Joscelin Rocha-Hidalgo was a fourth-year Ph.D. student at Georgetown University studying bilingualism and cognitive development with Dr. Rachel Barr at the time of this interview.
Joscelin Rocha-Hidalgo - now a postdoc at penn state
How did you become interested in cognitive science/psychology?
In my junior year at Berea College in Kentucky, I went to a job talk about neuroscience and children. The speaker was also Latina, and I realized this is what I wanted to do.
What is the focus of your research?
I focus on bilingualism and its effect on cognitive development. This work is mostly with infants and children under the age of two. I study how growing up with multiple languages impacts things like memory.
What aspects of your work do people get really excited about?
The fact that I am working with such a young population that is often ignored in bilingualism research. It is common around the world and in the US to have multiple languages in the home. Despite this, doctors are still discouraging bilingualism, so more needs to be done to get the message out that it will not negatively impact their language development. I teach others about these myths and assure them that children can learn multiple languages, and even if one vocabulary is smaller at first, they will catch up.
Where do you see your research going over the next few years?
Infant neuroscience is a fairly new area, so there’s quite a bit to do. Interdisciplinary work will also be important, and we can work with linguistics and neuroscientists in teams to solve the same questions.
Do you see yourself in industry or academics moving forward?
I go back and forth. I really enjoy teaching, but academia involves so much more than this. Industry seems to have more options. I do not want to try to do both, and I could be excited by either. It is hard to be a person of color in academia. Being pushed down from time to time makes me lean toward industry.
What has been your experience being a person of color in cognitive science?
It’s frustrating because, for the most part, you are the only one, and you end up being the representation of an entire culture. That’s a lot to bear on our shoulders especially when we can’t behave the same way as say, white males. Whenever I do something wrong, it will be attributed to Latinas or Hispanics. It’s very frustrating. Besides being Latina, I am a first-generation Ph.D., so there is a lot I do not know. There are rules that I do not know about, and they do not tell you. It is hard to navigate the process when it is assumed I already know things. Then they judge based on my voice or accent or my look that I don’t know much about my field when I do, often more than some of my peers. I used to be more of an activist in college, but it can take a lot out of you. You have to be vulnerable, and the amount of energy it takes is higher than the benefits. When I went to grad school, I decided not to do activism. As the only one, it is hard to convince faculty members or my peers to make changes when they do not see the things that I do. I did go back this past summer because it is hard to expect those coming up behind me to go through it. I will not benefit from the changes I am working to make but those coming up after I will. But simultaneously, there is a lot of energy and tears. I’ve had to be very vulnerable to my department to help them see what is going on. To fight imposter syndrome, I have a large support system. But there are still difficulties. If I get nominated for an award, my first thought is not that I deserve it but wonder if it is because I am brown? The fact that it goes there first is frustrating.
What changes have you noticed in your field or the field more generally?
Open science is wonderful. One of the things that frustrated me is how white-centered access to information had been. In Bolivia, I learned only what the news was telling me, which matched their own narrative. I’m excited to make science more transparent and accessible to all people. This benefits interdisciplinary work, new generations of scientists, and the general population.
Do you see spaces where diversity will change how/what questions cognitive psychology/cog Science is asking?
For a long time, we ignored anyone who wasn’t male, right-handed, or monolingual. Even some of the new infant research in cognitive science has been very Euro-centric. The open science movement has helped to broaden who is participating. A key has been funding access. For example, many babies from countries in Africa have been successful in accessing populations that have been ignored. There are lots of bilingual populations that we should be studying, and the DEI movement is asking us to pay more attention to the samples we are collecting. Hopefully, there are more and more people reflecting on how to collect diverse samples. The updated APA manual also gives guidelines on how to report this information.
Any advice for early career researchers of color?
A support system is wonderful. Sometimes it is easier to take advantage of the support systems in the university, but sometimes you need to look outside as well. Taking advantage of social media will help. I created a Slack account with almost 200 people from all over the world where grad students can support each other. If there isn’t a community, you can create it or ask someone else to help. Twitter is a wonderful world for finding people. I’d like to advise mentors in general – Make it very clear to your mentees of color that they don’t have to be the people to raise the issues when they are already exhausted. Affirm these conversations will keep going with or without them. My mentor did this, and I appreciate it so much. I will often say yes to D&I related items out of fear if I do not do it, no one will. On the less helpful side, I recently had a faculty member reach out to me to ask me to read their diversity statement for a job. This is not my job. Are you asking me because I have been vocal? Because I am brown? This is not okay.
How do you protect your time?
Saying no is an interesting skill to hone. It requires a fair bit of support from others. My mentor permitted me to discuss opportunities, and she helps me realize if it will be beneficial and how to turn down things that are not worth my time. Having a community and therapist has been helpful. I block time for writing especially when things are more stressful. I count on my community to have co-writing sessions to help me get this writing done through zoom meetings on mute, where we write together. We also do this with grading. It takes less work to start when you are with others. It’s important to reflect on what works for you.