Consider Daisy Fuentes, a UT senior studying biology who, along with nearly two dozen of her classmates and students from local colleges and universities, participates in an IE pre-graduate school internship program. These internships pair undergraduates with faculty mentors and graduate student "buddies," immersing them in the culture of graduate study — something about which most undergraduates, especially minorities and first-generation students, are often unaware.
Fuentes' story is a familiar one. As a science student, she always assumed she would become a medical doctor, using her talents to contribute to the well being of others. Until recently, Fuentes never imagined that a graduate degree in a science or education discipline might equip her to fulfill her vision of contributing to the community. Fuentes' revelation did not occur because a graduate program "recruited" her or because of a recruitment workshop that explained how to apply to graduate school and obtain financial aid. Fuentes' transformation came from her epiphany that she is an "intellectual entrepreneur." Early in her internship, she is discovering the desire to develop a comprehensive community health center.
Fuentes' experience documents that increasing diversity in graduate education means moving beyond mechanistic recruitment strategies. We must create experiences enabling undergraduates to discover how graduate study brings their visions to fruition.
— Dr. Richard A. Cherwitz is a professor in communication studies at the University of Texas at Austin. Susan Alvarado Boyd is a doctoral student in the College of Education.
© Copyright 2005 by DiverseEducation.com
