Hispanic Heritage Month Spotlight: Patrick Quintero

Patrick Tanori Quintero has dedicated his time at the University of Arizona to understanding how societal and psychological factors impact students' education and success. 

Now a senior studying Psychology, Quintero is a decorated student, who excels as a McNair Scholar and Science Ambassador for the College of Science.

On top of his psychology degree, he is working towards additional minors in both Human Development and Family Sciences and Spanish, and has worked as a research assistant in the Child Cognition Lab under Dr. Rebecca Gomez.

“I really want to focus on cross cultural research, so really honing in on how different societal stressors impact Latinx education,” he said.

According to Quintero, his passion for psychology, and educational research stems from his experiences growing up in Tucson. 

“I saw a lot of mental health struggles within my latino community,” he said. “A lot of my classmates weren't getting the help they needed because their parents didn't believe in mental health, they didn't believe in some of these disorders. That really motivated me to go to school and learn more.”

His previous research as a McNair Scholar involved collecting data on classroom interactions to examine how social, academic, and emotional support impact student-teacher relationships.

“There was an example where a student said the teacher simply saying his name made him want to come to school,” Quintero explained.

To Quintero, it is obvious just how vital representation and inclusion are to student success.

“We can see that in math and science, identity can really impact the students' overall education and how they feel,” he said. “And representation can really help them find a place in education,” 

Quintero said that small things can often make the biggest difference in education, and said he feels lucky to have been surrounded by diverse faculty and peers, who have supported him and made him feel connected to his community.

“A lot of my professors come from diverse backgrounds, and they understand diverse backgrounds, which is really helpful when you're learning about something like psychology, where you really need to have an open mind to different cultures and values.”

Serving as a Science Ambassador

As an ambassador for the College of Science, Quintero is helping with outreach at local schools and inspiring students to get involved in scientific careers.

“I think that it's a very important initiative, Quintero said. “Right now we're doing tables in a lot of different high schools. Personally, I want to expand that to more diverse high schools in Tucson.”

Once he graduates, Quintero said he is planning to continue his studies by pursuing a PhD in clinical psychology or educational psychology. His ultimate goal is teaching. He also hopes to continue his work and research with a side role as a clinician, with intentional focus on diverse inpatient intake.

“I would love to be a professor at a university one day,” Quintero said. “With my experiences and everything I've gone through, I would love to mentor undergraduate students and help guide them along their journeys.”