Michelle Angelo-Rocha
Michelle Angelo-Rocha, a graduate student in the University of South Florida (USF) College of Education, was awarded the USF Golden Bull Award, one of the highest honors presented to deserving undergraduate and graduate students at the university.
Presented by USF Student Success, the Golden Bull Award is presented each spring semester to students who encompass the spirit of USF and have demonstrated the university’s values. Recipients of the Golden Bull Award exemplify exceptional leadership and service to USF and its community.
Angelo-Rocha is a doctoral candidate in USF’s Educational Leadership and Policy Studies program. Her research explores challenges that undermine the educational aspirations of families who may be undocumented and how their experiences are shaped by sociopolitical and geopolitical factors.
While studying at USF, Angelo-Rocha has engaged in various scholarly activities, such as presenting and performing for colleagues at the Curriculum and Pedagogy Conference and conducting a pilot study of migrant children using arts-based research methods.
“(Michelle’s) critical appraisal of current policies and practices is needed in scholarship that ultimately aims to improve institutions, starting with USF,” said Vonzell Agosto, PhD, Angelo-Rocha’s major professor and chair of the Department of Leadership, Policy and Lifelong Learning. “Michelle has helped support other students at USF as a guide or mentor through publication and writing groups. Just as important, she values her peers and does not fail to acknowledge their greatness. She is the glue helping to bind some students to their studies through the pandemic. In imagining who is deserving of a Golden Bull, I see Michelle — and in her, I see the future face of USF.”