By Trista Moxley

University of North Texas student Maria Otero was volunteering at a summer camp for children with special needs when she first witnessed the life-changing power of applied behavior analysis. 

“I’d hang out with some kids one summer, and by the next summer they’d made a ton of improvement,” she says. “It was a common thread that a lot of these kids were getting applied behavior analysis therapy.” 

Born in Colombia, Otero migrated to the U.S. at the age of five as a political refugee with her mother and older sister. After earning her bachelor’s and master’s degrees in behavioral analysis at UNT — one of few universities in the nation to offer the program to undergraduates — she’s now a second-year doctoral candidate. She is also a member of G-RISE, a National Institutes of Health-funded program that recruits and prepares a diverse pool of doctoral scientists for careers in the biomedical research fields. 

Through her research in the lab of Manish Vaidya, associate professor of behavior analysis, Otero is working to develop technologies that enable clinicians, teachers and other caregivers to be more efficient and effective in providing data-driven interventions for children with learning difficulties. 

“I focus on creating technologies that help facilitate learning for children,” she says. “Systemically speaking, there just aren’t enough people to provide the services they need, and that can set them behind for the rest of their lives. But we can make a difference; through research and through technology that is user-friendly and accessible, we can bridge those gaps.” 

Otero joins many other students, alumni, faculty and staff in her efforts to move toward creating a more equitable world.

One staff-led effort — The Latino Advisory Committee — has been meeting over the past several years to explore actionable ways to advance UNT as an inclusive HSI. Envisioned by UNT alumnus Bob Garza, the committee was a joint creation between the Division of Inclusion, Diversity, Equity and Access (IDEA) and the Division of Advancement. In January 2021, Garza partnered with IDEA, Advancement and the UNT Alumni Association Board of Directors to establish the Latino Alumni Network, a constituent group within the UNT Alumni Association working to make a collective impact by recruiting and mentoring Latinx students for academic and career success.

As a classified Minority-Serving and Hispanic-Serving Institution, UNT’s research is focused on creating a more equitable future for all by addressing real issues plaguing our society, from health care and education to industry. This past year, UNT saw a number of firsts for its HSI initiative, including membership in Excelencia in Education’s Presidents for Latino Student Success, a network of college and university leaders dedicated to cultivating a learning environment where Latino students thrive. 

The partnership came shortly after UNT announced its founding membership in the Alliance of Hispanic Serving Research Universities, a group of 21 of the nation’s top research universities committed to increasing opportunity for students historically underserved by higher education. Members strive to achieve two key goals by 2030: to double their number of Hispanic doctoral students and increase their Hispanic professoriate by 20%. 

UNT is equally committed to recruiting students from all backgrounds; thus, strategies used to support Hispanic students will help better encourage and support students from other underrepresented groups as well.

One of UNT’s ongoing goals is creating an equitable, diverse and inclusive campus community.

Additional efforts within the HSI initiative include offering a broad curriculum with a range of courses about ethnicity and multiculturalism, pre-college programs like Trio-Talent Search and TRIO Upward Bound, student programs including McNair Scholars, Student Support Services and E-Start, a thriving multicultural center and a variety of campus activities and associations.

Additionally, UNT is an institutional member of both TACHE and the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities (HACU), the only national educational association that represents Hispanic-Serving Institutions. These memberships provide UNT students, staff and faculty  access to conferences, workshops, scholarships and other resources. In particular, HACU’s annual conferences and special events provide a vital platform for advocacy, information, collaboration, and recognition, including the National Capitol Forum on Hispanic Higher Education each spring in Washington, D.C., and HACU’s Annual Conference. HACU also hosts a biennial International Conference.

UNT has formed a task force to further provide advice and oversight on the initiatives. Their goal is to focus on improving the educational experience of Hispanic students, work directly with them to identify current and future needs, determine available resources and future planning to expand opportunities. They also focus on sharing information to enhance the greater UNT community’s engagement with HSI efforts.

“Becoming more intentional in the steps we take to serve all of our students will have far-reaching benefits, not just for all of the members of UNT’s diverse and caring community,” says Pam Padilla, vice president of research and innovation,” but for our society at large as these innovative thinkers create solutions for a more equitable future.” 

About the author:

Trista Moxley is a Senior Communications Specialist at University of North Texas. With more than 12 years of experience in journalism and communications, Moxley is excited to share stories about the caring, creative members of the UNT community.