Name: Melissa Ortiz
Email: melissa.ortiz@nyu.edu
Program: Sociology of Education
Research Interests: Suburban schooling; sociology of education; Latinx education; Latinx youth; race and education; educational access and opportunities
Principal Advisor(s): L'Heureux Lewis-McCoy
Research description/bio:
Melissa is a fourth-year, full-time Ph.D. candidate in the Sociology of Education program. Her dissertation research will explore how immigrant Latinx families resist, navigate, and advocate for their educational futures in a Northeastern suburb. Her research interests include exploring the contemporary educational experiences of Latinx students attending diversifying suburban schools, how Latinx families (re)shape educational networks in suburban spaces, and conducting community-based participatory research with immigrant families.
Melissa holds a B.A. in Psychology from Loyola Marymount University, and an M.S. in Education from the University of Pennsylvania’s Graduate School of Education in the Education, Culture, and Society program. Originally from Los Angeles, Melissa likes to study ballet, bike ride, and read in her free time.