Help Leslie Move for Ph.d. Program!

My name is Leslie Martínez, and I was accepted into a Urban & Regional Sciences Ph.D. program at Texas for Fall 2023. I am overjoyed and excited about this incredible news, but shortly after receiving the acceptance, I felt overwhelmed and disconcerted thinking about the logistics, expenses, and financial implications that come with such a decision. However, my small family and partner reminded me to celebrate first and worry about those concerns later.

As a queer Puerto Rican woman, I grew up in a single-parent, low-income household and have worked since I was 17 to overcome poverty and pay for my living expenses as a student. I am also a natural disaster survivor, having been affected by hurricanes Irma and María in 2017, which forced me to start from scratch due to unexpected massive floods in my Levittown community. Currently, I am actively looking for a job, but not many organizations are hiring for a short time period. Nevertheless, I am using this time to prepare for my Ph.D. program.

Therefore, I have created this GoFundMe page to feel supported and assured that I have done everything I can to cover my immediate costs of relocating, such as travel, furniture, rent, and other necessities. My goal is to raise $5,000 for now, although the full cost of moving is estimated to be $7,000+. So, this is my heads up that I may increase the goal as time goes on!

More about me and my background

In terms of my academic background, I hold a master’s degree in planning with an emphasis on urban planning, as well as graduate training in community social work and public health. During this time, I served as a graduate research assistant and was a recipient of the Natural Hazards Center’s Quick Response Research Award Program.

My professional experience spans community development with a focus on social justice and fair disaster recovery. I have hands-on experience working with disaster response and recovery within the non-profit and government sector in Puerto Rico, including working in the Puerto Rico Housing Department and Community Development Block Grant for Disaster Recovery program. As part of the CDBG-DR program, I worked at the Land Title Clearance Program, where I saw a well-intended effort to address tenure insecurity fall short of its goals. Prior to pursuing a master’s degree, I served two terms under the AmeriCorps Vista initiative, an opportunity that allowed me to serve the communities of Caño Martín Peña, a community-based project and community land trust.

My research interests include the intersection of housing in disaster recovery, informal housing and settlements, displacement studies, gender, community development, community engagement research, and social vulnerability to natural hazards. Specifically, I am interested in understanding the relationship between housing, environmental justice, and hazard reductions. Also, I want to study the effectiveness of the different programs that were implemented as part of the recovery/mitigation efforts in Puerto Rico so far. My degree in Law and Society with a curricular sequence in community development informs my approach to these issues.

Furthermore, as a minority individual and the first in my immediate family to earn a graduate degree, I aspire to serve as a role model for young minority individuals and show them that their dreams are achievable regardless of any obstacles they face along the way.

If you have a full-time job with extra income, access to generational wealth, a kind heart, or care about me, Latinx women's futures, or believe in the right to an abundant, debt-free life, I invite you to donate. If you are unable to donate, I invite you to share, comment, and like this post.

Thank you for reading, listening, sharing, interacting, and considering supporting my goals.

Additional Information

1. To keep track of my journey, please, follow me on Instagram:

- @ALatinaPlanners.Blog

2. The Myth of the Fully Funded Ph.D.: Using Scholarships to Mitigate the Financial Realities of Research Degrees

- https://blog.accepted.com/the-myth-of-the-fully-funded-phd-using-scholarships-to-mitigate-the-financial-realities-of-research-degrees/

3. Who Can Live on a Ph.D Stipend?

- https://www.chronicle.com/article/who-can-live-on-a-ph-d-stipend

Versión en Español

Leslie Martínez, fue aceptada recientemente en el programa de doctorado en Ciencias Urbanas y Regionales de la Universidad de Texas A&M para el otoño de 2023. Como mujer queer, puertorriqueña/latina y damnificada, se siente abrumada al pensar en los gastos y logística que vienen con la decisión de mudarse para su programa de doctorado. Para cubrir los costos inmediatos de mudanza, Leslie ha creado una página de GoFundMe con una meta inicial de $5,000 dólares.

Leslie tiene una maestría en planificación con énfasis en planificación urbana, así como experiencia en desarrollo comunitario y recuperación de desastres. Su experiencia profesional incluye trabajar en el Departamento de Vivienda de Puerto Rico y en programas de recuperación de desastres en la isla. Sus intereses de investigación incluyen la vivienda en la recuperación de desastres, la justicia ambiental y la vulnerabilidad social a los desastres naturales.

Como mujer minoritaria y la primera en su familia en obtener un título de posgrado, Leslie espera servir como modelo a seguir para jóvenes minoritarios y mostrarles que sus sueños son alcanzables independientemente de los obstáculos que enfrenten. Leslie invita a cualquier persona con un ingreso extra, acceso a riqueza generacional, un corazón amable, o que se preocupe por el futuro de las mujeres latinas, a donar a su causa. Si no se puede donar, Leslie invita a compartir, comentar y dar "me gusta" a su publicación.