Graduate Archer Fellowship Program Alumni Profiles
Joanna D. Sánchez
Summer 2015 Archer Fellow
Internship: White House Initiative on Educational Excellence for Hispanics
Education
The University of Texas at Austin
Ph.D., Educational Administration; August 2017
University of Denver
M.S. Geographic Information Science; 2005
Trinity University, San Antonio
B.S. Geosciences; May 2002
Career
Program Manager, Excelencia in Education
Postdoctoral Research Associate at Howard University (2018)
Summer 2015 Archer Fellow
Internship: White House Initiative on Educational Excellence for Hispanics
Education
The University of Texas at Austin
Ph.D., Educational Administration; August 2017
University of Denver
M.S. Geographic Information Science; 2005
Trinity University, San Antonio
B.S. Geosciences; May 2002
Career
Program Manager, Excelencia in Education
Postdoctoral Research Associate at Howard University (2018)
“My favorite memory is sitting inside the Supreme Court chamber (June 2015) and hearing first hand when the decision was read in the Obergefell v. Hodges case. To be present for such a historic ruling was a real privilege."
Q & A with Joanna
Please give us a snapshot of your current position.
I work on the National Science Foundation (NSF) research project E-Communities: Investigating how a collaboration between STEM educators and engineers impact underserved youth's participation in engineering design. The project's principal investigators are Dr. Deena Khalil from Howard and Dr. Meredith Kier from the College of William and Mary. My responsibilities include furthering our relationships with our partnering school district leaders; recruiting additional teachers and engineers; orienting the participants with the research projects goals and objectives; coordinating project meetings and developing quarterly reports; performing site visits; and collecting and analyzing data. In addition, I supervise and mentor three doctoral students and one master's student.
What has been your general career path?
With my Bachelor's in Geosciences and my Master's in GIS, I worked for eight years in the GIS field. I concurrently taught evening GIS classes at South Texas College. My education was possible due to the support of various scholarship organizations, most importantly the Gates Foundation. Being of service and staying grounded was and continues to be really important to me, which led to my involvement as a mentor at schools in my hometown. I found my calling, but I’d have to go back to school and gain new skillsets. I took a leap of faith and applied to The University of Texas at Austin.
How has being an Archer Fellow influenced your professional path and goals?
Prior to the Archer Center Graduate Program in Public Policy, seeing myself working and living in D.C. after graduation was something I was not convinced I could do (even if my boyfriend lived in D.C.). After my Archer Fellowship, living and working in D.C. was something I could actually seriously consider post graduation. And as it turns out, that is exactly what has happened. My now husband is very happy with my decision.
What do you value the most about your experience as an Archer Fellow?
What I value most about my experience in D.C. as an Archer Fellow is that this program offered me an avenue by which to come to work and live in D.C. It helped to demystify the federal government for me and made it all more accessible. Prior to interning at the Department of Education, the federal government felt so distant and foreign. What could I possibly contribute? But, in just three months of working in D.C., I gained invaluable knowledge and developed an incredible amount of respect for all the men and women who work tirelessly behind the scenes helping our government function.
What was the most important thing you learned as an Archer Fellow?
I learned that if you are passionate about a cause and are willing to work hard, there is a place for you in D.C.
What do you value the most about being an Archer Alumna?
What I value most is being part of a network of colleagues with whom I share a common bond, even if we participated in the program in different years. I especially value having this common experience with other students from my UT Austin program. It's allowed me to get to know them better, even if we were never able to take a class together at UT Austin. This experience helps to strengthen our program, and the ties will remain even after we graduate.
What is your favorite memory from the program?
My favorite memory is sitting inside the Supreme Court chamber (June 2015) and hearing first hand when the decision was read in the Obergefell v. Hodges case. To be present for such a historic ruling was a real privilege.
Do you have advice for prospective students?
My advice would be to research and pursue internship opportunities that speak to you personally and/or professionally. You spend most of your time at your internship, so if you are going to invest your money in coming to D.C., then you want to make sure that your internship is meaningful to you. Regardless of where you intern, D.C. is a beautiful city that will offer you a plethora of things to do, so why not aim high and have the best summer of your life both while at work and outside of work.
Please give us a snapshot of your current position.
I work on the National Science Foundation (NSF) research project E-Communities: Investigating how a collaboration between STEM educators and engineers impact underserved youth's participation in engineering design. The project's principal investigators are Dr. Deena Khalil from Howard and Dr. Meredith Kier from the College of William and Mary. My responsibilities include furthering our relationships with our partnering school district leaders; recruiting additional teachers and engineers; orienting the participants with the research projects goals and objectives; coordinating project meetings and developing quarterly reports; performing site visits; and collecting and analyzing data. In addition, I supervise and mentor three doctoral students and one master's student.
What has been your general career path?
With my Bachelor's in Geosciences and my Master's in GIS, I worked for eight years in the GIS field. I concurrently taught evening GIS classes at South Texas College. My education was possible due to the support of various scholarship organizations, most importantly the Gates Foundation. Being of service and staying grounded was and continues to be really important to me, which led to my involvement as a mentor at schools in my hometown. I found my calling, but I’d have to go back to school and gain new skillsets. I took a leap of faith and applied to The University of Texas at Austin.
How has being an Archer Fellow influenced your professional path and goals?
Prior to the Archer Center Graduate Program in Public Policy, seeing myself working and living in D.C. after graduation was something I was not convinced I could do (even if my boyfriend lived in D.C.). After my Archer Fellowship, living and working in D.C. was something I could actually seriously consider post graduation. And as it turns out, that is exactly what has happened. My now husband is very happy with my decision.
What do you value the most about your experience as an Archer Fellow?
What I value most about my experience in D.C. as an Archer Fellow is that this program offered me an avenue by which to come to work and live in D.C. It helped to demystify the federal government for me and made it all more accessible. Prior to interning at the Department of Education, the federal government felt so distant and foreign. What could I possibly contribute? But, in just three months of working in D.C., I gained invaluable knowledge and developed an incredible amount of respect for all the men and women who work tirelessly behind the scenes helping our government function.
What was the most important thing you learned as an Archer Fellow?
I learned that if you are passionate about a cause and are willing to work hard, there is a place for you in D.C.
What do you value the most about being an Archer Alumna?
What I value most is being part of a network of colleagues with whom I share a common bond, even if we participated in the program in different years. I especially value having this common experience with other students from my UT Austin program. It's allowed me to get to know them better, even if we were never able to take a class together at UT Austin. This experience helps to strengthen our program, and the ties will remain even after we graduate.
What is your favorite memory from the program?
My favorite memory is sitting inside the Supreme Court chamber (June 2015) and hearing first hand when the decision was read in the Obergefell v. Hodges case. To be present for such a historic ruling was a real privilege.
Do you have advice for prospective students?
My advice would be to research and pursue internship opportunities that speak to you personally and/or professionally. You spend most of your time at your internship, so if you are going to invest your money in coming to D.C., then you want to make sure that your internship is meaningful to you. Regardless of where you intern, D.C. is a beautiful city that will offer you a plethora of things to do, so why not aim high and have the best summer of your life both while at work and outside of work.