Award Finalist: Éxito! Latino Cancer Research Leadership Training

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For the third time, Dr. Amelie G. Ramirez’s Éxito! Latino Cancer Research Leadership Training program at UT Health San Antonio has been named a finalist for Excelencia in Education’s “Examples of Excelencia.”

The awards spotlight evidence-based programs that support Latino students in higher education.

Éxito! was also a finalist in 2018 and 2019.

The winning “Examples of Excelencia” in four categories—associate, baccalaureate, graduate, and community-based organizations—will be announced virtually at Excelencia in Education’s annual Celebracion de Excelencia on Oct. 28. 2021. Excelencia in Education is a national group that promotes Latinos in higher education.

Éxito! recruits 25 Latino students and health professionals annually for a culturally tailored curriculum to promote pursuit of a doctoral degree and cancer research career.

“We’re excited by the recognition of our program as a finalist for the ‘Example of Excelencia’ recognition,” Ramirez said. “We aim to help Latinos take the next steps from a master’s degree to get their doctoral degree and focus on careers in Latino cancer research and prevention.”

The Need for Éxito!

Latinos earn just 3.9% of all science and engineering doctoral degrees conferred, according to the National Science Foundation.

Also, reports show that Latinos are not proportionally represented in research, nursing, and doctoral fields.

Éxito! aims to increase that number.

Each year, the program hosts a five-day summer institute in San Antonio, Texas.

The event features Latino researchers and program alumni to share the latest in Latino cancer, enhance career development, and provide motivation to apply for doctoral programs. Institute participants also join group discussions to foster networking, sharing of personal cultural experiences, and learning what it means to be a minority in an academic environment.

Why Éxito! Works

Of 226 Éxito! trainees since 2011, over 25% have enrolled in or graduated from a doctoral program.

Also, the Éxito! summer institute significantly increased trainees’ confidence to apply to a doctoral program and academic self-efficacy, according to a recent study of Éxito! program results published in the Journal of Cancer Education. The study also found significant increased research skills among Éxito! interns.

In 2018, Éxito! was named an innovative “Program to Watch” in a report by Excelencia in Education, a national group that promotes Latinos in higher education.

The group also includes Éxito! as part of its “Growing What Works Database.”

What Éxito! Means to Trainees

Past Éxito! trainees say the program motivated and supported their pursuit of a doctorate.

“I had no one to talk with about the application process. Being a first-generation college graduate and master’s level graduate, I can’t get insight/guidance from family,” said Laura Rubalcava of San Antonio, a 2011 Éxito! trainee. “It’s been inspiring to see people just like me overcome barriers and become successful in their fields.”

Salud America! interviewed several Éxito! trainees about their experience earning their doctoral degrees:

• Dr. Ángela Gutiérrez: What Éxito! Means to Me, a Latina PhD and Researcher
• Dr. Benjamín Aceves: What Éxito! Means to Me
• Dr. Donají Stelzig: How Éxito! Helped Me Build My Network
• Dr. Melawhy Garcia: Éxito! Connected Me to Other Latino Professionals
• Dr. Natalicio Serrano: What Éxito! Taught Me About Latino Representation in Academia

Another trainee, Nicholas Acuna, is now a doctoral student at the University of Southern California.

He also said the summer institute provided him with future colleagues and friends he can rely on and push, because they all want to see each other succeed.

“I feel confident that I can get into a PhD program,” Acuna said. “To be honest, this was the first time I felt comfortable in a space with other individuals like myself.”

Go to www.exitotraining.org for more information.