Service

As one of three Hispanic Electrical Engineering Ph.D. students in my 70+ person cohort, I relentlessly strive to increase Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) within Stanford's School of Engineering (SoE). I have initially served as a graduate student panelist, writing workshop facilitator, and SoE recruiter upon starting my Ph.D. but have gradually transitioned into the founder and president of my own Stanford Voluntary Student Organization as well as serving as a representative for Hispanic graduate students as the vice-chair of the SoE Dean's Graduate Student Advisory Council. Serving underrepresented minority students has been one of the best parts of my graduate school experience and has also revealed the enormous amount of work remaining to ensure an equitable and inclusive environment in engineering academia.

Stanford Engineering Research Introductions Organization (SERIO)

President and Principal Founder

Many talented underrepresented minority students (URMs) are often overlooked for admission to graduate engineering programs. One possible reason for this is due to limited exposure and participation in research experiences. I believe that in order to strengthen the academic pipeline for URMs, introducing them to research opportunities as early as possible in their undergraduate career is crucial.

The Stanford Engineering Research Introductions Organization (SERIO) aims to support and nurture URM undergraduate students on their path towards graduate-level STEM education. We do this primarily through a formal mentorship program with current Stanford graduate students and our annual flagship Stanford Engineering Research Introductions (SERIS) Program, where we introduce our selected students to research seminars from Stanford faculty, panels from current Stanford graduate students, engineering lab tours led by Stanford researchers, and presentations developed by the SERIO Team regarding REU programs, differences between undergraduate and graduate study, and funding their graduate education.

To date, SERIO consists of approximately 180 Stanford graduate student members with approximately 180 undergraduate student participants via the mentorship and/or SERIS program. As President, I manage all operations within the organization and write all proposals needed to fund our programs. So far, we have raised over $48,000 to support our students. Out of 20 survey respondents from the SERIS program, 14 are planning to conduct research in the summer, 13 conduct research throughout the academic year, and 4 have secured summer internships.

For more information, please visit our website (serio.stanford.edu)

Stanford School of Engineering Dean's Graduate Student Advisory Council (DGSAC)

Vice-Chair

The Dean's Graduate Student Advisory Council's goal is to strengthen the communication between graduate students and Stanford Engineering leadership with the intent to enact positive change related to the culture and student experience within the School of Engineering. Some of the current objectives include standardizing SoE Ph.D. program requirements and resources, increasing SoE Ph.D. student stipends, and improving the retention of historically underrepresented SoE graduate students.

Serving as the Council's Vice-Chair, I created the Justice, Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (JEDI) Initiative Funding Award to support both new and current efforts to increase DEI efforts within Stanford's School of Engineering. I also managed the $28,000 Council budget with regards to award distribution for the JEDI Graduation Awards, JEDI Travel Awards, JEDI Initiative Funding Awards, and SoE Exceptional Masters Student Awards. I also worked towards the unification of the qualifying exam procedures across the School of Engineering which ultimately led to the creation of the Ph.D. Qualifying Exam Discussion Group, composed of primarily SoE faculty members. Lastly, I helped implement the unification and increase of all student SoE Ph.D. student stipends.

For more information, please visit the DGSAC website.

Bay Area Graduate Pathways to STEM (GPS)

Graduate Student Panelist and Mentor

The Bay Area Graduate Pathways to STEM (GPS) is a one-day conference where students learn about the benefits of pursuing a graduate degree in STEM while also receiving tailored advice from current Stanford and Berkeley graduate students.

I served as a graduate student panelist regarding advice on how to properly choose a doctoral advisor. Additionally, I mentored eight students regarding personal statement writing, emailing faculty for graduate school admissions, and applying to graduate research fellowships.

Active & Sustainable Partnerships for Inclusive Recruitment/Outreach in Engineering (ASPIRE)

School of Engineering Recruiter

The ASPIRE Team strives to recruit underrepresented minority students to pursue an advanced engineering degree at Stanford by connecting prospective students with current underrepresented Stanford graduate students.

I recruited on behalf of Stanford's School of Engineering at the Richard Tapia, Grace Hopper, and SACNAS conferences. Additionally, I answered questions regarding Stanford's EE Ph.D. program, funding opportunities, and current DEI efforts in the School of engineering.

Stanford Exposure to Research and Graduate Education (SERGE)

Graduate Student Panelist and Facilitator

The SERGE program aims to recruit prospective underrepresented minority junior and senior undergraduate students to pursue a graduate engineering degree at Stanford.

I served as a graduate student panelist regarding advice on securing admission as well as details regarding my journey as an underrepresented minority at Stanford's School of Engineering. Additionally, I also facilitated a writing workshop to improve the SERGE students' graduate school-related written statements.

Stanford Electrical Engineering Graduate Student Orientation

Ph.D. Student Panelist

The Department of Electrical Engineering offers a new graduate student orientation at the beginning of each academic year for first year EE MS and Ph.D. students.

I served as a senior Ph.D. student panelist regarding advice on how to navigate the first year of the Stanford EE Ph.D. program, how to choose your doctoral thesis advisor, balancing coursework and research, and championing diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts within the School of Engineering as a Ph.D. student.