PROVIDENCE, R.I. [Brown University] — Brown University alumna Xochitl Gonzalez has always been driven by curiosity.
She cultivated the quality during her undergraduate years at Brown, and it propelled her to opportunities around the world — successful entrepreneurial ventures, widely varying careers and now to literary stardom as a bestselling author who published her award-winning debut novel, “Olga Dies Dreaming,” in 2022, followed by her acclaimed “Anita de Monte Laughs Last” in 2024.
Her commitment to staying curious, which has enabled her to focus on finding stories and building relationships throughout her life, will be part of her message to Brown University’s Class of 2026 when she delivers the Baccalaureate address on Saturday, May 23, during Commencement and Reunion Weekend. A graduate of Brown’s Class of 1999, Gonzalez plans to reflect on her four years on campus and the intellectual curiosity she has carried with her through decades of exploration and reinvention.
“I want to talk to the graduates about staying curious,” Gonzalez said. “They’re graduating into a time of less certainty and stability when the same metrics that we used as barometers of success may not prove as satisfying. But I think curiosity is always going to take you someplace rewarding.”
Gonzalez was drawn to Brown’s student-centered learning and distinctive Open Curriculum, which fueled her academic journey as she pursued everything from political science and creative writing to art history and sculpture. She felt driven to understand the individuals, cultures and lives that underpin history, while being careful to avoid “flattening everything.”
“I think I wrote in one of my college diaries that you can’t just give your opinion here at Brown; there was always a follow-up question to think about why you felt a certain way,” Gonzalez said. “I learned it’s great to always interrogate, and usually, it will lead you to something better.”
That ethos continues to influence her when she develops characters for her novels.
“I try to make readers feel like you walked away knowing people in a real way — and I think so much of that started at Brown,” Gonzalez said. “It’s a great perspective to have: Don’t just accept certain things; ask, ‘Why are we doing it this way?’”
Raised by her grandparents in New York and the first person in her family to go away to college, Gonzalez worked many jobs on and off campus. She reflects on her academic experience at Brown as a time filled with both opportunities and challenges.
“My grandfather was a janitor, and my grandmother was a lunch lady, and when they dropped me off at Brown, it felt like, ‘Where are we?’” Gonzalez said. “It was a challenging time to be there, coming from my experience and from a big public school… On one hand, it wasn’t the easiest, but on the other hand, I learned so much from the things that were difficult.”
It’s something she has channeled as an engaged Brown alumna. Among many contributions to her alma mater, Gonzalez helped establish the Brown University Latino Alumni Council to create meaningful connections between generations and center the experiences of Latino students, and she has served as a trustee of the Corporation of Brown University since 2022.
“I love connecting with young people — I just find them to be so optimistic, which I think we need,” Gonzalez said.
Nearly three decades after her time on campus, she remains driven by a commitment to strengthening the student experience and hopes to provide some inspiration to the Class of 2026 as she recalls her professional journey. Gonzalez, who earned a bachelor’s degree in history of art and architecture and visual art, says she felt “a little wayward” upon graduation, but was determined to channel her creativity through career pursuits.
“There was a certain amount of falling into things, but I don’t remember ever working a job that I was miserable in, and I think that’s an accomplishment because I always felt like I was getting something interesting out of it,” she said.
