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Pamela D’Andrea Martínez

MA, International Education

Pamela D’Andrea Martínez is a researcher and resource specialist at the NYU Metro Center, a Ph.D. candidate in Urban Education, and an adjunct professor in the Department of Teaching and Learning at New York University. Her research includes contending with social hierarchies in education to locate and foster belonging for immigrant youth, multilingual youth, and Latinx youth in U.S. schools. Pamela began to hone this research agenda when she left the K-12 classroom in 2015 to pursue her Master’s in International Education. She looked to the IE Program to provide a better understanding of the sociopolitical and global contexts that contribute to educational inequities. In addition to her research, Pamela is a resource specialist for the New York State (NYS) Language Regional Bilingual Education Resource Network. In this role she works with educators in their professional learning of culturally and linguistically sustaining education for multilingual learners.

Current Job(s)Ph.D. Candidate, Resource Specialist, Adjunct Professor
 

What is your favorite part of your current job position?
While I identify as a researcher, I consider the most important part of my work to connect research to policy and practice. My favorite part of working at the NYU Metro Center is that I get to work directly with schools, youth, community groups, and state leaders to support them in changing pedagogical and systemic practices to promote educational equity and belonging.
 

How did the International Education program help you prepare for your career?
The IE program provided me the learning opportunities I needed to develop a stronger critical and analytical lens when addressing problems in education. Ironically, when I started the program, I was sure that research would not be my path. Still, the required methods courses and having professors who use their research for policy change, program development, and other practical applications, equipped me with a new image of what research is and the skills I would later need to move into a research career. I attribute these transformative learning experiences to the excellent teaching and mentorship I received from Drs. Hua-Yu Sebastian Cherng, Carol Anne Spreen, and Dana Burde as well as the incredible TAs who are now my colleagues in the field.
 

What was your favorite part of the IE program?
I appreciated that the IE program was flexible enough to allow me to shape parts of my curriculum. This sense of agency was important to me; my interests are transdisciplinary and my approach to working is always to wear many hats. The program was welcoming of that and it seemed to me that this flexibility was built-in strategically. Because I got to explore, one of my most formative experiences was the opportunity to study abroad in South Africa with Professor Teboho Moja. The foundational work I was doing in the IE program alongside studying abroad solidified my path in educational equity scholar activism.

 

Do you have any advice for current or prospective students?
I believe that having a community is more important than networking. I always suggest to current and prospective students to build strong, reciprocal relationships with the professors, TAs, other students, and program administrators. The community that comprises this program is generous with its time and insights, and I found many social justice-oriented life-long colleagues in the IE program.

 

Any thoughts you'd like to share with prospective students about the program?
For those who have been away from school for a bit, I would like to share that I was a public-school teacher for 6 years before starting the IE program. My learning curve for graduate school was steep. I was learning to read complex texts for the first time since my undergraduate courses and I often felt guilty for choosing this path over working with my students. Thankfully I was met with faculty and Ph.D. student teachers that invested in my growth, helped me connect what I was doing to a larger career agenda, and who were kind and supportive as I learned. I now see my time in the IE program as catalytic to both my personal and professional lives.