2007-Summer

Independent Research
McNair Scholars Program, San Diego State University
Faculty Mentor: Dr. Isidro D. Ortiz     

My research project is an exploratory investigation of Mexican immigrant women from the “new” sending region in Mexico, the state of Oaxaca. It seeks to interrogate the reasons, tools, nature, work, and consequences of migration for Oaxacan female migrants in San Diego County. Data was obtained from Mexican immigrant women through interviews. In so doing, my project seeks to assess the applicability of recent findings of scholarly research to female migrants from Oaxaca. Women from this state have not been the specific foci/subjects of extensive research. The potential benefits of this study include contributing to the basic knowledge about immigrant women from Mexico and the feminization of migration.

 

2006-Present

Research Assistant
San Diego State University
Primary Investigator: Dr. Kristen Hill Maher    

I recently began working with Dr. Kristen Hill Maher from the Political Science department on her research project entitled “Border City Interdependence: San Diego and Tijuana.” The main purpose of the study is to examine the interdependency. The purpose of this study is to examine the experiences and perceptions of San  Diego residents toward the border region and Tijuana. Participants are selected from communities chosen to represent a diverse range of demographics. My responsibilities include translating documents into Spanish and participate in the interviewing process for Spanish speaking participants, specialized in the Escondido community, perfomed data analysis, recruited potential participants, and translated and transcribed interviews.

 

2006-Summer 

Research Assistant
San Diego EXPORT Center/Project Salsita
San Diego State University/San Ysidro Health Center
Primary Investigator: Katherine Keir, MPH

The goal of this study is to analyze patients 5-12 years who are at risk of diabetes and cardiovascular diseases and provide health education to better their eating habits. My primary assignments included assisting in delivering tailored health education to child and parents specifically, nutrition and physical activity modifications and individual and environmental assessments, conducting preliminary clinical assessments of patients (e.g. Body Mass Index and blood pressure measurements) and administering surveys and performing data entry. I developed a protocol for Latino 5 a Day health education workshop and its implementation. I also attended Public Health research seminars.