She grew up in Green Valley Ranch (GVR), the same neighborhood where she would one day teach. She sat in the same kinds of classrooms where she would later stand at the front. And when she crossed the stage to receive her doctoral degree, she did it knowing she wasn't walking alone. She was carried by every person who had believed in her along the way.
Dr. Analisse Nava, a DSST: Montview High School alumna, recently became the first person in her family to earn a doctorate. Her dissertation, fittingly titled Carried by Community, explores how DSST alumni leverage their cultural wealth to navigate postsecondary pathways, particularly in STEM, and what supports and challenges shaped their journeys. For Nava, the title reflects the many ways family, mentors, teachers, and community members supported and uplifted her along the way, and how students draw on those same sources of strength as they navigate higher education.
"The successes I've achieved, including earning my doctorate, are not mine alone. They are carried by my community, just as I hope to carry and support others in mine," Dr. Nava said.
Her path to the doctorate began taking shape long before graduate school. As a senior at DSST: Montview, a psychology course first sparked her curiosity about human behavior and helped her choose her undergraduate field of study. The summer before her senior year of college, DSST's Summer Fellows Program opened a new door entirely. Through the program, Dr. Nava returned to DSST as an alumna, helping teach during summer school mornings while spending afternoons rotating through sessions across campuses to learn about education. It was there she discovered Relay Graduate School of Education, which provided a path to earning her master's while working toward her teaching license, all while staying rooted in her community.
"Returning to DSST to teach in my own community showed me firsthand how the values and support I received as a student could be passed on," she said. "It solidified my desire to continue learning and giving back through research."
Teaching at DSST: Green Valley Ranch Middle School deepened her connection to that community in ways she hadn't anticipated. Her sister was a student there while Nava was teaching, which was a full-circle moment that reminded her that educators at DSST aren't just shaping students. They're caring for entire families.
Throughout her journey, several DSST educators left lasting marks. As a student, physics teacher Ms. Hilary Walker and math teacher Mr. Jeff Desserich helped her believe in herself inside two of her most challenging courses. "They not only helped me understand difficult concepts but also made me feel a sense of belonging in STEM spaces, something that stayed with me long after graduation," Nava said. Later, as a teacher and doctoral student, principal Caroline Gaudiani and equity leader Dr. Aaron Griffen mentored her with care and intention, honoring her story, her culture and her background every step of the way.
Becoming a science teacher also required Nava to confront her own complicated relationship with STEM identity. She had never fully seen herself as "a scientist," shaped by narrow definitions of who belongs in those spaces. But through teaching, she began to reframe science as a practice of curiosity, care and connection, the same values embedded in her community and her own cultural wealth. She watched students draw on their familial, social and linguistic capital to make sense of scientific ideas, and she saw STEM learning flourish when students' identities were affirmed rather than erased.
That realization became the heartbeat of her doctoral research.
"My work ultimately focuses on understanding how DSST alumni leverage their community cultural wealth in navigating postsecondary pathways, particularly in STEM," she explained. "The motivation behind this research came from a desire to highlight the assets that students bring to their learning and to create knowledge that can meaningfully benefit the community I am part of."
The road to a doctorate was not without resistance. As a first-generation student, Nava often felt uncertain about where to begin, and whether she truly belonged. Each chapter of her dissertation brought new challenges. When she hit a wall writing her methods chapter, her partner offered a reframe that grounded her: "You get to be the first person in your family to write a chapter 3." She leaned on a Doctoral Students of Color affinity group at her university, sought guidance from advisors and used journaling to stay connected to her purpose.
The DSST values of Doing Your Best and Curiosity, she said, never left her. They guided how she approached teaching, research and the harder moments of self-doubt.
Now, with her doctorate in hand, Nava is focused on expanding research that supports students in STEM pathways and amplifies their voices in policy and practice. She also created a bilingual magazine, primarily in Spanish, to share her research findings with her community in an accessible way, honoring the people whose stories shaped her work in the first place. It was her way of returning knowledge to the community that had nurtured her growth. As Women's History Month unfolds, Nava reflects on the women who made her journey possible - the mentors, teachers and family members who planted seeds long before she could see what was growing.
"Women's History Month is a chance to honor all the women in my life who have opened doors for me and for others," she said. "I hope to continue doing them justice through my work, mentorship, and dedication to inspiring the women who come after me."
Her message to young women at DSST who don't yet see themselves represented in advanced degrees or certain fields is both a challenge and an embrace.
"You belong here. Surround yourself with people who believe in you and will pour light into your journey," Nava said. "Apply for that program, that scholarship, that opportunity, and give yourself the chance to pursue your dreams. Y como dicen mis papás, échale ganas, mija."