Awards
Below is a list of awards that I have won either as recognitions or as funding (e.g., grants, scholarships, fellowships).
Chair’s Award for Best Student Paper @ CompEd 2025
Very happy to say that my paper on how computer science faculty racial identities may affect how they may (or may not) leverage culture inside the classroom at Hispanic-Serving Institutions! Check out the paper here: https://dl.acm.org/doi/pdf/10.1145/3736181.3747163
I presented this work for the 2025 ACM Global Computing Education (CompEd) Conference in Gaborone, Botswana. I had a lovely time and all the other papers nominated were also outstanding! Highly recommend this conference in the future to all who read this.
UCSD CSE Graduate Award: Excellence in Contributions to Diversity
In 2024, I was recognized for meaningful efforts to advance equity, inclusion, and diversity within the department and broader STEM community. This award honors sustained contributions such as mentorship, outreach, advocacy, or leadership that foster a more inclusive and supportive environment in computer science and engineering.
NSF CISE Education and Workforce Award #2417787 ($300,000 | 2 years)
- Project Title: Generation and Evaluation of Culturally Relevant Computing Resources for Latines in Introductory Programming
- Project Role: Lead PhD Student; Lead Writer
- Project Team: Ismael Villegas Molina (Lead PhD student), Audria Montalvo (PhD student), and Gerald Soosai Raj (PI)
- Funding Period: September 2024 - August 2026
Aiming to enhance computer science education to Latine students, create a culturally relevant textbook for introductory computing courses, and assess the textbook’s efficacy on Latine student engagement, learning, and retention compared to traditional textbooks.
Gates Millennium Scholar
- Funding Period: 10 years
Highly competitive, fully funded scholarship awarded to high-achieving, underrepresented minority students. I got this during my senior year of high school in 2015, an absolute blessing for me throughout all these years!
GEM Fellow (Master’s and Doctoral Awards)
- Funding Period: Full master’s degree; First year of doctoral degree
Highly competitive national initiative providing underrepresented students in STEM fields with graduate fellowships, professional development opportunities, and internships at leading companies and research institutions, supporting the pursuit of master’s and doctoral degrees in engineering and science. I got the master’s award in 2019 and the doctoral award in 2021. Because of these, I got to go work as a researcher at Amazon and at the MITRE Corporation.
Alfred P. Sloan Scholar Fellow
- Funding Period: 4 years
Distinguished program that supports graduate students pursuing advanced degrees in STEM fields, particularly those from underrepresented groups. I received this as I entered my Ph.D. program in 2021.
Hispanic Scholarship Fund
- Funding Period: 4 years (in collaboration with Gates Millenium Scholarship)
Highly regarded program providing financial support and resources to outstanding Hispanic students pursuing higher education. When you are a Gates Millennium Scholar, you’re automatically a scholar in one of the partnership programs depending on your background. I’m so happy to have gotten this award in 2015 and I continue to volunteer and mentor with HSF as much as I possibly can!