When students walk into Instructor Nery Chapetón-Lamas' classroom for the first time, they encounter something not often found in a traditional computer science education.

It is a space where a student’s full self is not only welcome but celebrated.

While many STEM classrooms focus primarily on technical instruction, Nery has spent over a decade transforming what computer science education can look like when it embraces the whole student.

It's a revolution that began with his own journey as a child of immigrant parents and a first-generation college student from Los Angeles. Growing up in a working-class household where his father was a mechanic and his mother was a stay-at-home mom, Nery was taught early on that education was the way to pursue his dreams. But like many of his peers at the time, Nery also discovered the painful reality of existing between two worlds.

“I didn’t always fit here or there,” Nery reflected on his experiences as a Chicano student in predominantly white academic science spaces.

That sense of displacement followed Nery through his undergraduate years at UC Irvine, where he and four roommates represented the entirety of Latino representation in their computer science and engineering cohort.

“We knew we were probably the only ones,” Nery recalled. “And that memory has stuck with me today as I have the opportunity to help the next generation of immigrant and diverse students in science.”

When Nery arrived at MiraCosta College over 13 years ago to teach computer science, he encountered something transformative – classrooms where Latino students weren't the rare exception.

“To see classrooms with such diversity was eye-opening,” Nery said. “Even if there was still improvement needed, I started realizing the impact we could make. I just didn’t know how to do it.”

That realization sparked a fundamental shift in how Nery approached education. Rather than simply delivering technical content, he began building curriculum around student identity and community connection. Colleagues like Dr. Luke Lara introduced approaches like culturally responsive pedagogy.

“I realized that if I really believe in social justice, I have to believe that any student that walks into that door can do it,” Nery explained. “I know they already have the critical thinking skills; I need to evolve so I can help them with the CS part.”

The transformation shows up immediately in Nery's classroom structure. The first two weeks focus entirely on building community rather than covering technical material, which began as a choice that initially felt uncomfortable but proved revolutionary.

Explained Nery, "We don't cover any new material. It's straight up, let's build community. To some, it doesn't feel right because what felt right had been wrong."

This approach resonates deeply with students like Marisol Lopez Lomeli, who found Nery's teaching style transformative even in online formats.

“His teaching style and flexibility made it feel more fun and engaging than any other in-person class I've had,” Marisol shared. “He applies the real world into his teaching, which makes learning more exciting and feel more relevant.”

For Marisol, Nery's approach addressed a fundamental challenge in computer science education – maintaining human connection in technical fields.

Continued Marisol, “Computer science can be overwhelming, leading us to start focusing more on the numbers and variables we need to find that we may start to lose the humanity in our creations. Instructor Nery brings back the social purpose for computer science, to help people and the beauty of what you can do with science.”

Nery's commitment to authenticity extends to sharing his own academic struggles openly, from failed classes and academic probation, to losing scholarships in his own journey for academic success. This creates space for students to see their own challenges as part of learning rather than evidence of inadequacy.

“Before, I never said I failed a class. I had to be the perfect faculty on the stage,” Nery explained. “My colleagues of color demonstrated new ways of teaching, they encouraged me to be vulnerable. Now I share my story in week one because you would be surprised at how often the same thing has happened to incoming students. That’s the connection I want to build.”

The ripple effects of Nery's approach extend throughout MiraCosta College's computer science department, where hiring practices, curriculum development, and faculty training now center on culturally responsive teaching. As department chair, Nery has worked to institutionalize changes that support any kind of learner who enters the program.

“My dream is that it's not just me,” Nery said. “We have three other full-time faculty and they're all amazing because we try to lead with community and connection. We have over 15 associate faculty that are engaging with the discomfort of new ways of teaching, embracing these practices to better support our students.”

Through his work at MiraCosta College, Instructor Nery represents a new, impactful model of STEM education. One where technical excellence and social justice work together to create stronger learning communities and more successful students. His classroom has become a space where students don't have to choose between their identities and their academic pursuits but rather they can bring their whole selves to the work of building a more equitable future through technology.