Dr. Raquel López is a Professor of Mathematics at Paradise Valley Community College in Phoenix, Arizona. Raised on her family’s farm outside Teocaltiche, Jalisco, México, she immigrated to the United States with her family as a teenager and began her higher education in developmental mathematics at Yuba Community College in California, where she discovered her passion for mathematics. She later earned a Ph.D. in Applied Mathematics from Arizona State University.

Throughout her career, Dr. López has served as a mathematics course coordinator, mentored undergraduate researchers, presented at regional and national conferences, and contributed to institutional assessment and curriculum development. Her work has been recognized through several honors, including the 2026 Dale P. Parnell Distinguished Faculty Award from the American Association of Community Colleges and the 2025 Dr. William Yslas Vélez Faculty Award. Her work is driven by the simple belief that every student is capable of learning mathematics when provided with opportunity, care, patience, and high-quality instruction.

Dr. López views mathematics as far more than a collection of formulas, algorithms, or abstract concepts. She believes it is one of the most powerful disciplines for developing critical thinking, logical reasoning, perseverance, and problem-solving—skills that remain essential in an era increasingly influenced by artificial intelligence (AI). While many of her students will pursue careers outside of mathematics, her goal is for every student to leave her classroom with greater confidence in their ability to analyze information, think independently, and tackle unfamiliar challenges. Most of life’s important problems have no answer key and no formula to follow. Mathematics teaches students how to reason through uncertainty with logic, creativity, and confidence. She believes that the greatest lesson mathematics offers is not a formula or an algorithm, but the confidence to think for oneself.

Beyond the classroom, Dr. López is committed to mentoring the next generation of scholars. During the 2024–2025 academic year, she served as Principal Investigator for a Center for Undergraduate Research in Mathematics (CURM) grant-NSF funded project, guiding community college students through authentic mathematical research in collaboration with university faculty. She has also contributed to mathematics education through curriculum leadership, faculty collaboration, institutional assessment, and conference participation.

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