Yuzhu Xia graduated from UC Santa Cruz in 2022 with a Ph.D. in Education and a secondary specialization in quantitative social sciences. Now, she works as an Evaluation and Data Manager within the Early Childhood Department of the Boston Public School District. The UC Santa Cruz news team spoke with Xia to learn more about how her experience at UCSC helped prepare her for a rewarding career and post-doctoral fellowship.
How did you find your passion for education?
In my undergraduate education, I was a classical Chinese language and literature major. When I started looking for graduate programs, I received an offer for UPenn’s education program, where I earned my master’s degree. After graduating, I ended up teaching Chinese in an elementary immersion program.
I felt like it was a good match in many ways, but it also pushed me to want to learn more about the educational theory and research behind teaching approaches in a classroom setting, because I felt like there was still so much that I didn’t know and wanted to learn. When I started thinking about my next step, I began to consider a Ph.D. program that would give me well-rounded training in qualitative and quantitative education research.
Also, my mom has been a big influence, since she was a literature major but later switched to education. In my ways, I’ve followed in her footsteps.
What skills did UCSC’s education Ph.D. program expose you to, and how did your time as a research assistant build upon that?
Taking the required course Introduction to Quantitative Research Methodologies really changed the trajectory of my work. Taught by Eddie Mosqueda, this class showed me for the first time how data could be powerful, and that data interpretation can change lives. After that, I started taking psychology, statistics, and programming classes. I was intentionally looking for research assistant positions once I realized my passion for quantitative research. Since I wasn’t looking to work in academia after graduating, I wanted to gain as much experience as possible in different areas and apply what I learned in class.
At one point, I was able to work on the project, Mathematic and Language, Literacy Integration in Dual Language Settings, with my faculty advisor, Kip Tellez, as well as Eddie Mosqueda and colleagues at Santa Clara University. We provided professional development to bilingual pre-service teachers and in-service teachers in Texas and California. Through another research assistant position, I was able to work on a survey toolkit to help better understand student success constructs in research and evaluation.
What inspired you to pursue a career in evaluation after graduating?
As I began my job search, I wanted something that would provide me with flexibility while also allowing me to focus on early-age education. I started looking at positions with school districts across the Greater Boston area, which is where I found my current position. My Ph.D. gave me the background in educational theory and the research skills necessary to build the research models our school district needs, instead of having to rely on external partners for data and interpretation. I’ve found that school district jobs are incredibly rewarding, and I get to learn from others’ work, from curriculum to standards and report cards. I have found a great work-life balance and am applying what I learned directly from my time at UCSC.
In my role with the school district, I was also recently selected to be a part of the Harvard Strategic Data Project (SDP) Fellowship. This fellowship cohort is building a network of professionals with leadership and quantitative skills to make real transformative data interpretations for the public good. Together, we’re learning how to communicate our results through an equity and transformative leadership lens and make our data reach more people more meaningfully.
What recommendations do you have for current Ph.D. students?
Try to go into your program with a good understanding of where you want to go in your career, whether it’s in or outside of academia. Knowing that I wanted to work outside of academia allowed me to find opportunities that set me up for success in my career. Second, building a relationship with your academic advisors and the department team is very important. Find an advisor who is supportive of your goals and helps you conduct the kind of research you want to do.
My advisor, Kip Tellez, was very supportive throughout my journey and applying my degree to my career path. Making friends with my cohort has also enriched my experience and given me a professional network that includes colleagues within other school districts.