Showing students they matter

For recent University of Delaware doctoral graduate Camila Polanco, school was one of the first places where she learned how much it matters to feel seen, heard and valued - not only as a student, but as a whole person. After graduating in May, Polanco now hopes to use her dissertation work to help elementary school children feel that they matter in their school communities, too.

"Academics are important of course, but what often stays with us the most are the relationships we developed in school and the moments of feeling seen and supported, especially in those years when kids are still figuring out who they are," said Polanco, who earned a doctorate in human development and family sciences (HDFS) from UD's College of Education and Human Development. "My dissertation work taught me how much we can underestimate young people's voices and how important it is to create space for them to be heard."

Polanco's educational journey

After earning her undergraduate degree in psychology at La Salle University, Polanco accepted a position as a clinical research assistant at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia. Polanco learned how much she enjoyed school-based research, especially projects that focused on student wellbeing. She began to consider graduate school, but didn't know what to expect.

"As the daughter of two parents who immigrated from the Dominican Republic and a first-generation college student, I didn't have direct examples of people in my personal life pursuing graduate school," Polanco said. "My parents worked hard to give me opportunities they didn't have, especially after navigating language barriers and other challenges as they built a life here. That pushed me to work hard, but it also meant I had to figure a lot of this out on my own."