Since her transition in the late 1980s, Christina Munguia, MSW ’21, lived very privately as a transgender woman. When she decided to apply to the USC Suzanne Dworak-Peck School of Social Work, the admissions requirements included the composition of an essay on why she wanted to become a social worker. In that moment, she decided to speak openly about who she was for the first time — a woman of transgender experience and refugee of war from El Salvador. If she was admitted to the Master of Social Work (MSW) program, Munguia wanted to know that she was accepted as her authentic self. 

“When I was accepted into USC, I was excited because they took me in the way I was,” Munguia said. “There was no bias at all. I became my own ticket to success.”

As one of the first openly transgender graduates of USC Social Work, Munguia says that her time in the MSW program is among the best experiences of her life.

“I'm a walking billboard for change,” Munguia said. “I want people to know that USC embraces diversity, they don't just say it. They really endorse who you are and your value to the community.”

Blossoming in graduate school

Munguia came to the MSW program as a mature student, having previously earned a bachelor’s degree in architecture and interior design. She established her own design business that was doing well until the collapse of the economy in 2008 forced her to close its doors. 

“I decided I couldn't fall apart,” Munguia said. “I needed to keep my mind busy, so I started taking classes at a community college.” 

Studying sociology and female anthropology, Munguia began to relate to common experiences and formulate a plan to move herself forward.

“There was a lot about empowerment, a lot of things that women had gone through,” Munguia said. “Just because I'm not a cisgender woman that does not mean I haven't gone through a lot of the experiences that cisgender women go through, including sexism.”

Being transgender from birth, Munguia says it provided her with an advantage to witness the double standards in society — the privilege of cisgender males versus females, which she experienced first-hand when making her own change from man to woman. Her personal experiences coupled with what she was learning in her classes inspired her to consider pursuing a graduate degree in social work. Munguia decided to attend an informational session hosted by the admissions department at USC Social Work to learn more about the diverse careers of social workers.

“Once I heard all the information, I loved what I heard,” Munguia said. “It made sense to me to put together everything that I had learned — sociology, psychology, anthropology — all those elements into one profession.”

When Munguia began the MSW program, society had begun to change in its views around the transgender community. But, she was still unsure how she would be perceived by her cisgender classmates. Once arriving at USC, her concerns quickly dissolved, and she almost immediately felt a strong bond with her fellow students.

“I felt like I was just one of the sorority girls,” Munguia said. “I had so many female friends there, and even the guys were coming along.”

USC became the first place where Munguia felt a real sense that she belonged to a community. She paid it forward by actively participating in the USC LGBT Peer Mentoring Program, providing guidance to students across campus. And she credits Samuel Mistrano, associate teaching professor at USC Social Work, for helping her develop strong principles for advocacy and finding her unique voice. Munguia wrote an op-ed about homelessness within the transgender community in Hollywood as an assignment for Mistrano’s class which received publication in The Pride, The Los Angeles LGBT Newspaper.

Setting herself on a path to facilitate real change

Munguia chose adult mental health as the focus for her MSW studies. She dove in head first with a practicum placement at Hollenbeck PAL, a partnership between the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) and the Hollenbeck community to nurture at-risk youth. 

“I like challenges,” Munguia said. “I knew for a fact that the LAPD was not the best ally to the LGBTQ+ community, but I decided to put myself out there.”

Munguia felt that if, through her presence, those in the police department could see that not every transgender person is the same, she could potentially help facilitate the change she wanted to see within law enforcement.

“I decided to go there with my shield and my sword, like a good Trojan,” Munguia said.

At Hollenbeck PAL, Munguia worked closely with juveniles exhibiting pre-delinquent behaviors, as well as connecting with their families and school counselors to address the root causes of their behavioral issues. She supported teen clients in developing life, academic and interpersonal relationship building skills. In line with what she had hoped to accomplish on behalf of the LGBTQ+ community, she facilitated LGBTQ+ cultural competency training for staff on knowledge, attitudes and micro-aggressions. 

Munguia continues to collaborate with Hollenbeck PAL for LGBTQ+ competency training sessions.

“The opportunity that I got through USC to go to Hollenbeck PAL gave me the ticket to every job I’ll ever have,” Munguia said. 

Giving back to her community

Since completing her MSW degree in 2021, Munguia has been working with Access to Prevention, Advocacy, Intervention and Treatment (APAIT), one of the health access and advocacy divisions of Special Services for Groups, Inc. (SSG), a Los Angeles nonprofit dedicated to building and sustaining community-based programs that address the needs of vulnerable communities. Within APAIT, Munguia is a behavioral health counselor for Casa de Zulma, the first ever publicly funded Enhanced Bridge Housing project for transgender women in Los Angeles County. Munguia helps to provide safe sanctuary and supportive services for its residents.

In addition, Munguia supports transgender clients from other programs within APAIT, including a Spanish-speaking immigrant program and a forensic treatment program that works directly with the Los Angeles Department of Mental Health and the courts to provide clients with an opportunity to reintegrate into the community. 

Munguia encourages her transgender clients to value themselves. Most are recovering from years of physical, sexual and emotional abuse. 

“What I want is for them to view themselves differently so that they can find success in their lives, and hopefully even get to a place where they have the desire to pursue higher education,” Munguia said.

As Munguia found graduate school to be the best therapy for herself, particularly as a person representative of intersectionality, she wants that for her clients. 

It is a thrill for Munguia every time she looks back at her USC yearbook for the Class of 2021. To have her picture there, representing a diversity defined by her gender, is a very emotional experience. 

“USC gave me the tools to be honest,” Munguia said. “Obviously, I had some in me, but USC amplified my wholeness.”