at Crafty, Cookin’ Queers! I’m a senior Anthropology and Creative Writing student who is currently all about self care and definitely, self love. In sharing food knowledge and making things together, no matter how silly they are, I hope that we can grow closer to each other and become better fulfilled so that when we go back into the community, whatever that is for us, we can have more to share. I’m into expression, art, and good times & I’m excited to share these with all of you!

MK Veniegas

I am called by the name of MK. I’m from the City of Angels, but I was born and raised in thejungle of the Philippines. I am a first year college student, double majoring in Sociology andFeminist studies. I’m new to the Cantu, started working during the winter quarter of 2013. I lovefood, all kinds of food, except anything spicy (I can not handle the heat). I'm an artist, and mycanvas is everything tangible and intangible. I love to draw portraits of real people in black andwhite. I live, breathe, and play music; I have been involved in performing and creating musicsince I was 11.

Life is an ongoing piece of work that constantly changes through time and space. Life is a story,a poem, a song that can be deciphered and explored in able to be understood. Life’s art is abeautiful masterpiece that could be interpreted in an infinite amount of ways. In the process ofunderstanding life, there are consequences in which people discover about their true selves.Life is art. Life is a symphony. Life is a masterpiece.

Let’s play life by ear.

Quinsha Wheeler

My name is Quinsha, but some people address me as Sha for short. I grew up in Los Angeles, California, raised by my grandparents. I'm a first-generation college student which puts kind of a lot of pressure on me being in school. I've joined the Cantu Queer Center because I was not really out to my family about my sexuality so being a part of the center gives me comfort to be around others like me.

Jesus Zuniga

Jesus has been making art since he was very young. While he was born in a small, fairly traditional Mexican family, his work often deals with the way traditional ideas collide with identity, sexuality, and the stress these situations bring to the body. Most of his work is highly graphic but also nuanced, much thanks to the nights he spent watching his father make tattoos in his home-made workshop at home. Both his father and his older brother have been big influences in the way his work has developed. Jesus has shown works in various student exhibitions both in the West Coast, the East Coast, and here at UCSC. He is most proud of his exhibition at the White House. In 2010 he had the amazing opportunity to have his work shown for an entire year as the representative of the 16^thcongressional district of California. He also designed and painted a well-received mural for Porter College during his first year at UCSC. Since, he has worked on murals for the city of Santa Cruz and for Summer Search, a leadership-building organization. He is currently working on an Art major with a HAVC minor here at UCSC where he found a special queer family with Delta Lambda Psi, the nation’s first queer and gender-neutral frarority. Apart from painting and drawing, Jesus loves reading horror novels, watching sci-fi movies, meditating to Björk, cooking, and doing crafts for other people.

"My queer family just keeps growing here!"