Over the years Project MALES has been fortunate to have graduate students come to be a part of our mentoring and research projects. This year we are excited to welcome incoming Ph.D. students Pavitee Peumsang and Jorge Burmicky and incoming Master’s students Rodrigo Aguayo and Enrique Aguayo to our PM team.
Pavitee Peumsang is a research associate for Project MALES. She is a first year doctoral student in the Program in Higher Education Leadership (PHEL) at the University of Texas at Austin. Pavitee earned her B.A. in Sociology with a minor in Labor and Workplace Studies and a M.A. in Education with a concentration in Race and Ethnic Studies from the University of California, Los Angeles. Her research interests examine postsecondary educational policies and practices that impact access, equity, and degree attainment for low-income, ethnic minority, and underrepresented students with a focus on community college students.
Jorge Burmicky is research associate for Project MALES, he is a first year doctoral student in the Higher Education Administration Program at The University of Texas at Austin. He received a B.A. in International Business from Taylor University and a M.A. in Student Affairs and Higher Education from Ball State University. Prior to coming to Project MALES, Burmicky worked at Baylor University as a residence hall director of a first-year all male residence hall. Before coming to Baylor and Texas, he spent four years working in the Office of Admissions at Taylor University, more specifically as an admissions counselor and coordinating the department’s Latino recruitment initiatives. His current research and professional interests include persistence strategies for Latino/a students at PWIs, male and masculinity studies, dialogic pedagogies, and policies to further enhance recruitment and retention of faculty/staff of color. Burmicky is originally from Caracas, Venezuela, which fueled his commitment to higher education and instituting effective policy after seeing the country’s political decay.
Rodrigo Aguayo is a Mentoring Site Coordinator for the Project MALES Mentoring Program. He is a first year PHEL student in the Master’s program at the University of Texas at Austin. He earned a Bachelor’s of Arts in Psychology from Texas State University where he served as a Peer Mentor for Hispanic male students through PACE MAC and the Minority Male Initiative. His research interests include mentoring of Latino students in higher education.
Enrique Aguayo is a Mentoring Site Coordinator for Project MALES Student Mentoring Program. He completed his undergraduate studies at Texas State University where he earned a Bachelor’s of Arts in Psychology and worked as a PACE MAC Peer Mentor. He is a first year Master’s student in the College and University Student Personnel Administration (CUSPA) Program at the University of Texas at Austin. His research interest include Latino students in higher education, as well as the role of mental health’s impact on their educational success.
