Agency, well-being, and the settings that shape them
How do people cultivate agency, pursue meaningful lives, and develop a sense of possibility? My research explores these questions across a range of settings — from immigration systems to universities to emerging technology-enabled learning environments. I am particularly interested in how different structures can both constrain and expand individuals’ capacities for well-being and self-determination.
Agency in Context
How do individuals cultivate agency and meaningful lives within contexts of constraint and opportunity? My research with undocumented immigrants revealed cyclical processes of navigating status-related barriers — what I call the “Undocumented Stress Cycle” — and the creative agencies people develop to survive and build purposeful lives. I continue to study how agency develops across other settings that shape belonging and possibility.
Well-Being in Supportive Settings
What conditions help people develop well-being, even in challenging circumstances? My work with Undocumented Student Resource Centers in California demonstrated that these spaces are deeply transformative — fostering safety, hope, and what I describe as “existential well-being” through increased belonging and broadened future horizons. I am now developing a broader framework for how supportive settings promote agency and well-being across populations.
Learning, Purpose, & Future Possibilities
How do students develop agency, motivation, and a sense of purpose within the educational environments designed to support them — and how might new models of schooling reshape those possibilities? With funding from the National Institute for AI in Society, I have been studying how university students navigate their educational journeys and how technology can better support their development. This work included qualitative research with diverse students and staff at Sacramento State and guided the design of a student-centered app prototype. I am now extending these questions to emerging AI-enabled learning environments — including mastery-based and personalized models — to understand how redesigned educational structures shape students’ relationships to effort, learning, and the futures they imagine for themselves.
Current Directions
My current work moves in two directions. First, I am preparing a book manuscript, The Undocumented Stress Cycle: Agency and Well-Being in Precarious Conditions drawing on over a decade of research with immigrants in Canada and the United States. Second, I am expanding my research on agency and well-being into new educational contexts — particularly AI-enabled and mastery-based learning environments that are rethinking the relationship between students, technology, and human development. I am interested in how these redesigned settings shape students’ developmental trajectories, and I am actively seeking research collaborations and funding opportunities in this space.
