Oberlin Grad Receives Full Ride to Stanford Doctoral Program
This fall, Oberlin College alumnus Brian Cabral begins a new doctoral program at the Stanford University Graduate School of Education on a full five-year scholarship. The Race, Ideology, and Language in Education (R.I.L.E.) program is designed to train students as national leading researchers on how race, inequality and language intersect in ineffective and effective educational opportunities.
A proud first-generation Mexican-American from Chicago’s Little Village neighborhood, Brian immersed himself in all aspects of campus life at Oberlin. He pursued a major in sociology and a minor in rhetoric and composition. He was selected for the prestigious Mellon Mays Undergraduate Fellowship, part of the Mellon Foundation’s initiative to increase diversity in the faculty ranks of institutions of higher learning.
His research focused on educational opportunities for young Latinx men in Chicago.
Brian’s research has focused on educational opportunities for young Latinx men in Chicago, centering on his former high school. At Oberlin he worked closely with Dr. Gina Perez, professor of comparative American studies, Posse mentor and author of “Citizen, Student, Soldier: Latina/o Youth, JROTC, and the American Dream.”
Brian served as vice president of his class for three years, co-chair of student organization La Alianza Latinx, was a tutor in the campus writing center, leader of the contra dance group, and an intramural rugby and basketball player. At commencement this past spring, Brian received Highest Honors in Sociology and the Comfort Starr Prize.
Also graduating this May was Ryan Dearon, the first Posse Scholar to receive a double degree from the Oberlin College of Arts and Sciences and the Oberlin Conservatory of Music. Posse Scholars are admitted directly into the College of Arts and Sciences; Dearon auditioned separately for the conservatory after matriculating on campus. This year he was one of only 29 students to graduate with the elite double degree distinction.
Brian and his Posse were supported at their commencement ceremony by their mentor, Dr. Caroline Jackson-Smith, professor of theater and Africana studies, who beamed with pride as she recounted the many accolades of the 11 graduating Scholars. The cohort collectively received honors, awards and fellowships including The J. William Fulbright Fellowship, The Africana Studies Excellence in Artistic Achievement Award, Phi Beta Kappa and The Nash Drama Award.
