Zuleyma Rogel, a recipient of the prestigious Gates Millennium Scholarship (GMS), has begun her doctoral work in the Department of Education at UC Santa Barbara’s Gevirtz School. In 2005 Rogel became the first Latina to be awarded the GMS in the Texas Panhandle.

Rogel received her bachelors’ degree at the University of North Texas, becoming the first person in her family to graduate from college. While at UNT she double majored in political science and social science with a minor in Spanish. As a member of the Honors College, Rogel became one of the pioneers for the growing G-force organization. Through this program, she mentored and tutored students attending high-risk schools with the goal to reduce the achievement gap by aiding them through the college application process.

Throughout her research as an undergraduate, Rogel began to ask more questions, deciding she must help find solutions to how all Americans can be educated and educated well. “My research interest lie in understanding the factors that promote educational inequities (represented by the achievement gap), the consequences these factors have on Latinos, and how the implementation of education policies either aid or further marginalize underrepresented groups,” she explains. “Particularly, I would like to study Latinos students’ behaviors regarding parental involvement and if the assimilation process by the schools has led them to see their relationship with their parents through deficit perspectives.”

Rogel’s desire to explore these issues led her to apply to the Cultural Perspectives and Comparative Education emphasis at the Department of Education at UCSB. Her advisor will be Dr. Richard Duran.

Each year, the Gates Millennium Scholar Program (GMS) provides talented low-income African American, American Indian/Alaska Native, Asian Pacific Islander American, and Hispanic American students – Leaders for America’s Future™ – with the opportunity to complete an undergraduate college education. The program is recognized for its continued success, the number of applications each year, and the caliber of the students it serves. Established in 1999 and funded primarily by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, the program also provides the opportunity for continuing Gates Millennium Scholars to request funding for graduate degree programs in computer science, engineering, education, library science, mathematics, public health or science. In addition to promoting academic excellence and providing opportunities, GMS staff and Alumni Scholars are all personally invested in the success of each Scholar through support programs beginning with the award and continuing throughout their careers.

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