MROP Former Students
Academic Year 2020-2021
Originally from San Diego, California, Cristóbal Arellano (He/him/his) is currently a graduate student at the University of Michigan – Ann Arbor’s Center for the Study of Higher, and Postsecondary Education (CSHPE), with a concentration in student access and success. As an Institutional researcher, Cristóbal is focused on DIJE (diversity, inclusion, justice, and equity) initiatives, public policy, and the areas where they converge. Cristóbal brings a multidisciplinary toolkit to higher ed, with a background in research, philosophy and policy. As an aspiring higher education professional, he is keenly interested in the confluence of praxis and theory; research data and how that data can positively impact policy within academic institutions. Cristóbal previously graduated with a master’s degree in philosophy, where he focused on philosophy of science–specifically objectivity in the sciences and the work of Helen Longino and Alison Wylie. He also graduated with a bachelor’s degree in political science from the Pennsylvania State University – University Park.
Minso ‘Minna’ Choi is a MROP Graduate Research Fellow at the Diversity Research and Policy Program (DRPP). She is a rising second-year Master’s of Arts student in the University of Michigan School of Education studying Higher Education Administration. Pursuing the Individually Designed Concentration, she wishes to combine her interests in diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI), academic research, and psychology into her career. She is a first-generation Korean American immigrant that grew up in Ohio, United States where she pursued a B.S. in Psychology at the Ohio State University. As an MROP graduate student, she is studying the roles and effects of multiple mentors in diverse pathways to college success. In the future, she hopes to pursue a PhD in Higher Education or Educational Psychology.
Academic Years 2017-2019
Joseph Romero-Reyes is a Graduate Research Assistant for the Diversity Research and Policy Program (DRPP) at the University of Michigan (UofM). He recently earned a Masters of Arts degree in Higher Education from the Center for the Study of Higher and Postsecondary Education (CSHPE) at (UofM). Born in Compton and raised in Lynwood California, cities in South Los Angeles County, Joseph is a non-traditional and first-generation student who stumbled across higher education via Compton College. He credits the resilient and warrior spirit of his community for instilling the values of persistence and hard work in overcoming societal challenges. Before (UofM) he earned his Associate of Arts degree from Compton College in Behavioral and Social Science and transferred and graduated with a bachelor’s degree in Psychology and Social Behavior from the University of California, Irvine (UCI). During his undergraduate career, Joseph participated in federal work-study and worked in various departments at Compton College. Through these experiences is where he found a passion for helping first-generation and low-income students access and succeed in higher and postsecondary education. Moreover, as an undergraduate student at UCI, he was exposed to academic research and collaborated with Dr. Jeanett Castellanos conducting an Undergraduate Research Opportunity Program (UROP) qualitative study examining the Psychosociocultural factors contributing to transfer attitudes by Latino males in community college. Joseph will be joining the University of Wisconsin-Madison as a doctoral student and pursue a Ph.D. in the Educational Leadership and Policy Analysis (ELPA) program with a concentration in Higher Education. As a doctoral student, he hopes to continue studying how first-generation and low-income males of color utilize their cultural and personal strengths to overcome social and academic barriers. He is also interested in studying how community colleges can implement strong multilevel strengths-based policies that will lead to the successful retention and transfer of first-generation and low-income males of color who attend community colleges and are exposed to K-12 educational opportunity gaps.