Project MALES is pleased to announce the 2019-2020 Graduate Scholars Program (PM-GSP) recipients. After receiving an impressive pool of applications from across the country, the following scholars were selected to join the 2019-2020 cohort: Guillermo Ortega (University of Houston), William Ramos Ochoa (Mills College), Lazaro Camacho (Florida Atlantic University), Enrique Espinoza (University of California, Riverside), and Roberto Montoya (University of Colorado, Denver).
The mission of PM-GSP is to support the academic and career advancement of emerging scholars whose research is focused on the educational outcomes of male students of color.
In addition to joining the Project MALES network, scholars will be matched with a Faculty and Research Affiliate mentor and will receive a $500 dissertation award. This year, PM-GSP was able to fund five scholars who amass an impressive array of accomplishments.
William Ramos Ochoa is a doctoral candidate in the School of Education in the Educational Leadership Department at Mills College. His research interests include Latino male identity development, community of practice within Gang of Brothers – Hermandad, participatory action research, cultural affirmation and validation for Latino males throughout the educational pipeline, and the creation of the social self through intersectionality and mentoring.
Lazaro Camacho is a doctoral candidate in the Department of Educational Leadership and Research Methodology at Florida Atlantic University. Lazaro’s research interests include Latino men, men of color, intersectionality, masculinities and postsecondary outcomes, and network mentorship.
Guillermo Ortega is a doctoral candidate in the Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies at the University of Houston. Guillermo’s research interests include intercollegiate athletics, student-athletes, Hispanic Serving Institutions (HSIs), Latina/o/x students, student engagement, campus environment, racial equity, and educational policy.
Enrique Espinoza is doctoral candidate in the Education, Society, and Culture program at the University of California, Riverside. Enrique is interested in researching the experience of Latinx male high school students who experience racial trauma to understand how it might impact their socioemotional well-being and schooling experience.
Roberto Montoya is a doctoral candidate in the Educational Studies and Research program at the University of Colorado Denver. His research focuses on Critical Race Theory, LatCrit Theory, and testimonio in teacher education. Using LatCrit, testimonios, and critical portraiture, his dissertation investigates how race and racism influences Latino males’ decisions in becoming teachers and what the impact is of having a Latinx teacher on Latino males’ perceptions and considerations of teaching as a profession.
We would like to thank the leadership of our Faculty and Research Affiliates who have served in the reviewing committee: Drs. Joshua Childs, Hugo Garcia, Claudia García-Louis, Edwin Hernandez, Leticia Palomín, Mellie Torres, and Marissa Vasquez. Furthermore, we would like to thank Drs. Eligio Martinez and José Del Real Viramontes for their leadership as PM-GSP Co-Chairs.
Once again, congratulations to our newly selected cohort of PM-GSP scholars on their well-deserved success.
