Student - College of Education

Lauren Shook is a Ph.D. student in Education Policy and Planning at the University of Texas Austin. Her research interests center on how educational systems provide access and preserve advantage for students differently based on race, gender, and socioeconomic status. She is particularly interested in examining college access and success through a critical lens and exploring how institutional affirmation of identity affects student outcomes. She hopes to contribute to scholarship, teaching, and service which makes more just US education systems a reality.

Her research interests stem from her professional experience in school districts, higher education, and educational nonprofits as well as from the educational struggle experienced by her Latinx family members and students.

Lauren received a B.A. in English, minoring in Linguistics, from Texas A&M University, and a master's in Education Policy, Organization, and Leadership Studies from the Stanford Graduate School of Education.

Angela Valenzuela (Supervisor)
Specializes in urban education from a sociological and multicultural perspective, with a focus on minority youth in schools, particularly at the K-12 level.

Associate Director, Institute for Leadership Impact, Southern Methodist University(2017 - 2019)

Investigating the role of media in racialized discourse around student loan policy

The Texas Transfer Project encompasses several ongoing studies related to postsecondary transfer in Texas. This project will build a stronger understanding of the longitudinal transfer process by following 100 transfer-intending community college students for six years. We follow transfer-intending community college students throughout their academic journey (including navigating the community college, choice of transfer destination, changes in educational aspirations, and post-transfer experiences). The study enters its 6th year of data collection in fall 2020.

Academia Cuauhtli is a language and culture revitalization project located at the Emma S. Barrientos Mexican American Cultural Center serving elementary and middle school students from Austin ISD.

Alexander Caswell Ellis Fellowship in Education, Department of Educational Policy and Leadership (2022 - 2023)

Just Education Policy Fellow, Just Education Policy Institute for Developing Scholars (2021)

Ellen A. Sawyer Fellowship, Stanford Graduate School of Education (2016 - 2017)

Racialized Goods: Latinx Access and Funding in U.S. Higher Education, AERA, San Diego (2022)

Situating COVID-19 and Culturally Relevant Pedagogy in a LatCrit Framework: Platicas from Latinx Teachers., AERA, San Diego (2022)