I have had the honor of working for Florida International University (FIU) for the past 14 years. I have held administrative roles throughout those years that supported students' academic success in pursuing their undergraduate and graduate degrees. I am fondly proud of the years of experience and success I've gained while working in academia and STEM education, including academic advising, undergraduate and graduate medical education, and higher education program planning and development. My desire to open doors for underrepresented students who have high hopes of entering professional fields and may not have the advantages of doing it on their own is the driving force behind my ability to maintain success in many of the positions I have held in academia.
I obtained my BA in Public Administration from Florida International University in 2011 and completed my Master's in Public Administration with a concentration in Nonprofit Organizations and Community Development in August 2019. As a native of Miami, I have had the opportunity to work in higher education for over 14 years in administrative roles that support students' academic success in pursuing their graduate degrees. After completing my undergraduate degree, I began working as the Graduate Senior Secretary for the Biology department at FIU. I worked directly with the Program Director and Dean for the College of Arts & Sciences in various areas, including admissions, graduate school support, and student academic success.
In 2014, I transitioned into the medical education discipline as the assistant to the Vice Dean for Medical Education and Student Affairs at the Charles E. Schmidt College of Medicine at Florida Atlantic University. In this role, I coordinated the medical school's entire accreditation process, curriculum development, faculty affairs, and Graduate Medical Education. Soon after, I returned to FIU and began as Student Affairs Program Coordinator at the Herbert Wertheim College of Medicine. In this position, I facilitated program planning and development for medical student wellness and academic support. After a year in that role, I became the Program Coordinator for the Office of Diversity & Inclusion at the medical school, developing and promoting programs and services designed to enhance the intersectionality of the medical schools' college community. Throughout my service in academia, many of my successes include the program development of the pipeline program, the Florida Scientific Training and Research (STAR) program; a multi-year academic and social enrichment program developed to prepare undergraduate minority students for a career in medicine, and the facilitation of a fundraising event that raised over $10,000 in scholarship for students historically underrepresented in medicine. In addition, I coordinated the National Pre-Faculty Career Development Conference for Trainees and Faculty, which brought together trainees, faculty, and senior leaders to share activities and best practices to better prepare college, graduate, and post-doctoral professionals to consider pursuing careers as educators and researchers in the STEM field.