
Lianelys “Lia” Cabrera Martinez (She/her/hers/ella) is a second-year Ph.D. student in psychological sciences at Oregon State University.
As a first-generation student from Cuba, Lia has always had an active interest in social issues surrounding Latinx communities. It was during her undergraduate studies that she met her major advisor, Dr. Ivan Carbajal. Lia has grown close to her major advisor over these last few years, “I consider this mentor-mentee dynamic as the perfect match, which has helped tremendously in my grad school journey by providing unconditional support.” Her current research looks at bicultural identity development, social cognition, critical consciousness and discrimination, and how these aspects can impact Latinx communities.
Lia recently received the Lenore Bayley Graduate Scholarship, which is awarded to students at the recommendation of faculty or department chairs. She also helps run the social media for the National Latinx Psychological Association (@studentsofnlpa).
Like many grad students, Lia cites imposter syndrome and finding community among the hardships she has faced as a grad student. “Obviously, I’ve already found a little family with the PILAS (Psychophysiology, Intersectionality, Latinx, & Acculturative Science) lab, and more specifically, I’ve helped develop a small community support group within the School of Psychological Sciences. However, I’m still trying to fight the imposter syndrome but unfortunately is something that never goes away.” However, Lia is thankful for her support groups for helping her through difficult times. “Still, my little familia at OSU makes me feel at home and deserving of every accomplishment.”