Victoria González has been contributing to the growth of the Univesity of Illinois for more than twenty years. She came to the Latina/Latino Studies Program shortly after its inauguration, and has been essential to the cohesion, operation, and progress of the program. When asked why this program is so important to her, she explains that she is vested ideologically in the success of this initiative, "this program stands for Latina and Latino achievements, academics, and organization. I believe that Latina/Latino studies is needed both by the university community and the national community. I want this program to succeed." González understands and expresses that the issue of training the students for excellence is the way to their empowerment. In addition to her full-time work at the Program and her service with the Chancellor's Committee for the Advancement of Women, González is the caring mother of two teenage children.