Education Faculty, Students Share Research at Symposium
By Julia Hettiger
UTEP Marketing and Communications
On Feb. 29, UTEP education students and faculty gathered in the Education Building to share the multidisciplinary research conducted within the college. Their research, spanning policy, biliteracy education, career development among Hispanics, and more, highlighted the wide range of research conducted within the college at the undergraduate and graduate levels.
“Many of these posters come from multiyear projects,” said Johannes Strobel, Ph.D., a professor and the associate dean of research and graduate studies with UTEP’s College of Education. “Creating these posters is a good opportunity for the researchers to stop for a moment, analyze what they have accomplished and share with their peers and the community for feedback.”
Student and faculty researchers presented posters, and the UTEP community was invited to learn more, ask questions and provide guidance.
Pilar Gonzalez, a doctoral candidate in UTEP’s Teaching, Learning and Culture program, presented her research project “Exploring the Impact of STEM Degree Attainment on Social Mobility among Latinx Students at a Texas/Mexican Border University: A Work in Progress,” which serves as her dissertation that she will defend in May.
“We’re trying to see the impact of social mobility once Latinx individuals obtain a STEM degree,” Gonzalez said. “Through the literature review, we found that there are studies [analyzing this] but from an intergenerational standpoint, meaning between the parent and child and so on. We’re looking at the intragenerational data, which means where they are at the beginning of their journey and then at the end.”
Diana Taylor, who is studying for a master’s degree in mental health counseling, presented her work exploring “Wounded Hero Syndrome,” which refers to the correlation between individuals who have experienced trauma in their lives going on to work in counseling roles supporting those who have also experienced similar situations. As a Hispanic woman who identifies with Wounded Hero Syndrome, Taylor explored the syndrome through a Hispanic lens in her research project titled, “Counselors-in-Training: The Stigma of the Wounded Healer in the Latino Community.”
"I was curious as to why people went into the counseling field, and I was curious if their own suffering led them to help others," Taylor said. "I looked into that, and it turns out that many Latino counseling students reported higher rates of mental illness than other Latino graduate students. Therapy changed my life, and it got me into counseling, so I figured I wasn't the only one."
Tristan Hernandez, a senior multidisciplinary studies major focusing on engineering and communication, presented two projects he worked on as a research assistant in UTEP’s Center for Research in Engineering and Technology Education: “Freshman Engineering Experience: Peer-Mentorship and Professional Competency Workshops” and “EmpowerED for Success: Latinas in Engineering.”
“One research project I am doing investigates first-year engineering students and how their educational process is going to help them either transition further into their educational journey in academia or into the professional world,” Hernandez said. “My other project explores the Latina experience in STEM and making sure the necessary support networks are there. It’s really good not just for Latinas but all women in the STEM field.”
After presenting their work, symposium participants had the opportunity to attend a workshop about research funding opportunities from the National Science Foundation and to participate in group sessions with fellow researchers to discuss their research and share ideas.
“This has been a great opportunity for all of us to present to our professors, classmates and friends,” Gonzalez said. “It’s been awesome.”
To learn more about research conducted within the College of Education, visit www.utep.edu/education/research/research-centers.html.
