Celebrating the LGBTQIA+ Community
Monday, June 9, 2025
by Celeste Natera
Pride Month is celebrated each year in the month of June to honor the 1969 Stonewall Uprising in Manhattan, a turning point in the Gay Liberation Movement in the United States. Pride Month recognizes and celebrates the impact that LGBTQIA+ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer or questioning, intersex, asexual or allies, and others) individuals have had through history. It also serves as an opportunity to lift the voices, recognize the culture, and support the rights of the LGBTQIA+ community.
In honor of Pride Month 2025, the UC Santa Barbara College of Engineering (COE) is recognizing and celebrating two LGBTQIA+ graduate students who represent the next generation of innovators and leaders in engineering and STEM fields. Celeste Natera spoke to them earlier this month about what Pride Month means to them and why they believe it is important to share their stories.
Arturo Juan
A gay third-year materials PhD student at UCSB, Arturo Juan earned his bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering from the University of Southern California, and then a master’s degree in electrical and computer engineering at UCSB. He worked in industry prior to entering the Materials PhD program in fall 2022. Juan is advised by Steven DenBaars, a distinguished professor of materials and electrical and computer engineering. Juan’s research focuses on high power and energy efficient edge emitting laser diodes on III-Nitrides. He says that after completing his PhD, he hopes to return to industry to continue working on epitaxy and thin film growth of materials.
COE: What does Pride Month mean to you as a member of the LGBTQIA+ community, and does it feel more important to observe and recognize it given the anti-LGBTQIA+ legislation that has been introduced across the nation lately?
AJ: Pride Month is about being yourself and being unafraid of who you are. With the initiatives by the current administration aimed at suppressing the voices of marginalized groups, that can sometimes be hard. We need a strong community of allies to be there for us and speak up for us because we, the members of the LGBTQIA+ community, can't do it alone.
COE: Why did you agree to share your story and participate in this project that celebrates Pride Month within the College of Engineering?
AJ: I think it's important to hear stories from students or people like myself and learn about struggles that others might not know we face. Having someone's story, not to make it too scientific, but as a data point to realize that you can't generalize about a group of people, whether it’s women, LGBTQIA+ members, or an ethnic group, is important. We always like to glorify a happy ending, but sometimes I think it's just as important to learn about people's backgrounds.
COE: What would you like people to gain from reading your profile and the others on the page?
AJ: Since the fourth grade, I knew I wanted to be a scientist. I’m from two communities that are marginalized and minorities within engineering — being both Hispanic/Latino and queer — so I want to share my story with those who maybe don’t think that they can do it. Having someone that they can see has been through similar experiences can be a representation that they can do it, too. I also want people to just be kind to each other. It's so simple, but sometimes we forget just to be kind to others.
COE: Have you found UCSB, the College of Engineering, and your department communities to be welcoming to you and other members of the LGBTQIA+ community?
AJ: Not to say that it’s all sunshines and rainbows, but, for the most part, I think the community here, at least at UCSB, within the Materials Department and within the College of Engineering, is accepting. You can just be who you are, and I feel like I've been able to express myself. I have lots of supportive friends, and there are lots of great on-campus orgs, like oSTEM and RCSGD, to get involved in. No one ever looks at me funny for being myself, and I think that that, in and of itself, can be big. Sometimes people are afraid of expressing themselves, but fortunately, not just within the College of Engineering but even more specifically with the people that I work with every day, I am unafraid of being myself.
COE: What could the college or university do to provide a more welcoming environment?
AJ: There's always more that can be done. I think there needs to be more support for the student organizations. There needs to be financial support for orgs and their members to keep them running, to send them to conferences, and to let them have space for their community. The College of Engineering has been supportive of the graduate student orgs that I'm a part of. We're able to reserve rooms and spaces after hours for panels that we want to host, but there needs to be a continuation of support for the students. I think it requires staff from the College of Engineering, but also the university, to talk to the student orgs and talk to the leaders and ask, “What are your needs and how can we help?”
COE: How are you celebrating pride month this year?
AJ: I celebrate Pride Month every day. To me, it isn't just about a month. Having the freedom and ability to be myself every day is pride. While it’s great that we have a month for it, I think it's something that needs to be acknowledged every day. It's fun to celebrate, and all the festivals that happen throughout the country are totally great and should continue to happen, but I think it should go beyond just the month of June. I’m going to continue doing the work that I do. Telling people why I love what I do, why I love science, and being unapologetically me. If there is even just one queer or Hispanic kid that doesn’t feel seen in the STEM field, they can see themselves in me.