RESI Awards Two Dissertation Fellowships with Support from the Carlos H. Cantú Hispanic Education and Opportunity Endowment
The Race & Ethnic Studies Institute announces the Fall 2024 recipients of the RESI-Cantú Graduate Research Fellowship. A fellowship supporting Texas A&M doctoral students and the completion of their dissertation. Every long-term semester (Fall and Spring) the RESI-Cantú Graduate Research Fellowship is awarded to two doctoral students whose dissertations commit to advancing the study […]
The Race & Ethnic Studies Institute announces the Fall 2024 recipients of the RESI-Cantú Graduate Research Fellowship. A fellowship supporting Texas A&M doctoral students and the completion of their dissertation.
Every long-term semester (Fall and Spring) the RESI-Cantú Graduate Research Fellowship is awarded to two doctoral students whose dissertations commit to advancing the study of race and ethnicity – an area of study which presents a host of critical issues confronting the state and nation. This fellowship, now on its fifth award cycle, is intentionally tailored to facilitate the completion of the dissertation while providing students with grant writing experience. Fellows receive up to $5,000 each to facilitate various aspects of their research, which can include fieldwork, survey instruments, travel to archives and other pertinent expenses. This fellowship was made possible with the support from the Carlos H. Cantú Hispanic Education and Opportunity Endowment, which is a result of generous gift given to A&M by Carlos Cantú ‘55 and his family.
“Our institute was established to serve as a major research unit for the study of race and ethnicity” says Dr. Darrel Wanzer-Serrano, Director of RESI. “We are proud to highlight Texas A&M University’s strengths and leadership in research within this field. This fellowship strengthens our commitment to uplifting the community of scholars at Texas A&M and elevates research that will deepen our understanding of the salience of race and ethnicity.”
Meet the Fall 2024 RESI-Cantú Graduate Research Fellows
Both RESI and the Carlos H. Cantú Hispanic Education and Opportunity Endowment are proud to announce Jacquita N. Johnson and Cristina Nader as the Fall 2024 recipients of the RESI-Cantú Graduate Research Fellowship.
Jacquita N. Johnson is a doctoral candidate in her third year with the Department of Environmental and Occupational Health at the Texas A&M School of Public Health. She holds a Master of Public Health in Health Promotion and Community Health Sciences and a Bachelor of Science in Health Administration. Johnson’s research interests center Black women and investigate the placed-based relationship between environmental injustices and health outcomes. When asked about the inspiration for her research, she replied that it “stems from recognizing the gaps in the literature as it pertains to black women’s health and environmental experiences.” She is motivated to pursue research that she is passionate about and that will be impactful to the lives of Black women. “I recognize the privilege of being able to attain this level of education and I want to use it for good to help my community,” says Johnson. She hopes that the findings of her dissertation will be useful in encouraging the serious consideration of the environment and its effects on the health of Black women.
Cristina Nader is a doctoral candidate with the Department of Educational Administration and Human Resource Development at the Texas A&M College of Education & Human Development. Nader received an MPA in International Public Service and Development from Rutgers University and a BBA in International Marketing from Texas Christian University. Her research interests include decoloniality, participatory research (PR) methods, and the success of first-generation, low-income (FGLI) students. Nader’s dissertation study explores the experiences of FGLI Black and Latin* undergraduate women with microaggressions and microaffirmations. Her decolonial approach to research and the use of participatory methods aims to transform qualitative research practices through critical reflexivity, reciprocity, and respect for a person’s agency. When asked about the outcomes of her research, she replied that she “hopes to help challenge traditional Western-centric paradigms, thereby centering the perspectives and worldviews of first-generation, low-income Black and Latin* undergraduate women.”
The RESI-Cantú Fellow’s Research Projects
Jacquita N. Johnson
Project Title: Race, Gender, Place & the Environment: The Experiences of Black Women in Settegast, Houston, TX
Dissertation Abstract: Black women are disproportionately exposed to environmental hazards yet are not adequately represented in environmental health research. For Settegast, a predominantly Black Houston super neighborhood, elucidating this relationship is critical as Settegast has the lowest life expectancy in Harris County, TX. This study aims to understand the role the environment and racial-gender stress plays in Black women’s susceptibility to adverse health outcomes. Using a community-engaged mixed method design, this project consists of three main activities: soil sampling, survey administration and focus groups to understand the relationship between environmental contaminants, role of racial-gender stress and health outcomes among Black women. Soil samples will be analyzed by a lab while multivariate analysis will be used to analyze survey data. Thematic analysis will be employed for the focus group interviews. The preliminary results from this project will illuminate the identity and distribution of soil contaminants in the community and how it impacts the health of Black women in Settegast. Additionally, a greater understanding of this contamination and racial-gender stress will offer context to health outcomes. The findings can also help further the environmental advocacy efforts of local organizations by corroborating the community’s environmental concerns.
Cristina Nader
Project Title: Exploring the Experiences of First-generation, Low-income Black and Latin* Undergraduate Women at a Public, Predominantly White Institution in Texas
Dissertation Abstract: Research shows that first-generation, low-income (FGLI) Black and Latin* undergraduate women encounter many obstacles throughout college, including being subjected to multiple types of microaggressions that negatively affect their educational trajectories (McCabe, 2009; Mills, 2019; Muñoz & Vigil, 2018; Solórzano et al., 2000). Meanwhile, microaffirmations play a crucial role in countering the negative impacts of microaggressions (Ellis et al., 2019; Jones & Rolón-Dow, 2018; Solórzano et al., 2019). The purpose of this decolonial qualitative case study is to understand how FGLI Black and Latin* undergraduate women experience microaggressions and microaffirmations at a public, predominantly white institution (PWI) in Texas. This study is guided by a microaggressions and microaffirmations conceptual framework, adding to the literature in several ways, including: (a) shedding light on the microaggressions FGLI Black and Latin* undergraduate women encounter in higher education, (b) addressing a significant gap in existing research by exploring the microaffirmations FGLI Black and Latin* undergraduate women experience while at a PWI, and (c) methodologically challenging and transforming existing power dynamics and the knowledge production process through the use of a decolonial approach and participatory research (PR) methods.