Early academic experiences influenced my interest in pursuing advanced studies in the field of neuropsychology. These experiences shaped my interests on working with minority groups, particularly with the Hispanic population. Throughout my academic career, I have had the opportunity to work closely with the Hispanic population in different academic and professional settings.
I am passionate about my career choice and the opportunity to work for the community from where I come from. After obtaining a bachelor’s degree from the University of Puerto Rico I was fortunate to have the opportunity to continue advance education at the University of North Carolina, Wilmington under the mentorship of Dr. Antonio Puente. During my time there, I became aware of the lack of studies including Hispanic groups and the need to address minority issues in research and practice. I began to question why the empirical research and services for minority populations were scarce and limited. While learning more about the discipline, I also learned that psychology has not only experienced a limited representation of ethnic minority students, but also a limitation in generating knowledge and services to ethnic minority groups. Unfortunately, the field of neuropsychology has not been exempted from this reality.
I am pursuing my doctoral degree in Clinical Neuropsychology at Nova Southeastern University. The opportunity of being part of this program aligns with my professional goals and future objectives. I am currently involved in a research study regarding the development of a comprehensive neuropsychological battery sensitive to cultural and language factors that influence the performance of Spanish speakers.
Active involvement and advocacy are the perfect mechanisms for the promotion of competence through multicultural awareness. Therefore, participation in organizations such as Hispanic Neuropsychological Society provides the perfect platform to engage in such activities. I look forward to the opportunity to communicate, interact, negotiate, and intervene on behalf of the Hispanic population at an organizational and societal level. I wish to contribute to the integration of education and research while actively encouraging others to network and grow the professional community. These are activities that I find exhilarating professionally and personally rewarding.
Employer: Full time clinical neuropsychology student at Nova Southeastern University
Hometown: Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
Research interests and/or current research projects: I am currently involved with the Nova Multilingual Neuropsychological Battery Pilot Study. The purpose of the Nova Multilingual Neuropsychological Battery has been to generate normative data on bilingual population on a new test battery. The goal of the study is to understand and address barriers, such as language and cultural factors that make neuropsychological tests vulnerable to bilingualism. Currently, the MLB has normative data from English and English/Spanish speaking participants as well as a sample of head injured clients.
Name one thing not many people know about you: I have never gotten a traffic ticket.
What is something you’ve won and how did you win it? When I was in high school I won a trip to a small beautiful island off the east coast of Puerto Rico. I won that trip because of the community and volunteer work I did as a high school student.
What is something you should throw away, but can’t? Notes and books from college. I have a box full of school materials from where I was an undergraduate student. Every time I go home my mother asks me to throw them away, but I can’t because I feel that I will need them later!
What book are your reading right now? La Insoportable Levedad del Ser by Milan Kundera.
If given a choice to skip work for a day, how would you spend the day? I would drive to Key West. I have been living in Florida for two years now and I have not been there yet!