Successful Latina/o Students at the University of South Florida 2007

  Edgar Amador (Video)

Edgar is a doctoral student in the Anthropology program. He maintains a 3.95 GPA, is well regarded by his faculty, ands serves as a teacher and a researchers. According to Dr. David Himmelgreen, Associate Professor and Acting Chair, "Edgar has excellent skills as a data analyst, and has assisted me with the analysis of two data sets, one on migration and health among Latinos living in the U.S. and the other one on the nutritional health of women and children living in a rural area of Costa Rica where tourism is replacing dairy farming as the primary economic activity. Edgar... contributed to the writing of a peer-reviewed article that was published in the international journal Ecology of Food and Nutrition in 2006. As a result, he is one of the co-authors on this paper. He is also the co-author with another faculty member on a book chapter on community education partnerships that was published in 2003... In addition to publishing academic papers, Edgar has extensive experience conducting community-based research. For example, in 2006 he worked as graduate research assistant and field supervisor for the USF College of Public Health Prevention Research Center’s Partnership for Citrus Worker Health. He also worked as a graduate research assistant at the Globalization Research Center (now called the Patel Center for Global Solutions) where he conducted preliminary fieldwork for a triangulation study that focused on demography and economic resources in Monteverde, Costa Rica. On both of these field studies he had extensive responsibilities including contributing to the development of surveys, training of research assistants, and assisting with the development of education materials. Since 2005, Edgar had taught six undergraduate courses including introduction to biological anthropology and introduction to anthropology. These are not easy courses to teach since they attract not only anthropology majors, but also students from areas ranging from engineering to psychology.

Edgar has done an outstanding job in making anthropology accessible and exciting for undergraduates of diverse backgrounds. He consistently gets high marks in student evaluations, for example receiving overall ratings of 4.58, 4.78, and 4.71 out of 5 during Spring 2006, Fall 2006, and Spring 2007, respectively. Student comments include the following. “Mr. Amador is a great teacher! He keeps my interest throughout the class and does an awesome job with allowing everyone to participate by giving (them) a chance to speak their opinion on a subject.” Another student stated that “Amador is an excellent teacher. He incorporates various tools to extend learning from the book. He’s really helpful if you need assistance and truly care(s) whether we understand (the) information.” Lastly, one student said “overall one of the best courses I have taken and he is the main reason for that.” It is very clear from the student evaluations that Edgar is an excellent teacher. Finally, since Spring 2007, Edgar has served as the undergraduate advisor in anthropology, and has done an outstanding job on guiding students through the program, updating student files, doing undergraduate recruitment, and organizing workshops for the undergraduate honors program and on strategies for applying to graduate school."

María Brea-Spahn (Video)

Maria is a doctoral student in the Psychology Department, minoring in Communication Sciences and Disorders. According to Dr. Stefan Frisch, associate professor, “As a student researcher, Mrs. Brea-Spahn is developing evidence-based language assessment tools for Spanish speaking children. Her work has produced tangible results, including the Test of Phonological Skills in Spanish and a nonword repetition task for Spanish that is the subject of her dissertation research. She has been coauthor on four peer-reviewed publications (including first author on two) and has given several conference presentations. Mrs. Brea-Spahn has also contributed to the field professionally. In her early years as a student, she worked as an editorial assistant for the journal Language Speech and Hearing Services in Schools. More recently, she has worked as a clinician at the Metropolitan Ministries Academy, a non-profit educational organization that benefits under-privileged children, and as a clinical instructor in Communication Sciences and Disorders where she is a mentor to younger bilingual graduate student clinicians.

Mrs. Brea-Spahn has achieved many of these accomplishments as a new mother of a lovely daughter who is currently three years old. In summary, Mrs. Brea-Spahn has been an outstanding doctoral student…”

  Yoelly Figueroa (Video)

Yoelly is a student in the College of Business. She is majoring in Accounting and her college GPA is 3.9. According to Dr. Lisa Gaynor and Dr.Andrea S. Kelton, assistant professors of Accounting, she “… is an excellent student in terms of academics that also stands out for her personal qualities.” Regarding her qualifications, they indicated that, she is in “the University’s Honors Program, and has been on the Dean’s List of Scholars for four semesters… As a student, she has demonstrated not only an impressive set of quantitative skills, but also the ability to perform decision-making tasks that require careful and meaningful analysis of alternatives (i.e., analytical thinking). In class, Yoelly was always attentive, communicative by asking thoughtful questions, and well-prepared for lectures.

Outside of class, she assisted her fellow classmates by giving help and support throughout the semester… Yoelly’s scholarship is even more notable when you take into consideration the fact that she has managed her coursework while simultaneously working part-time, performing community service and taking leadership roles in various campus activities. For example, Yoelly is a member of Beta Alpha Psi Honors Accounting Fraternity, the Bulls Business Network, Beta Gamma Sigma International Honor Society, and numerous other campus organizations. In addition, she is currently serving as the Chair for the Minority Recruitment Committee for Beta Alpha Psi… Yoelly’s extracurricular activities are not limited to the University environment. She has served as a volunteer for “Impact Now” in San Antonio, Texas. Impact Now is a non-profit organization with the mission of impacting communities by providing for their physical, mental and spiritual needs. In this capacity, Yoelly directed a group of 30 teenagers and organized community fairs, school supply drives, and neighborhood clean ups. Yoelly has also served as a volunteer for another non-profit group called Castillo Del Rey in El Salvador. Her activities in that organization included participation in Drug Free, Anti-Violence, and Safe Sex Seminars that were provided at elementary schools, middle schools and high schools in the area.

On a personal level, we find Yoelly to be extremely pleasant, bright, and motivated. She is hard-working, able to able get along well with others, and capable of handling multiple tasks.

  Warner Ithier-Guzman (Video)

Warner is a doctoral students in the College of Marine Science. According to Dr. Ashanti J. Pyrtle, assistant professor of Chemical Oceanography, “Warner successfully submitted an abstract, presented a talk at the 2003 International Safe Water Conference, and co-authored a manuscript entitled: “Sources and Fates of Anthropogenic Radionuclides in Puerto Rico: An Overview” that was publish in the previously mentioned journal. These accomplishments were completed in less than three months, during Warner’s first semester of his doctoral program… I have been continuously impressed by Warner’s mastery of scientific material, as well as the breath and depth of his academic, professional, leadership and community service experiences. Warner is both a natural leader and servant. He has an impressive track-record of leadership roles and community service volunteer activities that serve as a testimony to his commitment to being an agent of positive change for both the community and the environment. Most recently while engaging in his doctoral studies at the University of South Florida, Warner has exhibited both his leadership skills and his willingness to serve by co-coordinating our college’s graduate student activities as the Treasurer for the Marine Science Advisory Committee, assisting with minority student recruitment activities for the NSF-funded Florida-Georgia LSAMP USF Bridge to the Doctorate Graduate Fellowship Program and the NSF and NASA-funded Minorities Striving and Pursuing Higher Degrees of Success (MS PHD’S) in Earth System Science initiative and interacting with children staying in the local Ronald MacDonald House. Warner’s energy and commitment to serve are truly commendable and have inspired other College of Marine Science graduate students to become more involved in community outreach and service activities…

Warner’s doctoral research focuses on the distribution, retention, transport, fate and behavior of anthropogenic radionuclides throughout Puerto Rico’s terrestrial and aquatic environments. Given the potential ecological and biological effects, it is imperative that the distribution and behavior anthropogenic radionuclides in Puerto Rico be determined... Warner’s dissertation research will yield valuable insight regarding the distribution and behavior of radionuclides in Puerto Rico. I like others, believe that Warner’s work will be valuable not only to the aquatic science community, but also to the people of Puerto Rico. Because of the potential importance of Warner’s investigation we have already begun to interact with representatives from the Universidad de Puerto Rico-Rio Piedras and the Inter-American University-San Germán Department of Chemistry and Biology, as well as the Puerto Rico Department of Natural and Environmental Resources as well as the Metropolitan University of Puerto Rico who have expressed their interest and/or commitments of immediate in-kind support and possible financial support in the near future…

Warner is truly committed to making a positive contribution to the geosciences and his community, and is equally dedicated to providing research opportunities for other young minority scientists and integrating local community outreach activities into his research endeavors. Two years ago, Warner served as a NSF GK-12 OCEANS Fellow. As a GK-12 OCEANS Fellow he acquired invaluable teaching skills and increased his knowledge on National Education Standards, as he prepared lesson plans and taught students at Bay Point Elementary School in St. Petersburg, FL. Some of Warner’s past community service activities include volunteering with the Sea Turtle Watch Project, AIDS Foundation and Natural History Society Poly-Natura in Puerto Rico.

Warner is recognized by many as a student leader in the American Society of Limnology and Oceanography (ASLO) Minority Student Program. He has served as a near-peer mentor for students participating in this ASLO diversity initiative, as well as for minority students participating in the MS PHD’S in Earth System Science Professional Development Program who attend the international annual American Geophysical Union Fall Meetings and/or the National Association of Black Geologists and Geophysicists Technical Conferences. At each of these three professional society meetings my colleagues have frequently commented on his exceptional performance as a student and his tremendous potential for professional success.”

  Jeffy Jiménez (Video)

Jeffy is a student in the Department of Chemical Engineering. She is described as an innovative student, mentor, and leader; and, according to Dr. Norma Alcantar, assistant professor, Department of Chemical Engineering, Jeffy is able to combine her technical knowledge, skills, talents, work ethic, and commitment to minority affairs and education to perform at the highest level of productivity and professionalism... Jeffy is an exceptionally intelligent and creative student and she has already produced excellent work. She was taking a full course load, teaching assisting a class per semester and was able to work on two related projects for her graduate work. Her most important project involves the direct measurement of bioadhesive activity and dynamics of soft supported model membranes. In an attempt to find out more about the physical-chemical factors responsible for Alzheimer’s disease (AD), she was able to study how various lipid components found in AD-infected brain tissue affect their inter- and intra-membrane interactions, such as membrane curvature and stiffness (or fluidity), membrane adhesion and vesicle aggregation. During this time, Jeffy demonstrated to be very thorough and meticulous in all her work and she took a keen interest in the science and mechanisms responsible for the effects she observed. Her research provided novel data on the evolution of fibril formation and surface energy attachment of amyloid peptides to rigid and soft surfaces by force microscopy and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. On her own initiative, she gathered background information and successfully constructed prototypes of cell membranes from lipid bilayers on polymer (soft) supported surfaces. Jeffy has already presented her research work at the Annual Biomedical Research Conference for Minority Students, the American Institute for Chemical Engineers (AIChE) 2004 National Meeting, the Alzheimer’s Association International Conference on Prevention of Dementia, and the American Chemical Society (ACS) 2005 National meeting in both oral and poster presentations.

Jeffy is very friendly and cooperative, and she works well both on her own and as part of a team. She consistently made a positive contribution and was recognized as an asset to the group. Her Hispanic background has influenced other Hispanic undergraduate students under her teaching assistantship to continue with a graduate education. In fact, two female students, one of Hispanic background, have joined my research group this year as a result of Jeffy’s encouragement. Jeffy has been my teaching assistant, where she demonstrated to have good relations with students, excellent communication skills and was always ready to assist students with their questions."

David Klinowski (Video)

  Michael Martínez (Video)

Michael is enrolled in  Ph.D. studies in Marine Science, at the university. He earned a USF/Progress Energy-GK-12 Fellowship in 2006-07, was awarded a Minority Fellowship in 2006 by the American Geological Institute, and is currently supported by a USF-SLOAN Foundation Fellowship for 2007-2008.

According to Dr. Pamela Hallock-Muller, Professor College of Marine Science, "Mike’s professional development has been exceptional since coming to USF. His proposal entitled “Pollutants and foraminiferal assemblages in Jobos Bay: An environmental micropaleontology approach” was awarded a NOAA-NCER graduate research fellowship for 2007-09 to support part of the field and laboratory costs of his dissertation research. He planned and in July carried out his first set of field work in Jobos Bay. He has also submitted a proposal to Puerto Rico SeaGrant to support additional field work in Torrecilla Lagoon, which is part of the San Juan Estuary system. In addition, Mike has two manuscripts near submission for publication, a review paper on heavy metals and foraminifers and a paper on environmental management issues.

Prior to coming to USF, Mike was actively involved in research projects in Puerto Rico and elsewhere in the Caribbean. Last October at the Geological Society of America meeting, I was speaking with a researcher from Indiana University, who had carried out field collections with Mike’s assistance in Puerto Rico several years ago; she enthusiastically reported on his effectiveness in the field. Since coming to USF, Mike has shown the motivation and creativity needed to initiate research projects, while also showing the interest and ability to collaborate with other researchers in his field. There is no doubt that his ability to initiate projects, his command of both English and Spanish, and his will to follow-through with his ideas will result in the successful dissemination of his research results in well-respected conferences and journals. Before coming to USF, he presented research at conferences held in Lima-Perú (IV International Science Meeting) and Wollongong-Australia (3rd International Symposium on Fossil and Extant Charophytes). Also, his first publication in the Journal of Paleontology (80-3, 2006) further demonstrated his writing ability and motivation to present his findings. Thus, Mike has all the “tools” to pursue and complete his PhD dissertation. Also, he shows exceptional passion for environmental research, particularly as it relates to his home area of Puerto Rico.

Mike is also passionate about teaching. He likes to incorporate research with education so that pre-service and in-service teachers can learn to adapt research aspects of the marine sciences into the classroom; such activities are integral parts of his research proposals. His approach is to motivate the student to visualize, comprehend and grasp ecological and geological concepts with hands-on and field experiences. He utilized and honed these skills as a GK-12 fellow last year, taking his love of marine sciences into Pinellas County classrooms. This teaching strategy also will serve him well in his future career as a faculty member.

He has already demonstrated his aptitude for both research and getting research funding. He is already an outstanding role model, educator and researcher and has the potential for a stellar career in the marine geosciences."
 

  José E. Moreno-Cortés (Video)

  Karyna Rosario (Video)

Karyna is a highly motivated graduate student who engages in research projects with enthusiasm and skill. During her first year in the graduate program at the College of Marine Science she has excelled in her coursework in Oceanography, with a GPA of 4.0 and having earned one of the highest grades in the Chemical Oceanography core course.

She uses combinations of molecular biology, microscopy, and infectivity assays to determine the virological content of reclaimed water in her laboratory research. This is an original approach to understand the viral content in reclaimed water. The outcome of her research will be of importance to those who use this type of water.

Karyna is motivated for her studies and exhibits a positive attitude in what she does. She can work with other students, scientists, and the general public. She has exceptional oral skills. She has presented her research at the 14^th Annual Florida-Georgia Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation (FGLSAMP) Expo and the USF Interdisciplinary Graduate Research Symposium this year. She has an ability to work under field conditions and to work with people from different cultural settings, as demonstrated during her field sampling trips to Mexico, the Florida Keys, and to the sewage treatment facility in this area.

The following excerpt from Dr. Breitbart's illustrates the quality of her work and achievements, "Karyna has quickly assumed a leadership role in my laboratory, both excelling at her own research and helping other students with theirs.  She has also recently trained an intern in the laboratory. Karyna has made all of the necessary contacts for her project, from wastewater management facility directors to people interacting directly with growers, to the sequencing lab in Singapore.  Her project has enormous implications for reclaimed water use in the state of Florida, and she has made significant progress on her Ph.D. research. Karyna has sought out, and taken advantage of, many opportunities to advance her knowledge in both her specific field and unrelated scientific disciplines through participation in scientific conferences and field experiences.  In the past year, Karyna has attended a workshop on “Exploring Subseafloor Life with the Integrated Ocean Drilling Program”, the “Opportunities and Challenges in Agricultural Water Reuse” conference (Santa Rosa, CA; 2006), and the WaterReuse Symposium (Tampa, FL; 2007).  In addition, Karyna was recently selected to participate in the “International Polar Year – Research and Educational Opportunities in Antarctica for Minorities (IPY-ROAM)” program, which will enable her to travel to Antarctica to learn about the impact of climate change on the polar environment and pursue an independent research project."

  Limaris Soto (Video)

Limaris is a doctoral student and a member of the Karst Research Group in the Department of Geology. According to Dr. Bogdan Onac, assistant professor, ”She started by attending an advance course entitled Karst Geology that I was teaching to graduate level. Limaris proved to be an excellent student during the entire course. She was extremely interested in the subject matter and worked very hard. The same dedication I observed while she was TA for me Sedimentary Petrology at undergraduate level. Her fieldwork started this Spring when we were visiting and collecting speleothems from two caves located in the central-northern part of Puerto Rico. Samples were then prepared in the lab and now are under various investigations. A recent GSA Research Grant awarded to Limaris will help her performing some of the analyses.

Limaris is one of those rare students who have sincere intellectual interest in research, an innate love of ideas for their own sake. She is an extremely hard working and conscientious student, well able to formulate and test hypotheses and to successfully carry out independent or group work. For a graduate student, I have to admit Limaris shows great skills and independence for conducting theoretical and applied work… She attended the 2005 GSA meeting presenting her results from Florida. In the summer of 2006 she participated along with other USA students at the Climate Change: the Karst Record meeting in Romania raising the visibility of the Karst Program at the USF. Her presentation dealt with paleoclimate reconstruction in central Florida and was well received. The presentation was published as an extended abstract in the Karst Waters Institute Special Publication #10, a peer-reviewed book series. The full paper is now accepted for publication at the Quaternary Research journal. She is also co-authoring another recently accepted paper in the Quaternary International journal on the relationship between trace elements in speleothems and paleoclimate.In the Spring of 2007 she presented a poster at the “Time in karst” meeting in Slovenia. Limaris is an active member of both Karst Research Group and Graduate Geology Student Organization.

Among many others, two activities drawn my attention about her degree of commitment: in the Spring 2006 she was deeply involved in the organization of the Geo-Expo at USF and even more active in the Relay for Life (American Cancer Society) when she helped in many ways rising funds to fight cancer."