Access Champion: Dr. Maria Isabel Ayala

September 11, 2024 - Emily Jodway

Maria Isabel Ayala is the Director of the Chicano/Latino Studies Program and Associate Professor for the Department of Sociology, two academic disciplines housed within the College of Social Science. Ayala truly balances within her academic career the roles of educator and researcher, devoting an equal amount of passion to both realms. She brings a humanistic lens inspired by social justice and inclusivity to her courses and is a strong advocate for the importance of Ethnic Studies in education. Ayala is our Access Champion as we celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month.

Born and raised in Mexico City, Ayala and her family moved to South Texas in her final year of high school. This move, in combination with her experiences as an undergrad, opened her eyes to new ways of cultural expression among the many different Latinx populations in America. 

“It took me being in the United States to learn more about race and ethnicity, not only in the US but in Mexico as well,” she explained. “I had never interacted with Dominicans or Puerto Ricans and Caribbean immigrants. I learned so much about diversity within the Latinx population.”

Ayala’s family adopted many new activities and celebrations into their own lives, which Ayala says felt like an ‘extension’ of her culture and made her ‘even more proud’ of where she came from. “Growing up in Mexico, you value the culture, you’re surrounded by it,” she said. “But you also come to take for granted many things that make your culture unique, and it was in Texas that I became more aware of the beauty and the love that people that lived far away from those places had for the culture that seemed so familiar to me growing up.”

Originally intending to major in communications, Ayala took a sociology course that piqued her interest and led her toward her current path. She enjoyed learning about demography, race and ethnicity, and the diversity of the United States, both across and within racial and ethnic groups. She attended a sociology conference, presenting work with a faculty member, and became acquainted with the Chair of Sociology at Texas A&M, where she eventually went to pursue her master’s and PhD in sociology. “Once I started really internalizing the sociological lens, it was very hard to take it off,” she explained. After spending a couple of years working at SUNY Albany, Ayala learned about a joint appointment in sociology and Chicano/ Latino Studies at MSU, a role she has now been in since 2009. 

One of Ayala’s fields of study has continued to be the intra-group diversity of Latinx people, as well as the role that interdisciplinary studies, Ethnic and Latino Studies in particular, can help broaden one’s understanding and recognize stories that, until now, have been hidden or invisible in the current sociology curriculum.

“There was always an expectation I had growing up in Mexico that people that look like us would speak Spanish, and that was a very ethnocentric way of looking at Latinos,” she said. “I’ve come to appreciate the diversity within the group and now challenge Latino authenticity assessments.”

Ayala’s approach to teaching emphasizes the importance of storytelling, and connecting students to personal anecdotes from individuals involved in a certain topic, that can help humanize the learning experience. She has found that giving students the ability to put a name and a face to the issue through these personal stories makes them more likely to care about and engage in action surrounding those issues. She also values vulnerability when teaching and recognition of her own personal hurdles, such as occasional slip-ups when teaching in English, her second language. 

“Whenever I would teach about race and ethnicity, I would ask people to really focus on how we’re different, and yet identify everything else that binds us together as a community,” she said. “Or when we talk about education and people’s unique experiences, I ask students to identify a reading or a class experience they connected to, and let that issue be what brings them back for more the next day”

As for her role in the Chicano/Latino Studies Program, Ayala describes those within the program as her ‘extended community’ at Michigan State. “I get to interact and think about issues that I’m concerned about from different perspectives, and in doing so, challenge my own limiting ways of looking at the world,” she said. She loves the opportunity to participate in such an interdisciplinary environment, as well as one that celebrates the accomplishments and offers support to its Latinx students. 

“It really is a celebration,” she added. “A celebration of who we are and the contributions of the field in the curriculum. “I get to see the growth of Latinx folks not only in Higher Ed at MSU but all over the US and see how in CLS faculty care about students not only doing ‘good enough,’ but excelling and graduating.”

During Hispanic Heritage Month, Ayala finds herself again reflecting on the diversity and range of cultures that Hispanic groups have brought to the United States in many ways. Often, she explains, when people think of Hispanic culture, their mind goes to chart-topping Latin American artists or famous food dishes from their favorite Mexican restaurant. But Ayala wants us to remember that the contribution of Hispanic individuals extends to art, science, literature, social justice, and many other fields. 

“Whereas there are still many structural obstacles and cultural  tensions experienced by Latinos, Latinx communities continue to move forward and participate in every space... During this month we have an extra opportunity to celebrate the cultural richness of the group and underscore their contributions to every area that has shaped what the United States is today.”