History Alumnus Making Mark as a Professor

History Alumnus Making Mark as a Professor

By Brian Hiro

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When he started out as a Cal State San Marcos student, Tony Acevedo's relationship with history was simple: It was just a subject that he had to take to fulfill the university's general education requirements.

But something happened along the way. The history courses sparked Acevedo's interest in a manner that those in his intended major, communication, did not. The material ran so much deeper than the rote memorization of names and dates that he associated with history.

"My professors at CSUSM also made me feel smart, giving me invaluable feedback on my work and my progress as a student," Acevedo said.

That was more than two decades ago. Acevedo switched his major, graduated with a history degree in 2004 and ultimately became a professor himself - with an ambition to emulate in his teaching the way he was taught at CSUSM.

It seems to be working. Now an associate professor and coordinator of history, political science and American studies at Hudson County Community College (HCCC) in Jersey City, N.J., Acevedo last month received the Distinguished Faculty Award from the New Jersey Council of County Colleges - an honor that covers all faculty across the state's 18 community colleges. He was recognized for his "profound influence on students academically and professionally inside and outside the classroom."

Acevedo co-founded the Hudson Oral History Project, through which he guides student interns in interviewing residents, community leaders and business owners to document the history and rapid changes of Jersey City's Journal Square area. He also helped establish the HCCC Department of Cultural Affairs, which provides free arts and enrichment programming for students and the people of Hudson County.

"When I was notified I got the award, it felt quite rewarding," he said. "Sometimes it is easy to lose sight of the impact you have on students, especially when doing the work of preparing lessons or confronting challenges like the influence of AI on education. So to receive an award like this was definitely a reminder that the daily commitment to help students grow as learners and thinkers is so worthwhile."

A Fallbrook native, Acevedo chose CSUSM because of the proximity to home and the intimate learning environment compared to other California State University schools that he considered. Once he switched his major to history, he came under the tutelage of multiple faculty mentors, most notably Alyssa Sepinwall.

Sepinwall invited Acevedo to be part of CSUSM's Faculty Mentoring Program, which since 1991 has paired first-generation students like Acevedo in a one-on-one mentoring relationship with a faculty member to increase retention rates. At Sepinwall's suggestion, he attended an academic history conference in Newport Beach that he calls a turning point because it exposed him to what history professors do outside the classroom.

"Dr. Sepinwall also brought in guest speakers and made sure her students got engaged with history beyond just completing our assignments," Acevedo said. "And she gave me invaluable guidance when I applied to grad school, spelling out in no uncertain terms the challenges of the academic job market, but also pushing me to pursue my dreams. Along the way, she has been my go-to person for all things history."

Sepinwall's influence was such that, during his senior year, Acevedo nominated her for the President's Award for Innovation in Teaching, which she won in 2004. Her admiration for her former student is equally strong.

"I am so impressed by all of Tony's successes since he graduated from CSUSM," Sepinwall said. "He took everything he was taught here and built on it in his own way to become a superstar teacher. I learn so many things from him when we talk about teaching - and watching him become a state and national leader in history pedagogy, for community colleges and others, makes me tremendously proud as his former Faculty Mentoring Program mentor."

After graduating from CSUSM, Acevedo earned a master's degree in history from San Diego State and worked there as a graduate teaching associate. He was hired by HCCC in 2013. He lives in New York City, where he's in the dissertation phase of achieving a Ph.D. in world history from St. John's University.

Acevedo particularly values the experience of teaching at a community college.

"Most of my students are first-generation students, and getting to be part of their journey feels special, because for many of them, as for myself, receiving a college degree can be transformational," he said. "I also can relate to the ways my students have to balance lots of real-life responsibilities, such as heavy work schedules, with their pursuit of a college education, and I am continually impressed by their grit and perseverance.

"Most of my students are also non-history majors taking history courses to fulfill a requirement, so I especially love reading student evaluations that start with 'I didn't like history before' or 'History was never my favorite subject' before they explain how much they enjoyed the class."

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