Graduate Research Associates

Suzan South

Born in the cool hills of Manchester, Jamaica, Suzan South is pursuing her Ph.D. in Early Childhood Development and Education. She completed her B.A. in Jamaica and her M.A. at Prairie View A&M University. Her goal is to work with professionals, educators, and caregivers to improve practices, instruction, policies and professional development in Early Childhood Education. Suzan's research interest is the impact of early literacy skills in young children for later learning outcomes, and on the use of technology to diversify learning experiences and to make teaching and learning interactive and engaging. She has published in the Texas Association of Family and Consumer Science Journal. 

Emilio Ríos-Jiménez

From Ponce, Puerto Rico, Emilio Ríos-Jiménez holds a Bachelor in Instrumental Music Education from the Conservatory of Music of Puerto Rico in San Juan. Emilio is a Music EC-12 and Bilingual (Spanish) certified teacher. He taught elementary music in grades 3rd-5th at Bridgeport ISD from 2014-2017. Emilio is also an active member of the Texas Music Educators Association and the American Music Therapy Association. Currently, he is pursuing an M.A. in Music Therapy with coursework in Special Education at Texas Woman’s University. His goals are to become a successful music therapist; work with populations with special needs; and implement research-based clinical interventions and study how these can improve the lives of children, adolescents, and adults with disabilities.

Victor Lozada

Victor has most recently worked as an elementary music dual language teacher. He earned a Master's degree in Music Education with a related field in bilingual education from UNT. He is currently working on a Ph.D. in Reading from TWU. His research interests include the intersections between language and music learning, arts integration, and culturally sustaining pedagogies. He is a member of the editorial board for the online music education journal Reverberations: Teachers Teaching Teachers. He currently works as a graduate research associate as part of the ELLevate! and PIONERAS grants.