Hilda Cecilia Contreras Aguirre, Ed.D.

About me

Cecilia Contreras was born in Durango, Mexico. She received her B.S. in Industrial Administration in 2004 from the Superior Studies Division of Insitute 18 de Marzo, Durango, Mexico. She obtained her M.S. in Quality Management in 2011 from the University of Technology of Compiègne, (Sorbonne Universités) Compiègne, France, and her Ed.D. in Higher Education Leadership from Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi (TAMU-CC) Corpus Christi, Texas, U.S. in 2019.  She was advised by Associate Professors Elsa Gonzalez and Rosa Banda.

From 2016 to 2019, she performed the mentor role for a First-Generation Program at TAMU-CC. From 2019 to 2020, she joined the Undergraduate Studies Department as an adjunct faculty where she was assigned to the Political Science section. Also, from 2019 to 2020, she performed as a visiting scholar at the University of Houston under the supervision of Elsa Gonzalez. In 2020, Dr. Contreras started a  researcher position in the School of Teacher Preparation, Administration, and Leadership, transitioning to her current position as a research scientist with the Office of Research, Creativity, and Strategic Initiatives (RCSI) at New Mexico State University (NMSU). 

Research Interest

• Underrepresented Students' College Persistence

• STEM/Engineering Education Research

• High-Impact Practices in College

• Hispanic-Serving Institutions (HSIs) Contexts 

• Qualitative Research

• Interdisciplinary Research Collaborations 

Research News

• 2024-04: Three conference proceedings from the American Society in Engineering Education (ASEE) were published in August 2024. 

• 2023-08: We received a grant awarded by the National Science Foundation (NSF) entitled "HSI Implementation and Evaluation Project: Latinidad STEM Mentoring Program." Research team: PI Dr. Cecilia Contreras and Co-PIs Dr. Luis Garcia, 

• 2023-06: We received a grant awarded by the National Science Foundation (NSF) entitled "HSI Implementation and Evaluation Project: ECE-WisCom: Enhancing Student Performance and Persistence through a Wisdom Community." Research team: PI Dr. Luis Garcia, Co-PIs Cecilia Contreras, Marshall Taylor, Bill Hamilton, and Lauren Cifuentes.

• 2023-06: Two new conference proceedings in the American Society in Engineering Education (ASEE), "Latinx engineering students surviving the odds to accomplish their college degree" and "Latinx undergraduate students: Finding a place of belonging in Engineering. Published with Nicole Delgado (NMSU graduate student) and Dr. Luis Garcia.

• 2023-02: I started a new project "Mentoring in the Classroom in a STEM course" a collaborative project between Dona Ana Community College (DACC) and NMSU.  Collaboration with Professor Concepcion Miller (DACC) and undergraduate student Vanessa Pando (NMSU).

• 2022-01: I received a grant awarded by NSF entitled "Research-Oriented Learning Experiences (ROLE) program focused on Latinx College Students." Research team: PI Dr. Cecilia Contreras and Co-PI Dr. Luis Garcia.

• 2021-08: I received a grant awarded by The American Educational Research Association (AERA) entitled "Building Community: Latina Engineering Students Focused Mentorship Program."

Highlights

• 2024-07: Attended the Center for the Improvement of Mentored Experiences in Research (CIMER) Train-the-Trainers Workshop in July 2024.

• 2024-04: I was accepted to the 2024-2026 cohort of the NSF INCLUDES Alliance, Engineering PLUS stEm PEER Academy. 

• 2023-10:  A news article about the WisCom program was released, titled "NMSU awarded NSF grant to support underrepresented electrical, computer engineering students."

• 2023-08: Three master students - Cristina Esparza, Clara Solis, and Earl Cason -  in Counseling and Education Psychology started working with me as GRAs for the three NSF-funded projects where I am involved as PI and Co-PI. 

• 2023-07: In collaboration with Maryanne Long, a post-doctoral researcher at NMSU, we submitted a grant proposal to the Paul P. Fidler Research Grant  Competition.

• 2023-03:  A news article about the ROLE program was released by Panorama, titled "NMSU researchers seek to increase number of Hispanic women involved in engineering."

• 2022-11:  I was invited as a keynote speaker for the 5th National Week of Social Sciences. Mexican Council of Social Sciences, topic "Challenges of the Qualitative Research." In Torreón, Coahuila, México. In-person and virtual (In Spanish).

• 2022-10: I was invited as a keynote speaker for the International Conference in Science and Technology, topic "Experiences with Qualitative Research." In Reynosa, Tamaulipas, México. In-person and virtual (In Spanish).

• 2022-07: Nicole Delgado, a doctoral student enrolled in the Curriculum and Instruction, with an emphasis in Educational Technology, performed as a research assistant for the ROLE program. 

• 2021-08: Celeste Romero, an undergradute student pursuing a History degree at NMSU started working as a research assistant for the AERA-funded project.