The Miller Scholars Program is excited to welcome Liliana “Lili” Iglesias as the Program Lead for the 2026-2027 academic year. She will lead program operations alongside a graduate student instructor and a program assistant, providing the new 2026 cohort with academic transition support and research guidance.
Lili Iglesias, Program Lead of the Miller Scholars Program, in a portrait on the UC Berkeley campus.
When Iglesias initially arrived at UC Berkeley as an undergraduate student, she was not yet sure where her career would take her. Today, more than a decade into her career at Berkeley, Iglesias is returning to a familiar role in a new way: supporting students as they discover theirown paths through higher education and research.
As a first-generation daughter of Mexican immigrants who was born and raised in Carson, California, Iglesias credits her mother with instilling in her the importance of education from an early age. Her mother encouraged Iglesias to ask questions, seek out opportunities, and talk with counselors about how to reach college.
“I wanted to make them proud,” Iglesias reflected. “And I wanted to give back to the communities where I came from, and also other underserved populations.” That commitment eventually brought Iglesias to Berkeley, where she studied social welfare and education. As an undergraduate, she participated in Summer Bridge and the Educational Opportunity Program, experiences that showed her the importance of having supportive mentors and counselors who understood her background.
“Having that support or seeing counselors who looked like me was really empowering."
Her Berkeley experience also introduced her to research. As an undergraduate, Iglesias joined a research project led by a social welfare doctoral student, where she helped conduct interviews and develop a quantitative survey. The experience introduced her to qualitative research, research ethics, IRB procedures, and the process of building relationships with participants. It also gave her an appreciation for the power of research to center people's experiences. “I learned the importance of people being willing to share their stories,” she said.
After graduating from Berkeley, Iglesias pursued a master's degree in higher education counseling at the University of Southern California. She entered the field with a clear goal: to become a practitioner and counselor who could support students holistically.
That path eventually brought her back to Berkeley, where she has spent more than 11 years working with the Undocumented Student Program. Along the way, she grew from an academic counselor into a program leader, eventually serving as director of the program. Iglesias credits several mentors for helping her recognize possibilities in herself that she did not always see.
That encouragement helped Iglesias pursue new leadership opportunities and, eventually, doctoral study. After not planning to pursue a doctorate initially, she recently earned her Ed.D. in Educational Leadership for Social Justice from Cal State East Bay.
Her doctoral experience also reinforced something she had already discovered throughout her career: she enjoys research not only as a participant, but as a tool for understanding and improving students' experiences. Now, Iglesias is bringing that perspective to the Miller Scholars Program.
Lili pictured with her parents in a family photograph.
Courtesy of Lili Iglesias
For Iglesias, working with transfer students is not entirely new. Through her work with the Undocumented Student Program, she has supported many students who are also transfer students, re-entry students, or student parents.
But the Miller Scholars Program offers her an opportunity to work with transfer students through a different lens: research.
“I thought that this was a great opportunity to be able to do so, especially in a program where research is the focus and developing curiosity and providing the development for students to work on their own research,” she said.
The Miller Scholars Program is particularly meaningful to Iglesias because transfer students can face unique barriers to accessing research opportunities.
Students arriving at Berkeley from community colleges often have a much shorter window to navigate the university, build relationships with faculty, and discover opportunities that may take years to find.
“There’s that feeling like, okay, I have a limited amount of time,” Iglesias said. She also noted that many campus traditions and programs are designed with four-year students in mind, potentially leaving transfer students wondering where they fit.
For Iglesias, the strength of the Miller Scholars Program lies in its intentional community. Rather than asking transfer students to navigate research opportunities alone, the program provides a cohort, mentorship, and structured support over their time at Berkeley.
“Off the bat they start with the Miller cohort and community. They already know that they’re not going to spend just one year, but two years."
That community can give students the space to develop their research interests while also imagining what might come next.
Iglesias believes transfer students bring important perspectives to research precisely because of the diverse experiences that brought them to Berkeley. “Research opportunities or topics of research are sometimes based on one's experiences,” she said. “Transfer students are very diverse, come from all walks of life, and might have a different perspective or inquiry on things that they can look into.”
For some students, that experience may eventually lead to graduate school. For others, research may simply become a meaningful part of their Berkeley education. Iglesias hopes students leave the program with a stronger sense of community, a deeper appreciation for research and confidence in their ability to ask questions about the world around them.
That mission will take on an additional dimension this year as the Miller Scholars Program collaborates with the Firebaugh Scholars Program. The cohort will bring together 10 Miller Scholars and five Firebaugh Scholars for a shared seminar, creating opportunities for students with different educational pathways to learn from one another.
Iglesias hopes that the exchange will work in both directions, with students learning from their peers' experiences and perspectives.
Lili Iglesias celebrates her Berkeley graduation alongside her parents, marking a milestone in her academic journey.
Courtesy of Lili Iglesias
Perhaps the message Iglesias most wants to share with students is that research is not reserved for a particular kind of person, or only for students who discovered research early in their college careers.
For a transfer student who does not think research is for them, her first response would be: “Tell me more.”
She would ask students what they are curious about, what questions they have, and what ideas they have developed through their own experiences. Many students, she believes, may already have engaged in forms of research without recognizing it as such. Sometimes, she added, students simply need someone else to recognize their potential before they can see it themselves.
“Sometimes we don’t see the potential that we have, and it takes someone else to see it and reflect it to us."
As she begins her new role with Miller, Iglesias is most excited about watching students grow. She looks forward to seeing their research projects take shape, introducing them to resources across campus and helping the program become a place where students feel supported. “The student experience and relationships are really what got me into this work,” she said. “They’ve kept me here, and continue being a priority and something that keeps me grounded and excited.”
For Iglesias, the goal is not simply to teach students how to conduct research. It is to help them recognize that their questions, experiences, and curiosity have value—and that they belong in the world of research, wherever their paths may ultimately lead.
