It is so fitting that Roberto received the
Bethe Korfhage fellowship,” said Rostosky.
“His dedication, determination, and deep
compassion is already making a difference.
Abreu (from page 15)
Abreu has an inspiring story as well. He began his
career by teaching middle and high school science in
Miami-Dade County, Florida.
“Although my job was to teach, I could not help but
be concerned about other factors that hindered my
students from succeeding academically,” Abreu said.
“Among these factors, I was not able to ignore the
reality that many of my students faced, including
coming out as a sexual minority and facing the
stigma of being Latina/o immigrants in a nation that
was forcing them to leave their identity behind.
These life struggles not only prevented them from
performing well in the classroom, but also added a
layer of difficulty to their lives as teenagers.”
Abreu wanted to make a difference and, while
teaching full-time, pursued a master’s degree in
clinical mental health counseling with the hope
of reaching out to ethnic and sexual minorities.
He then moved to Kentucky to pursue a Ph.D. in
Counseling Psychology at the College of Education’s
Department of Educational, School and Counseling
Psychology. Like Bethe, Roberto is now working
with Rostosky and her research team of students
and faculty. Their current research is described at
www.PrismResearch.org.
“As a gay Latino immigrant, it is important for me to
attend a doctoral program that has faculty members
who have a deep understanding of plurality and can
provide a safe space for individuals who, just like
me, belong to different marginalized groups,” Abreu
said.
Through his research and clinical work, Abreu
hopes to contribute to the development and
evaluation of culturally mindful interventions for
Bethe Korfhage
ethnic and racial LGBT minorities.
“My ultimate goal is to provide my services in both
English and Spanish as a counseling psychologist
to urban communities with a significant Latina/o
population. More specifically, I am interested in
providing individual and group counseling, while
advocating, developing, and evaluating community
and family interventions.”
Rostosky, his advisor, already sees his impact.
“It is so fitting that Roberto received the Bethe
Korfhage fellowship,” said Rostosky. “His
dedication, determination, and deep compassion
is already making a difference as he pursues his
doctoral research and clinical training.” «
UK COLLEGE OF EDUCATION | 27