Sandy Cerda-Lezama

Background

About Sandy Cerda-Lezama

I am a fourth-year Doctoral Student at Portland State University. I am part of the Applied Psychology Program, and my track is Developmental Psychology. My focus in the lifespan is adolescence through emerging adulthood (ages 10-26). Specifically, I am interested in high school and college students’ academic motivation, the role of faculty-student mentorship on persistence in higher education, and how different social partners (teachers, parents, peers, mentors) help shape STEM identity development. I look at these topics, particularly for students who have ethnic/ racial minority and first-generation college student status. As a researcher, I consider my participants the true experts that can help me learn how to bring positive change. Therefore, while I am well-rounded in quantitative and qualitative research, I center my work around semi-structured interviews, as I believe they will help me best accomplish my goal of learning from students. I am happy to connect with you and talk more about these topics.