More Than A Lesson Plan: Assistant Professor Gabriela DeRobles Creates Impact Through Connections

Assistant Professor Gabriela DeRobles teaches several courses in the Modern Languages Department at CU Denver, but if you ask her students, her classes are about much more than language. “I don’t think I would have gone after my master’s degree, and I know I wouldn’t have even made it through that first semester without her,” said Alejandra Gutierrez ’24.   

Gutierrez is a first-generation student whose parents came to Denver from Jalisco, Mexico. Like many of DeRobles’ students, Spanish is spoken at home, and she sometimes battles with imposter syndrome, the belief that despite your credentials and concrete success, you are a fraud and don’t belong. That changed when she met DeRobles. “I remember my first class with Dr. DeRobles,” Gutierrez said. “She looked so young we all thought she was a student. Then she started talking about the class and her research, and I thought, ‘Oh, she’s just like me, a Colorado Latina who knows exactly what I’m going through.’ That was huge.”  

Gutierrez took Spanish and linguistics courses with DeRobles every semester as she earned her bachelor’s in Spanish Language, Literature, and Culture in 2022. DeRobles served as her thesis advisor when Gutierrez pursued her master’s degree in Spanish from the CU Denver Modern Languages Department (she graduated in May 2024).   

Today, Gutierrez is a counselor at the Denver Foundation where she works with scholarship recipients. She also lectures in the same classrooms she once sat in as a student and continues to conduct research in Spanish linguistics. “Gaby is my champion,” Gutierrez said. “We all deserve a mentor like her, and as I work with my own students, I remember how she was always one of my greatest advocates, and I try my hardest to replicate that support for the next generation.”  

In the Classroom  

Connecting with students and creating a safe place to learn is key to academic success. CU Denver aims to provide those supports for all students, and—as a federally designated Hispanic-Serving Institution—that includes our Latinx learners (about 27 percent of students) and first-generation students (more than half). Anticipating their needs and building a community where they feel they belong and can fully participate is a top priority for the university.

Having been a bilingual first-generation student herself, DeRobles said she knows how important it is for first-generation students to discover they are not alone in their experience and to feel like they belong. “In my classes, we talk about the U.S. Latinx experience, which is often different from our parents’ or grandparents’ experience,” she said. “We learn about Spanish and how it is perceived in this country. They share personal stories about their abuelitos and the challenges [their abuelitos] faced living without papeles, and we contextualize those experiences within a broader social structure.”  

The classroom provides a safe place to explore what it means to be Latinx in the U.S. and to build community. “A lot of students feel insecure in their ability to speak Spanish,” DeRobles said. “Some are ashamed they speak Spanglish, not realizing that research indicates that speaking Spanglish actually reflects a high level of cognitive [ability]—the skill to seamlessly switch between languages without missing a beat.”  

DeRobles is keenly aware of her role as a trusted resource for Latinx and first-generation students.  During her office hours, students often seek her out to ask for help with homework. Others ask about resources, and some just need a person they can relate to so they can openly talk about imposter syndrome, navigating barriers, and balancing school, work, and family.  

Beyond the Classroom  

For Alexia Moore, DeRobles is an inspiration that has helped her be more confident about her own abilities and her future. Moore is a CU Denver senior majoring in psychology. Her goal is to become a dentist that serves the Latino community. “Dr. DeRobles is not only an excellent professor but also empathetic, kind, and understanding,” Moore said. “She fosters a culture of mutual respect and makes everyone feel seen. … As my Spanish Sociolinguistics course concluded, she encouraged me to apply for a research grant through the EURēCA program with her as my mentor. Her belief in me was unexpected but incredibly empowering.” 

Moore, who was raised by her grandmother in Mexico, moved to Vail to join her parents when she was 10. “Dr. DeRobles’ impressive achievements are truly inspiring,” she said. “There are many obstacles and challenges for Hispanic women in this country, with higher education being one example. Even though Dr. DeRobles is not involved in the medical field, as a Hispanic woman myself, she inspires me to continue my path in dentistry and encourages me and many others to take pride in our heritage in our own unique ways.”    

Students find it easy to connect with DeRobles because she’s open and lived through similar experiences. She was born in Southern California and raised in Denver since she was 10. Her parents are originally from Zacatecas, Mexico, and she grew up in a bilingual household. Every summer, she would visit her grandparents in Mexico. At school, she tried to stay under the radar. “I was juggling two different identities,” she said. “It wasn’t until college that I reconciled those identities and realized it was OK to be both—to be me.”  

In college, she met professors who looked like her and mentored her. She has multiple degrees, including a PhD from Georgetown University. She credits the people she met along the way with helping her get to where she is today. She aims to do the same for her students now.  

She said that by understanding students’ diverse backgrounds and incorporating that knowledge in preparing lessons, we build a sense of belonging. It’s things like offering an opportunity for students to share personal stories related to the materials covered in class or assigning reading material by Latinx authors living in the U.S.  

These kinds of efforts help build trust and open the door to mentoring and serving students on their academic journey.  And it’s precisely what a lot of first-generation and Latinx students need. “You know we’re not inclined to ask for help,” said Gutierrez. “It really isn’t part of our culture. So, you need champions like Gaby. And we need to be there for the next generation.”