Doctoral Research Student Gives Back to Hispanic American Community

Well into her teenage years, Marilyn Strada was surrounded by college-aged members of her extended family who were pursuing their education in psychology.

“Their discussions of psychology-related issues sparked my interest in the profession, and I became intrigued with the workings of the human mind,” Strada says.

It would be years before she got a chance to pursue that interest.

Strada was born in Guatemala . Aware of her passion for learning and concerned about the limited educational opportunities for women in Central America at that time, her family went to great lengths to move her to the U.S. when she was 15. Strada joined her mother in Southern California, who when she was 3 months old went to look for a job in the U.S. to help support her family back home.

After high school, Strada went to school as a part-time student getting her AA degree while doing advertising sales full-time for a Spanish-language newspaper in Southern California called La Opinion.

“After working in this environment for nearly 10 years, I felt very dissatisfied with myself when it became apparent to me that the reason why I came to this country, and the goal for which my family had made so many sacrifices, was not being realized,” she says. “I decided to make a commitment to find a way to go back to school.”

She found a way and finished her associate's degree with high honors, qualifying her for a full scholarship to attend Chapman University in Orange , Calif. She graduated from Chapman with a bachelor's in psychology and was awarded several academic honors, including Summa Cum Laude.

Strada joined UNLV in 2002 with the support of an award from the American Psychological Association's Minority Fellowship Program and completed her master's degree in 2004. Now, more than 20 years after receiving her high school diploma, Strada is completing her doctorate in UNLV's clinical psychology program.

Her dissertation, titled “Cogitative Representations of Alcohol Abuse and Dependence Among Hispanic Americans,” will examine individuals' perceptions about alcohol abuse, its symptoms and consequences, and its treatment within the Hispanic-American culture.

“I hope that the findings, which will be shared with the community clinics, will help improve the types of services offered to members of the Hispanic/Latino population,” Strada says.

To accomplish this task, she has partnered with local community clinics that serve Hispanic/Latino populations with alcohol-related disorders. Strada would eventually like to establish a research laboratory in a university setting to offer clinical services to the community, and to serve as a training site for students and as a research center.

Last year, Strada received the President's Graduate Fellowship. This program provides doctoral students with the financial assistance they need to finalize their research and write their dissertations – pivotal requirements for finishing the doctoral degree. Up to four of these fellowships are offered annually, each providing recipients $15,000.

“Receiving the President's Graduate Fellowship has been an enormous honor and academic achievement,” Strada says. “Given the tremendous demands that are required of graduate students in doctoral programs to conduct research, obtain clinical experience, complete coursework, and fulfill the dissertation requirement, this award has enabled me to reach an important milestone and continue my work to advance research in my field of study.”