Doctoral Members of the Week Fall 2015


EDSA featured one student from each concentration, one alumni, and one faculty member weekly in the fall of 2015. This is your opportunity to get to know your Rossier doctoral family, and most importantly, NETWORK!


Featured Members for November 2nd – 8th 

Maria Rodriguez  K-12, Cohort 2014
Mariadro@usc.edu
m.rodriguez3@gmail.com
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/pub/maria-rodriguez/7/785/b93 
My passion for the field of education comes from my own experiences. As an underrepresented, first-generation student who is also the product of a Los Angeles public school education it is no surprise that these are the very same students I strive to make a difference for. I accidentally fell into the field of education when as an undergrad I found a work study job as a college advisor at the high school I graduated from through the very same outreach program that helped me get to college. And the rest is history. More than ten years later my passion for education continues to grow, especially in the area of college access. I have had the opportunity to develop different perspectives through my various personal and work experiences; the many years I spent working in outreach programs at the high school level and in college admissions has shown me the incredible disparity and inequity that exists in educational resources and opportunities based on where a student goes to school. Every student should have the opportunity and access to go on to higher education – and that is why I am here.

Maria Rodriguez
Assistant Director | Office of Undergraduate Admission
University of Southern California
T: 213.740.6484  |  F: 213.821.3807

Jim Solis – Higher Ed, Cohort 2014
jimmysol@usc.edu
Jim Solis is an East Los Angeles native and a second year Ed.D. student in higher education administration. He received a Bachelors Degree in Political Science and a Masters Degree in U.S. History from California State University, Los Angeles. As a graduate student at Cal State L.A. Jim published in a peer-reviewed journal where he examined the historical significance of establishing the nations first Chicano Studies Department at Cal State L.A. 
He has served as Program Coordinator for the Health Careers Advisement Office at Cal State L.A. where he prepared and submitted student outcome reports to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, supervised staff, and assisted in budgeting of this federally funded program. In the past nine years, he as served as an Academic Advisor working together with the multicultural student body that is Cal State L.A. Exploring the intersection of advisement, technology, and student access, Jim led the effort to establish online academic advisement components in the advisement center (E-advisement) making it the first of its kind on campus which is the topic of his most recent publication. He holds a part-time faculty position in the Division of Special Education and Counseling at Cal State L.A. where he teaches undergraduate upper division coursework in counseling theories. He is grateful for the opportunity to work with his peers and the faculty at Rossier because of the invaluable lessons learned and sharing of practitioner knowledge that you will not find at any other university. 

Dr. Toutoule Ntoya  Rossier Alumni
pivotedu@gmail.com
www.pivoted.net
Twitter: @toutoulentoya
Facebook: Toutoule Ntoya
Phone: (818) 693-1914

True to the practitioner nature of our program, I look to implement theory into practice.  Currently, I am a consultant working with teachers on science instruction.  More specifically, coaching science teachers with implementing Next Generation Science Standards and innovating science instruction practices.

I also have an education serviced company called Pivot-ED where we combine sports and education to allow student athletes to BE MORE. We focus on a three pronged approach to reach our mission.  Each approach is focused on social cognitive theory that puts the student at the center of learning.

Lastly I started a hashtag with fellow 2012 cohort members called #SCeduChat.  We convene on twitter to discuss education topics.  If you have any questions or would like to hear more please send me an email.  I love discussing education matters and how we can re-think and innovate education. Follow me on twitter @toutoulentoya or facebook.


TEMS – TBA
Ed Psych – TBA

Faculty – TBA