PRISM Research Lab

Graduate Student Researcher

Elsa is a second-year Ph.D. student in the Learning, Teaching & Diversity program at Vanderbilt University with a specialization in Justice & Diversity in Education. Her research interests include higher education access, Latiné college student experiences, and student retention and success in and beyond STEM.

She received a B.A. degree in Economics from the University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill. Elsa was a Ronald E. McNair Scholar who conducted research about the impacts of Upward Bound participation for first-generation college students from low-income backgrounds.

As an undergraduate, Elsa realized her passion for educational equity and access, leading her to intern with LatinxEd — an educational nonprofit dedicated to advancing Latine student success in the state of North Carolina. In the summer 2025, Elsa continued working with LatinxEd as a Fellow in the Southern Education Leadership Initiative (a professional development program for emerging leaders committed to racial justice in education). Her fellowship involved work with the LatinxEd Fellowship focused on Latiné leaders’ development for the advancement of educational equity.

Elsa presently serves as the Editorial Assistant for the Journal for Research in Mathematics Education. She recently presented research from the PRISM Lab at the 2025 Critical Race Studies in Education Association Conference. Elsa also received an Honorable Mention distinction from the National Science Foundation’s 2024 Graduate Research Fellowship Program competition. In her free time, she enjoys going on runs and discovering new coffee shops.