Xavier L. Guadalupe-Diaz received his BS and MS in Sociology at Virginia Commonwealth University. During his search for doctoral programs, UCF was among his top picks because of the outstanding, nationally-recognized faculty working in areas such as feminist criminology, domestic violence, and gender. "The best thing about our doctoral program is how open and available faculty are to working with and mentoring graduate student research," says Guadalupe-Diaz. "There are so many opportunities to get involved in research."

Originally a biology pre-med major, Guadalupe-Diaz ultimately switched because of "the thought-provoking and challenging world of sociological inquiry," he shares. "I loved that it moved beyond the basic memorization and lab applications I was doing in math and science; how social contexts shape and influence human behavior seemed much more complex and intriguing," he says.

Guadalupe-Diaz is working on a multitude of research initiatives, such as his study of the wage gap between lesbian and heterosexual women, the prevalence and perceptions of intimate partner violence in the LGBTQ, and perceptions of neighborhood safety among immigrants living in South Florida.

Guadalupe-Diaz received the SAGE Teaching Innovations and Professional Development Award, which recognizes emerging leaders in teaching sociology. He has additionally been awarded the Sociology department’s Graduate Student Teaching award, which recognizes excellence in teaching by a doctoral student. Guadalupe-Diaz plans to graduate Summer 2013 and intends to remain in academia as a professor and researcher.