Congratulations Kelly Medina-Lopez, 2019 UROC Mentor of the Year
Dr. John E. "Buck" Banks, Director of the Undergraduate Research Opportunities Center (UROC), recently announced that Dr. Kelly Medina-Lopez, Assistant Professor, School of Humanities & Communication in the College of Arts, Humanities, and Social Sciences, has been named ther ecipient of the UROC Mentor of the Year Award. She will be honored at the UROC Year-End Celebration on May 10.
About the Award: This award is intended to recognize demonstrated excellence in supporting undergraduate researchers, to encourage mentoring relationships with undergraduate students, and to convey the campus' high regard for such contributions made by the academic and research community at CSUMB and other regional research institutions.
As taken from the announcement:
In her short time at CSUMB, Dr. Medina-Lopez has been an inspiring mentor to half a dozen UROC students already, working with them to build their scholarly identities via authentic scholarly work in the humanities, and helping several apply and gain admission to graduate programs. Kelly was nominated for 2018 UROC Mentor of the Year.
In the words of one of Dr. Medina-Lopez's nominators: "Dr. Medina Lopez is a walking embodiment of the word, mentor. She not only provides clear and constructive feedback that feeds into her students' projects and curiosities, but also engages them through decolonial, social justice, and humanities based methods that often are overlooked. As such, she is able to co-construct projects with her students that uplifts and engages organic intellectualism and cultural community wealth. Additionally, she is constantly finding opportunities to highlight research in the humanities and getting students from marginalized and historically underrepresented communities active in research projects as undergraduates. She is innovative and is always looking for ways for students to attend conferences, present their research, and get connected with graduate programs."
A student nominator offers this praise: "Kelly Medina-Lopez is always willing to support her mentees... she encourages me to explore the extent of my scholarly identity by introducing me to different research methods. She has also encouraged me to pursue a master's degree and took the time to go through every program I was applying too. Kelly Medina-Lopez has gone above and beyond for her mentees and is absolutely deserving of this award."
Congratulations to all the CAHSS Nominees:
- Jennifer Lucido, Lecturer, School of Social, Behavioral, and Global Studies
- Dionicio Mendoza, Assistant Professor, Visual & Public Art
- Danielle Burchett, Assistant Professor, Psychology *2018 UROC Mentor of the Year*
- Christine Valdez, Assistant Professor, Psychology