Past Members

Weiqi (Connie) Guo

Ph.D. Student in Educational Psychology (Bilingual/ESL Education)
Email: connie.guo@tamu.edu

Bio
Research Interests
  • Second and foreign language acquisition
  • Pragmatics teaching and learning
  • Bilingual development
Career Goal

To teach in a college-level institution

Personal Interests

Gardening, Crafting

Holly Miller

Ph.D. Student in Curriculum & Instruction – Science Education
Email: hamiller@tamu.edu

Bio
Research Interests
  • Teaching and learning in science laboratory classrooms
  • Undergraduate biology education
  • Science identity development
  • Equity in science education
Career Goal

Dual-appointment faculty member in biology and science education

Personal Interests

Plants, baking, puzzles, horseback riding, movies, TV

Carla Reyes Ortiz

Undergraduate Student in Biomedical Sciences
Email: reyescar_3@tamu.edu

Bio
Research Interests
  • Health Disparities between genders
  • Underrepresented students in STEM
  • Neurodivergence in K-12 Students
Career Goal
  • Medical School and Neuroscience Research
Personal Interests

Road cycling, cooking and music

Noreen Ezzat

Undergraduate Student in Psychology with a minor in Health
Email: noreenezzat@tamu.edu

Bio
Research Interests
  • mental health of STEM student
  • health disparities in minorities
  • women’s education achievement gaps
  • the psychology of happiness
Career Goal
My goal is to pursue a career as a Physician Assistant with a specific interest in practicing in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit (PICU). The healthcare industry is both diverse and dynamic, presenting constant challenges and opportunities for growth. I am confident that my diverse background, coupled with my experience working under MLL, will contribute to my becoming a compassionate and reliable healthcare professional.
 
Personal Interests

Shopping, listening to music, dancing, crafting, and painting

Elira Martin

Undergraduate Student in Neuroscience
Email: emmart@tamu.edu

Bio
Research Interests
  • Neurodivergence in the public education system
  • The effects of psychiatric medications in children
  • The misdiagnoses of mental health problems in women/minorities
Career Goal
  • Child Psychiatrist and Researcher
Personal Interests

Reading, dancing, traveling, and movies

Samiksha Sriramla

Undergraduate Student in Public Health
Email: samiksha.sriramla@tamu.edu

Bio
Research Interests
  • Healthcare disparities in differing socioeconomic areas
  • Developmental Toxicology
  • Prenatal & maternal health
Career Goal

Physician Assistant

Personal Interests

Baking, Music, Playing the piano

Samara Shafley

Undergraduate Student in Psychology
Email: srshafley@tamu.edu

Bio
Research Interests
  • Underrepresented groups in STEM fields
  • Anxiety’s effects on athletic performance
Career Goal
  • Counseling Psychologist or Sports Psychologist
Personal Interests

Horseback riding, animals, music, and baking

Natalia Juarez

Undergraduate Student in Mathematics
Email: nataliajuarez@tamu.edu

Bio
Research Interests
  • Underrepresented groups in STEM
  • Postsecondary success among Latinx
Career Goal
  • Math Educator
  • Social Work for low income regions
Personal Interests

Cooking, sewing, and music

Joseph (Joe) Tise

Postdoctoral Fellow

Joe is currently a Senior Education Researcher at the Institute for Advancing Computing Education (IACE).

Hyewon Lee

Postdoctoral Fellow

Hyewon is currently a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the School of Education at University of California, Irvine.

Katherine (Katie) Fletcher

Ph.D. in Educational Psychology (Research, Measurement & Statistics)

As an Associate Research Scientist with the College Board, Katie studies college access and readiness outcomes for Advanced Placement (AP) students.

Rachelle Pedersen

Ph.D. in Curriculum & Instruction

Dr. Pedersen is currently an Assistant Professor of STEM Education at Texas Tech University in Lubbock, TX.

Amy Kwok Hap Lam

M.Sc. in Educational Psychology (Research, Measurement & Statistics)

Juliet Nyanamba, ’22

Ph.D. in Educational Psychology: Developmental Sciences

Juliet is currently a Postdoctoral Scholar at the Institute of Child Development at the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities.

Thomas Von Buettner

Ph.D. Student in Education Administration (Higher Education)

Thomas is currently a Ph.D. student in higher education at Texas A&M University.

Jeremy Sapia

M.S. Student in Industrial-Organizational Psychology

Michael Avlonitis, ’21

B.S. in Mathematics for Business, with minors in Statistics and Sports Management

Michael is currently a Baseball Systems Operator in Hawkeye Innovations.

Nyima Sanneh

Undergraduate Student

Tala Kharbat

Undergraduate Student in Public Health

Erick Ordonez

Caroline Smith

Therechel Abad

Undergraduate Student in Biomedical Sciences

Gretchen Hubbard, ’20

B.S. in University Studies: Emphasis in Child Professional Services, minors in Sociology and Creative Studies

Gretchen is currently pursuing an M.S. in Education with an emphasis in Digital Age Learning at Johns Hopkins University.

Brittany Dunn

Ashaun Teague, ’20

B.S. in Child Professional Studies

Meenakshi Dara