SHPE - Winter 2008 - (Page 36) CONFERENCE 2007 Graduate Program Promotes Advanced Degrees for Hispanics Now in its third year, the AHETEMS Graduate Institute addressed issues that have an impact on the success of Hispanic graduate students. This year’s topics included “The Advisor Relationship” by Dr. Fred Allen (Drexel), “Engineering Research in Academia” by former NSF Director of Programs Dr. Alfonso Ortega (Villanova) and “Effective Letters of Recommendation” by Beatriz Lopez-Flores (UC Berkeley). Also covered were the intricacies of “Climbing the Ivory Tower: Getting Started on an Academic Career” by Dr. Oscar Dubon (UC Berkeley and Lawrence National Laboratory). While Sylvia Trujillo, Honorary Member Award winner, showed those with citizenship and residency how they could visit with members of the U.S. Congress and become advocates for national issues, international students benefitted from helpful guidance related to visas and career resources offered by USA Career Start’s Rebecca Buckwalter. Another STAR Award winner, Educator of the Year Dr. Juan P. Hinestroza, also provided a session for the Distinguished Lecture Series, “Is Nanotechnology Fashionable?” which related to his research in multifunctional fibers via manipulation of nanoscale phenomena. Past VNSR Luis Mendoza found the program to be incredibly valuable in developing himself as a systems engineering graduate student at the University of Texas at Arlington. In addition to the grant writing workshop, he especially enjoyed the session on policy. “The scope of the workshop was to empower us, as academics and as leaders, to take political action pro-academia,” he said. “In this workshop is where [I saw] the level rise above the undergraduate and professional workshops.” According to Claudia Espinosa Villegas, Ph.D. candidate at the University of Iowa and three-year veteran of the program, the greatest advantage of her participation has been gaining a network of peers that she can consult for support. “Meeting people that are going through the same experience as you, seeing that you are not alone and sharing 36 SHPE’s Graduate Institute welcomed veteran participants as well as those who recently enrolled in graduate studies. SHPE/GEM Graduate Award recipient Dayna Lee Martinez-Torres (right) with Michele Lezama, GEM executive Director. Inspirational speaker Dr. Calvin Mackie. Educator of the Year Dr. Hinestroza. both positive and negative experiences, sometimes with advice on how to deal with them, helps strengthen your resolve to finish and get your degree,” she said. Thirty undergraduate students interested in advanced degrees participated in the GRE/GRAD Lab, held in association with the National GEM Consortium. In addition to providing a GRE practice exam and testtaking strategies, it also featured vital information on all aspects of the graduate school application process, such as funding, mentoring, access and school choice. The program better prepared participants to interact with college recruiters from more than 40 universities. The Department of Defense sponsored an invitation-only luncheon for graduate participants during which they were empowered by Dr. Calvin Mackie’s motivational words of wisdom. “He was an important part of this experience because anything that renews one’s determination and motivation is always welcome and often needed,” said Cynthia Correa, a physics graduate student at the University of Texas at Austin. As the only Latina in her program, she especially appreciated opportunities to broaden her network, such as at receptions exclusively for graduate participants sponsored by CDM and QUALCOMM. Correa continued, “The small size of the group allowed us to form lasting relationships that will surely provide useful networks for our personal and professional development.” I SHPE R Winter 2008 Robert Williams Robert Williams
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