We hope you enjoy this series where we meet and get to know employees from across campus. Would you like to be featured? Contact us at campusnews@csufresno.edu.

Name: Earl Aguilera
Title: Assistant professor
Department: Curriculum and Instruction
Academic Degrees: Ph. D. Learning, Literacies, and Technologies; M.A. Reading; B.A. English

How long you have worked at Fresno State? Since August 2018.

What is your most notable accomplishment in your field, and why was it important? I recently co-edited a special issue of Pedagogies: An International Journal, which highlighted the powerful work that several of my colleagues in the field are doing around critical literacy in a digital age. I learned so much in the process, had the opportunity to work directly with a good friend and mentor as my co-editor, and felt confident that the work we published was very relevant to our current educational, technological and political climate.

What are you most passionate about in your field and why? Because education is my field of study, it may come as no surprise that I am most passionate about teaching, mentoring, and other ways of directly connecting with individuals and communities.

What is a memorable moment you had at your job? A half-day workshop when our college invited local high school students who were interested in teaching stands out in my mind. A friend of mine — not an academic — helped out with my workshop. The room was packed with students who wanted to know more about videogames and learning. It just felt like such a nice way to mobilize knowledge in the service of our local community.

What is a memorable moment you had in class, and what does that reveal about your teaching style? The most memorable moment I have had was teaching my first graduate-level course (at a different institution), just barely having graduated with my own master's degree. I had folks in class that had been in their careers for longer than I had been alive. What this forced me to do was develop a teacher persona and teaching style that was much more collaborative, participatory, and collegial in nature — rather than just trying to pretend I was dispensing knowledge from on high.

What do you like to do for fun in your spare time? For fun, I spend most of my spare time climbing at the rock gym, hiking, camping, reading science fiction and fantasy genres and playing games of all kinds.

What is something interesting about you that most people don’t know? Prior to the pandemic, my wife and I were really into partner acrobatics. We became close friends with circus performers, gymnasts, cheerleaders, and other awesome folks through that hobby.

Is there something else you would like to share that was not asked? Just wanted to briefly mention how proud I am of my colleagues at Kremen who are directly engaged with issues of educational and social justice. It's such an honor to work with and learn from them.