Over the years Project MALES has been fortunate to have graduate students come to be a part of our mentoring and research projects. This semester we are excited to welcome Daniel Ibarra, first-year master’s student in the Texas State Student Affairs in Higher Education program to our PM team. We asked Daniel to share a little bit about himself including, his role with Project MALES this semester and why he joined the PM team, here is what he shared.
Tell us about yourself:
My name is Daniel Ibarra and I am a graduate student at Texas State University. I am originally from Tyler, Texas where I went to John Tyler High School. I was awarded the Gates Millennium Scholarship in 2010 and went to pursue my college degree first at Texas Tech University and then transferred to UT Austin as a sophomore to complete a bachelors degree in sociology in 2014. I worked at Gregory Gym on the UT campus sophomore through senior year and then after graduating I worked as a college advisor with Advise TX.
What program are you in?
I am a first year master’s student in the Texas State Student Affairs in Higher Education program in the College of Education.
What are your research interests?
My research interests include the effects and outcomes of joining Greek organizations on college campuses by first generation Latino students who are also the first in their families to join a Greek organization just as I was when I became a member of a fraternity at UT.
What experiences do you have in working with students of color or a program like Project MALES?
After graduating with my bachelor’s in sociology from UT Austin in May 2014 I began working as a college advisor with Advise TX at Americas High School in El Paso, Texas for the 2014-2015 school year. This experience led me to pursue my masters in education with a goal of working at the university/college setting in helping students that are low income, first generation, and from underrepresented groups apply, navigate, grow, and graduate from institutions of higher learning.
I am currently a graduate assistant in the Greek Affairs office under the Dean of Students Office at Texas State where I help co-advise the Interfraternity Council (IFC) and the Multicultural Greek Council (MGC) along with helping to develop programming opportunities for the students we serve in Greek organizations.
Why did you join the PM team?
I joined the PM team because I view the project as fitting hand in hand with my passion of helping students achieve a college education and bring awareness to the matter. Per one of my courses this semester I am required to have an internship for class and the goals and values of the project along with the staff involved aligned with what I want to do with my professional career in the future.
What will your role be with PM?
My role with PM will be to provide support with the Spring 2016 expansion of PM Mentoring Program to Mendez and Martin Middle Schools. I will be assisting in the collection of data from students using survey administration and interviews with students to assess overall effectiveness of the program. I will also be assisting the PM team in researching various topics dealing with Latino/African American male students and access to higher education in the state of Texas.
What are you looking forward to the most in this role?
I am looking forward to working with both the undergraduate mentors and the mentees at the various schools PM serves and helping them achieve their higher education goals. I am very excited also to be working alongside the PM staff to help them in their research efforts, assist in executing the goals of PM, and to learn from them both academically and professionally through my graduate career and transition into future doctoral program.
