April 2017

Maria Dragomir-Davis, a doctoral student in the counseling psychology program, won first prize for a poster she presented at the UH College of Education Research Symposium in April and received $500 for professional development. Dragomir-Davis works with Sascha Hein, an assistant professor in the Department of Psychological, Health and Learning Sciences, on research on the interplay of risk and protective factors in incarcerated youth.

Three graduate students in the Department of Psychological, Health and Learning Sciences will present their work at the American Psychological Association annual convention in August in Washington, D.C., after receiving spring 2017 travel fellowships. The winning students, who each received about $500, were Alex Slaughter (mentor: Jonathan Schwartz), Ewune Ewane (mentor: Ezemenari Obasi) and Kim Smoots (mentor: Bradley Smith). PHLS research task force members Jorge Gonzalez, Ken Ripperger-Suhler, Wei Fan, Tammy Tolar and Nathan Smith selected the recipients based largely on the novelty and significance of the students’ research presentations and alignment with the department’s mission.

Guillermo Ortega, a higher education doctoral student in the Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies, was accepted in April to serve on the American Educational Research Association’s Graduate Student Council for the 2017-18 school year. He will serve on the council and as the Connect Series co-chair in Division A. His research interests include the role of athletics in higher education, particularly for Latino students.

Silvester Mata, a Ph.D. in higher education student in the Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies, was selected to participate in the American Educational Research Association’s Division J 2017 Emerging Scholars Workshop in at the AERA annual conference in April in San Antonio.

May 2017

Nekoobahr Farideh, a doctoral student in the professional leadership – special populations program, was presented with a Certificate of Achievement in May as a recipient of the 2018 Women and Gender Resource Center Scholarship. Nekoobahr works as a teacher in the Language and Culture Center at UH.

June 2017

Shawn Kent, an assistant professor in the Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies, attended the Sequential Multiple-Assignment Randomized Trials Research Training Institute in June. The training, sponsored by the National Center on Special Education Research in the Institute of Education Sciences, focused on helping researchers “conduct novel and methodologically rigorous trials for developing and evaluating adaptive interventions,” Kent said.

Graduate student Kimberly Schwaeble has been nominated to serve on the board of directors for the Texas Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators. Schwaeble, who’s pursuing an M.Ed. in Higher Education in the Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies, is assistant director in the office of financial aid at Rice University.

Two doctoral students in the Department of Psychological, Health and Learning Sciences were selected as recipients of travel awards from the American Psychological Association. Lexie Posada, in the educational psychology and individual differences program, and Christine Pao, in the counseling program, each will receive $300 to attend the APA Convention in Washington, D.C., in August 2017. Posada and Pao were two of the roughly 100 students chosen from applicants across the country.

Doctoral student Greg Meyers has received the education medal from the Ministry of Education in Taiwan. Meyers, who's pursuing an Ed.D. in the Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies, is the first American to receive the award. A former Houston school board member, he was honored for his efforts to enhance educational opportunities between the U.S. and Taiwan. He was presented with the award and a statement of recognition from Texas Governor Greg Abbott at the Houston Independent School District board meeting June 8.