Assistant professor Erik Plata began working at UTRGV in September 2018. Before deciding to become a full time professor, Dr. Plata taught at a community college in California for two nights a week to see if teaching was for him.
[su_quote] “Because I was debating to go into academia or into industry. I really liked the teaching.”
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Dr. Plata tells UTRGV Radio he grew up having to compensate for his learning disability. His passion for teaching comes out because he can relate to his students.
[su_quote] “I can relate to them, being able to see myself in them, because I struggled growing and taking classes.”
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Assistant professor Erik Plata received his bachelors in Chemistry Engineering from Texas A&M University Kingsville, and after that was urged by two professors to get his masters and doctorates in Chemistry. He tells students who are interested in chemistry, that it’s tough, but it will open so many doors for them not only in their field.
[su_quote] “The thing about chemistry is that, if anything, it teaches you more how to think like a scientist.”
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Dr. Plata is currently working on research projects in his laboratory and is a part of the Society for the Advancement of Chicanos and Native Americans in Science (SACNAS). He is looking forward to being a part of Toastmasters, which is an organization that helps with public speaking, and hopes to bring back some of the clubs he was a part of when he attended the University of Texas at Brownsville.
[su_quote] “Back in the day I was part of the Gorgas Science Academy, and we would take trips down to Rancho Del Cielo, we would do all sorts of things.”[/su_quote]
Dr. Plata encourages students who are having trouble figuring out what they want to study, to stop by his office, because he was once in their shoes.
