Third-year doctoral student Leyda W. Garcia (Cohort 15) is the Principal of the UCLA Community School, a university-assisted community public school in the heart of Koreatown and Pico-Union. An exemplary student, Leyda was accepted into the prestigious UCEA Jackson Scholars Program in 2019, and the AERA Divisions A/K and UCEA David L. Clark Graduate Research Seminar Program in 2020. Through these programs, Garcia has had the opportunity to work with a mentor, attend special UCEA conference sessions, and present her work.
Leyda’s research interest is focused on unaccompanied youth and their capacity to thrive in school, given the right supports. She hopes to collect their stories of resilience through Critical Race Theory & Youth Participatory Action Research Methodologies and thus shed light on a most disenfranchised student population in schools. To honor Garcia’s accomplishments, the Ed.D. Program named her the 2019 Dean’s Doctoral Achievement Award recipient in recognition of her academic excellence and strong commitment to leadership for social justice.
Leyda W. Garcia is this week’s SOE Student Spotlight, If you have a suggestion for a spotlight, please let us know at: SOEComms@lmu.edu
