Cindy has been a student and staff member at UCLA since 1998. In 2002, she completed her BA in Sociology and Chicana/o Studies with a minor in Spanish. Afterwards, she served as the director of MEChA Calmecac, a counseling and mentorship program housed in the UCLA Student Retention Center. In 2004, she left MEChA Calmecac to begin a doctoral program in the Department of Education's Higher Education and Organizational Change division. In 2005, Cindy earned a MA in Education. She expects to complete her PhD in 2009 and focus her dissertation on the experiences of Chicana/o and Latina/o science students in higher education. Cindy is the Program Representative for the Program for Excellence in Education and Research in the Sciences.