Lili Castillo is a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellow and a proud Latina and first-generation college student. Lili is a graduating senior majoring in Mechanical Engineering with a specialization in Design of Mechanical Systems and a minor in Biomedical Engineering. At UCI, Lili has been heavily involved in programs and organizations like the Society of Women Engineers, SAGE Scholars, TRIO Scholars, Peer Academic Advising, and the Graduate and Postdoctoral Scholars Resource Center. On top of her on-campus involvements, Lili has been conducting research through Purdue University on the engineering identity formation of individuals of latent diversity. She will have a first-authored conference proceeding published in the summer reflecting her work on understanding how work-integrated learning experiences (i.e., internship and co-ops) influence engineering identity formation. In the fall, Lili will be pursuing her Ph.D. in Engineering Education at Arizona State University where she will continue her research on engineering identity formation, specifically observing its correlation to the support networks of Latino/a/x and first-generation college students.
Scholarship: NSF