Mentoring
I am blessed to have the opportunity to mentor and sponsor students at all stages in their academic careers-- from upper primary and secondary school to undergraduate and graduate students. Here are a few memories of us:
Mentoring Statement
When it comes to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI), it is important to recognize that the overlapping identities and lived experiences of each person shapes how they view the world. As a Latina woman, mother of two, and daughter of Cuban/Mexican immigrants, I am fully aware of the systemic inequalities present within many societies that provide advantages for some and marginalizes others. I am determined to actively and intentionally use my privilege and intersectional positionality within academia to prioritize the voices of those left unheard. Below, I describe the DEI values I uphold throughout my mentoring, teaching, and research.
Be Authentic: To build a community in which every member can flourish, requires an atmosphere of authenticity; a space where people can come as they are. As a woman in STEM, I know firsthand the implicit pressures of having to hide aspects of our identity to adhere to demands of conformity. Upon entering graduate school, I was warned repeatedly to “not get pregnant” if I wanted to get my Ph.D. I remember walking to the administrative office with my advisor at 8 weeks pregnant, nervous, and agonizing about when and whether I should tell her. When I finally told her, she smiled and gave me a big hug! It was the perfect response. That moment of authenticity made a significant difference in my life and trajectory as a Ph.D. student. Becoming a mother in academia gave me a renewed commitment to succeeding and inspiring other mothers to succeed—even when the statistics say otherwise, as nearly 50% of women leave full-time science careers after their first child. For this reason, I make time to mentor women considering starting a family during graduate school. I have assured more than 5 other first-time-mom Ph.D. students that having a child during graduate school is possible, and all of us are on track with our careers.
Be a Sponsor, Not Just a Mentor: My success is not only a result of my hard work and sacrifice, but also product of the investment of those who championed me. DEI is not achieved by solely mentoring marginalized students, it requires advocating for them. The McNair Scholars Program, the McKnight Fellowship Program, my advisor—these are the people who advocated for my success. In turn, I create opportunities for minority students to conduct independent research, present their work at local and international conferences, and connect with industry professionals that can offer them experiential internships. For example, as an extension of my dissertation work, I had Denielle, my undergraduate research assistant, conduct an interview study with child welfare caseworkers. He published and presented the findings at GROUP 2020, and as a result, won a poster award, completed his Honors undergraduate thesis, and landed an internship (and later full-time job) at Facebook.
Be Justice-Centered: The core tenet behind any DEI initiative should always be justice (to make right). Taking on a justice-centered approach to DEI means learning, unlearning, and relearning lessons (having a learner’s mindset). It also means challenging the status quo, even when doing so may be hard. For example, I joined the R.A.C.E. team (Realizing All Can be Equal) as part of the ACM SIGCHI Innovators for Diversity and Inclusion (D&I) initiative, with the goal of increasing representation of Latinas within SIGCHI. Unfortunately, our team’s efforts were silenced and erased; therefore, we surfaced our lived experiences in an ACM Interactions article. The purpose was to ignite uncomfortable conversations about race and minority status within academia, which we accomplished. Even though I was in a vulnerable position as a Ph.D. student, I wholly supported this effort because prioritizing justice within my work and broader research community is critical to advancing the HCI field and creating a more inclusive community.
Be Authentic: To build a community in which every member can flourish, requires an atmosphere of authenticity; a space where people can come as they are. As a woman in STEM, I know firsthand the implicit pressures of having to hide aspects of our identity to adhere to demands of conformity. Upon entering graduate school, I was warned repeatedly to “not get pregnant” if I wanted to get my Ph.D. I remember walking to the administrative office with my advisor at 8 weeks pregnant, nervous, and agonizing about when and whether I should tell her. When I finally told her, she smiled and gave me a big hug! It was the perfect response. That moment of authenticity made a significant difference in my life and trajectory as a Ph.D. student. Becoming a mother in academia gave me a renewed commitment to succeeding and inspiring other mothers to succeed—even when the statistics say otherwise, as nearly 50% of women leave full-time science careers after their first child. For this reason, I make time to mentor women considering starting a family during graduate school. I have assured more than 5 other first-time-mom Ph.D. students that having a child during graduate school is possible, and all of us are on track with our careers.
Be a Sponsor, Not Just a Mentor: My success is not only a result of my hard work and sacrifice, but also product of the investment of those who championed me. DEI is not achieved by solely mentoring marginalized students, it requires advocating for them. The McNair Scholars Program, the McKnight Fellowship Program, my advisor—these are the people who advocated for my success. In turn, I create opportunities for minority students to conduct independent research, present their work at local and international conferences, and connect with industry professionals that can offer them experiential internships. For example, as an extension of my dissertation work, I had Denielle, my undergraduate research assistant, conduct an interview study with child welfare caseworkers. He published and presented the findings at GROUP 2020, and as a result, won a poster award, completed his Honors undergraduate thesis, and landed an internship (and later full-time job) at Facebook.
Be Justice-Centered: The core tenet behind any DEI initiative should always be justice (to make right). Taking on a justice-centered approach to DEI means learning, unlearning, and relearning lessons (having a learner’s mindset). It also means challenging the status quo, even when doing so may be hard. For example, I joined the R.A.C.E. team (Realizing All Can be Equal) as part of the ACM SIGCHI Innovators for Diversity and Inclusion (D&I) initiative, with the goal of increasing representation of Latinas within SIGCHI. Unfortunately, our team’s efforts were silenced and erased; therefore, we surfaced our lived experiences in an ACM Interactions article. The purpose was to ignite uncomfortable conversations about race and minority status within academia, which we accomplished. Even though I was in a vulnerable position as a Ph.D. student, I wholly supported this effort because prioritizing justice within my work and broader research community is critical to advancing the HCI field and creating a more inclusive community.
Mentoring Relationships
I am dedicated to making sure my students receive a fruitful and authentic mentoring experience. At the end of every semester, I have each of my mentees fill out a feedback survey to evaluate our mentoring relationship. I ask them to answer this question: how would you describe your relationship with your mentor? Here's what they have to say:
"My relationship with Karla as a mentor definitely feels more of a productive friendship. I'm happy that she is willing to always be there for me even for things not related to research. She is definitely a great supporter as well and an excellent role model, especially in her kindness and her drive to do well and help others. On another note, she is also not afraid to give critical feedback, and it's great to be able to know my weaknesses and be able to work towards improving them. Karla plans well and communicates with me when a meeting has to be moved. She also gives amazing feedback that allows me to see a different perspective and address the issues presented in that perspective. She also is great at mentoring. By that, I mean Karla is able to ask great questions that make me think of my own plans even further or deeper than I had thought before. For example, she asked me what I would like to be mentored about and it didnt have to do with research, which made me think quite a bit. "
"Friendly and productive. She has not been my mentor long, but... she’s been good at responding quickly, answering my questions, and making me think in ways I didn’t before."