Spotlight
From undocumented immigrant to national award recipient, ISU student uses her past experiences in her research By David Mullen Gannett
A
lot has changed for Iowa State University doctoral candidate Maria Alcívar-Zúñiga since she first arrived in the United States from Ecuador
in 1999. She’s graduated from college, finished her master’s program and is working on a PhD. She’s become a citizen of the United States, was married and had her first child. Three days before giving birth to her son, Ricardo, in December, she opened her email account and found an email that only seven other graduate students across the country received. The email notified Alcívar-Zúñiga that she was needed in Washington, D.C., in six weeks to accept the prestigious, K. Patricia Cross Future Leaders award, which is awarded to graduate students “who show exemplary promise as future leaders of higher education; who demonstrate a commitment to developing academic and civic responsibility in themselves and others; and whose work reflects a strong emphasis on teaching and learning,” according to the Association of American Colleges and Universities website. “I was shocked,” Alcívar-Zúñiga said. “It took me the whole day to realize what had happened. … I was like, wow, people actually think that my leadership skills on my work is something to be recognized, I was honored.” To many of her colleagues and professors at Iowa State University, the award personifies Alcívar-Zúñiga’s work in immigration policy and empowering those in the Latin community in Iowa. “The description of the award is exactly how I would describe Maria,” said Tera Jordan, assistant provost for faculty development and associate professor in Human Development and Family Studies. Alcívar-Zúñiga will soon become a doctor in human development and family studies, which is something she never thought was possible as an immigrant arriving in New York City at 11 years old. Her focus is on community empowering within Latin youth and families in Iowa, and her past experiences, are what drives her, she said. “My personal experience and my journey as a former undocumented immigrant to now a U.S. citizen, my academic background and the research I’ve done so far is what drives my desire to know and learn more about immigration policy and families in general,” AlcívarZúñiga said.
Maria Alcívar-Zúñiga, right, holds up her award with a fellow recipient of the K. Patricia Cross Future Leaders Award in Washington, D.C., in January. Contributed photo
ISU and the Iowa Department of Human Services collaborate each year on a research training project. Alcívar-Zúñiga’s created a specific webinar that assists social workers who work with immigrant families and immigrants who are survivors of domestic assault. Although most of these training projects are only temporary for DHS, Alcívar-Zúñiga’s has become a permanent webinar for their staff members. Growing up as an immigrant Coming to a new country at any age is never easy, especially when you’re 11-years-old and have to learn an entirely new school system, language, culture and social norms. When Alcívar-Zúñiga arrived to the east coast in 1999 with her mother and brother, they moved into a one-bedroom apartment with their cousins that already had three people occupying it, until they could afford rent. And although it was hard for Alcívar-Zúñiga and her brother, their mother had the hardest time, she said. “My cousins helped my mom figure out the school system, had to connect her with people to get a job, and how to get an apartment,” Alcívar-Zúñiga said. “It was hard.” FACETS | APRIL 2020 | 19
