CAL POLY AAUW SLO LYNN S. JANEWAY MEMORIAL SCHOLARSHIP RECIPIENT: KATHERINE SHIZUKA GROSE
In preparation for her presentation at our May branch meeting, I had the pleasure of posing some questions to Katherin Shizuka Grose, our 2025-2026 winner of our CAL POLY AAUW SLO LYNN S. JANEWAY MEMORIAL SCHOLARSHIP. Katherine is a 2026 Sociology Major from Cal Poly and among the first to graduate as part of Cal Poly's Bachelors Pathway Program with Allan Hancock College. In addition to what follows, she also wrote, "Thank you for this opportunity. I am very grateful for both the scholarship and the chance to meet members of the organization". Congratulations, Katherine!!
Debra Valencia-Laver
1) Please share with us some highlights and/or struggles in your educational journey to this point.
My journey to Cal Poly and graduation this year has been anything but linear. I dropped out of college the first time when I was 19 for multiple reasons, but mainly because I couldn’t find a job that would accommodate my schedule and pay all of my bills. Fast forward to my late twenties, and I found myself in the hospital with nothing to look forward to. I ended up getting sober and a little bit later having my first son. During Covid I found myself at home with him and decided to get back into school while I could take classes virtually. This was my saving grace. Getting admitted into the first cohort of the Bachelor’s Pathway program was the best news ever. It made getting a bachelor’s degree accessible to me, as I am now a mother of two. The cohort and the professors who worked with us have been so amazing, and it is their support and encouragement that I will miss the most.
2)
What are your future educational and/or career plans?
I have many goals. I would like to get my Master's degree in social work and be an LCSW. I would also like to teach sociology one day. Although juggling school with raising kids has been hard at times, I am so glad that I have had the opportunity to study in a field that explains many of the questions that used to keep me up at night. This sociology degree will help me advocate for change in places where it is needed the most, such as healthcare, women’s health, public education, and addiction services.
3)
What, if anything, did you know about AAUW when you applied for scholarships at Cal Poly? In what ways does our mission of advancing gender equity through research, education, and advocacy speak to you and your goals for yourself?
I knew about AAUW because we had learned about it in one of my courses called “social movements/social change”. I think the mission speaks to me because I am not a traditional college student. Going back to school in my thirties has given me a different perspective on many issues such as equity and inclusion. I think that with more life experience under my belt than some of my cohort members, I can understand how societal barriers have the potential to limit growth and promotion for women. I am grateful and proud to be able to say that I have received a scholarship from an organization that pushes for these rights.
4)
Please feel free to share anything else about yourself that you would like to share.
I am also a mother of two young sons (7 and 3), a first-generation college student, a member of the first cohort of the Bachelors Pathway Program, and a recovering alcoholic among many other things. I describe myself in this way not because I think they make me unique or special, but to help explain who I am today and why. Although I have lived on the Central Coast most of my life, there was a brief time in my twenties when I lived in the East Bay area. During this time, there were social struggles happening such as the BLM movement, petitions for mandatory minimum wage raises, and gentrification issues. I saw how these issues affected locals, and I was struck by the sense of community comradery I felt. Grassroots movements and neighborly help were the social norm, and I had never experienced this so strongly. I am grateful for this experience, because it has shown me what is possible when people come together to support a common cause.
Even though I have not had the time to participate as frequently as I’d like in the past two years, I am also a member of the local chapter of AA (District 52) and go to meetings when I can. My participation in this program has empowered me and allowed me to share my “experience, strength, and hope” with others. Although I am not ashamed of my past, those decisions do not define who I am any longer, and I try to convey that to people who are still grappling with their dependence issues. Addiction does not discriminate, but it is also not a death sentence. I try to give people the same empathy and grace that was so freely given to me when I was at my worst nearly a decade ago. Over the years, I have helped connect people with services and programs that are difficult to access without prior knowledge. From the outside, it may seem simple, but it is often a complicated and frustrating process, especially when someone is already struggling. This experience has shown me how important it is to have advocates who understand how these systems work at the local level.
I have [also] stayed connected to my local Japanese community through Guadalupe Buddhist Church where my late grandmother was a Sunday school teacher. My children and I participate in the Obon festival yearly, where we volunteer, dress in traditional clothing, and dance in remembrance of our loved ones who have passed on. Being involved within this space grounds me and reinforces the importance of cultural connection, family, and community support. Keeping this tradition alive and passing it down to my children is important to me, as we have lost many of our cultural traditions due to WWII, the assimilation that followed, and the loss of many of our elders.
Advocating for people who don’t have a voice, or have a small voice, has become my passion because I have been that person many times in my life. In the past, I used to believe that all the trials and tribulations I have faced were personal failures, but through my experience at Cal Poly I have come to see that they are now my biggest strengths. They have allowed me to connect with people in a genuine way, which is something I don’t think I would have been able to do as well if I had taken a more traditional path. For the past two years, I have been anxiously awaiting graduation day. Now, with that day nearing, I find myself in a surreal space. I have been looking forward to finishing school for so long, but now I realize it is not the degree itself that I am most grateful for, but the process of attaining it. My professors and cohort members created a space that has allowed me to grow in ways that I never knew were possible. Cal Poly’s “Learn By Doing” philosophy has given me the confidence to take my next steps, wherever they may lead me.
