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Professor and Engineering Leadership Undergraduate Program Director in the Department of Engineering and Leadership at UTEP, Director for the Center for Research in Engineering and Technology Education, and Provost Faculty Fellow in Residence at the Center for Faculty Leadership and Development at UTEP.

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Celena Arreola graduated on May 13, 2017 with Bachelors of Science in Engineering Leadership at the University of Texas at El Paso with a concentration in Mathematics and Civil Engineering. Currently she is pursuing a Master of Engineering in Civil & Environmental Engineering and is due to graduate May 2019. She has been actively involved within the Department of Engineering Education & Leadership as a recruitment leader and administrative assistant. Currently she serves as the graduate advisor for the American Society for Engineering Education student chapter and is a research team director in the Center for Research in Engineering and Technology Education where she focuses on the success of students in science, technology, engineering and mathematics of two post-secondary educational institutions based in El Paso.

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Mike Pitcher is the Director of Academic Technologies at the University of Texas at El Paso. He has had experience in learning in both a traditional university program as well as the new online learning model, which he utilizes in his current position consulting with faculty about the design of new learning experiences. His experience in technology and teaching started in 1993 as a student lab technician and has continued to expand and grow over the years, both technically as well as pedagogically. Currently he works in one of the most technically outstanding buildings in the region where he provides support to students, faculty, and staff in implementing technology inside and outside the classroom, researching new engineering education strategies as well as the technologies to support the 21st century classroom (online and face to face). He also has assisted both the campus as well as the local community in developing technology programs that highlight student skills development in ways that engage and attract individuals towards STEAM and STEM fields by showcasing how those skills impact the current project in real-world ways that people can understand and be involved in. As part of a university that is focused on supporting the 21st century student demographic he continues to innovate and research on how we can design new methods of learning to educate both our students and communities on how STEM and STEAM make up a large part of that vision and our future.

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Helen Geller is the Program Manager for the STEMGROW grant, funded by the Department of Education at the University of Texas at El Paso.

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Diane is a passionate educator and proponent for K-12 engineering education and the education of future teachers. She is a professor in the College of Education at the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP). She earned her undergraduate and graduate degrees from UTEP and is presently pursuing her doctorate at the University of Southern California (May, 2019).

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Mr. Hector Lugo works as a Student Technology Success Coordinator at The University of Texas at El Paso. He holds a B.S. in Electrical Engineering. He is currently enrolled as a Master of Science with a Major in Electrical Engineering.
His motivation and passion pushes him into research in wireless communication, especially in Bluetooth Low Energy and Near Field Communication as well as building projects and fostering innovation with faculty and staff members. As part of the Learning Environments division, the idea to develop, oversee and assess engaging students to expand their knowledge and creativity by innovating new technologies application for Engineering Education is currently under way to engage the university and the community.
Concluding, Mr. Lugo’s ambition is to encourage students to focus in science, technology and engineer abilities in order to expand their professional potential.

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Pedro worked in the manufacturing industry as a Quality Control Engineer for some years before acquiring his current position as an Instructional Technologist at the University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP). For over eleven years in this role, he has worked with a team of managers that oversee various learning environments and systems in the Academic Technologies Department at UTEP. He leads a group of more than 30 multidisciplinary student employees that help support a wide range of technologies for classrooms and other learning spaces, including videoconferencing rooms.
In addition to teaching a Foundations of Engineering course, Pedro also provides technology training on Mac OS X, CISCO networking and various other technology topics. He also enjoys the role of social media coordinator for Academic Technologies to showcase the department’s services and the dedicated students and staff members who work there. Pedro received his Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical Engineering and a Master of Science in Engineering with a concentration in Engineering Education from UTEP.

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Mr. Hugo Gomez works as an Instructional Technologist at the University of Texas at El Paso, he is focused on expanding the professional and technical skill sets of our students and faculty community to better prepare them for the world of technology today and tomorrow. He works alongside a wide assortment of students, faculty and staff on campus to make sure their technology toolsets are up to date. Furthermore, Hugo provides workshops to over half of the student population at UTEP and as such, has been instrumental in providing the behind the scenes support to all these courses. Mr. Gomez also collaborates in the Learning Lab team to explore and implement new educational strategies in the classroom. Mr. Gomez has a Masters Degree in Engineering Education from The University of Texas at El Paso. He has participated in the UTEACH summer program as a Technology Instructor in which he provided workshops on website design, movie creation and computer networking. In addition, Mr. Gomez teaches UNIV1301 Foundations of Engineering, were students learn academic, personal and engineering skills, among many other abilities that help them understand their opportunities and responsibilities as engineering students.

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Mrs. Herminia Hemmitt is part of the Learning Environments team in Academic Technologies at The University of Texas at El Paso. She is responsible for coordinating classroom technology upgrades and implementations to ensure project deadlines and anticipated goals are met. Her educational background in organizational and corporate communication is utilized in consultations with faculty and staff about their learning environments in order to correctly match them to appropriate learning spaces or adapt existing spaces to meet their pedagogical and technological needs. Her focus is on the specific user to make sure that classroom needs, technical needs, and/or event needs are met.

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