Advance Scholars: Esteve-Gassent and Arenas-Gamboa
Dr. Maria Esteve-Gassent and Dr. Angela Arenas-Gamboa, assistant professors at the CVM, were recently accepted into the Advance Scholar Program at Texas A&M University. The program, funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF), seeks to increase the diversity of female faculty in all levels of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) at Texas A&M.
The Advance Scholar Program is part of Texas A&M’s efforts to promote a psychologically healthy and inclusive environment to support the academic success of women faculty of color. The main goal of the program is to contribute to the professional visibility of women through a unique mentoring program that pairs program members with internal advocates at the university and with eminent scholars in their fields.
The scholars will meet with their mentors to gain professional networking opportunities, further develop a career plan, share research with experts in their field, and increase their professional visibility in preparation for career advancement.
“What interested me about this program was an opportunity for professional development in which internal advocates at the university and eminent scholars from other institutions help minority females improve and become the next wave of women leaders in science,” said Esteve-Gassent. “It will be a great mentoring experience for me.”
“I hope to learn more about leadership quality to advance as a mentor for my students,” said Arenas-Gamboa. “I also want to cultivate new professional opportunities by learning from my mentors, which will help create more opportunities for my team of colleagues.”
Both women look forward to further developing their professional skills through the Advance Scholar Program to become more successful scientists and female leaders in all levels of STEM.
