Navarro Martell named Outstanding Transborder Educator
When Melissa A. Navarro Martell thinks about her work to advance science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education in the U.S.-Mexico borderlands, what stands out the most is how invigorating she finds it all.
“Every time I leave my classroom, close my computer from teaching on Zoom, or leave from being in community with teachers or giving a conference presentation, I feel like, ‘I did something today,’” said the associate professor in San Diego State University’s Department of Dual Language and English Learner Education. “Being with the practitioners who are influencing the children and talking about the things that I know are making a difference — that’s just re-energizing to me.”
Apparently, that energy is infectious.
SDSU International Affairs has selected Navarro Martell as the 2024 Outstanding Transborder Educator Award recipient. The honor will be presented at the annual Faculty Global Engagement Symposium and Awards Ceremony at 5:30 p.m. Monday, Nov. 18, at Scripps Cottage. Navarro Martell will deliver a TedTalk-style presentation about her work as part of her acceptance.
“We are thrilled to recognize Dr. Navarro Martell and all of these exceptional faculty members for their outstanding contributions to global engagement,” said Cristina Alfaro, associate vice president of International Affairs at SDSU. “Their work exemplifies the university’s commitment to fostering a diverse and inclusive academic community that addresses global challenges and promotes cross-cultural understanding.”
Picking up traction
Navarro Martell has been conducting work with university partners in Mexicali, Mexico since 2021 as part of a project called STEAM Sin Fronteras (science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics without borders). She helped develop a Collaborative Online International Learning (COIL) program in which future educators in the DLE program and in Baja California take part in a shared exploration of STEM education focused on serving the needs of students shared by both countries.
She presented her findings about the project at both the American Educational Research Association (AERA) and National Association of Bilingual Education (NABE) conferences.
This year, Navarro Martell’s work also extended further south to Oaxaca, where SDSU has formalized a memorandum of understanding with La Universidad La Salle Oaxaca. Supported by the College of Education’s Faculty Mentoring Grant, she presented to doctoral students and education policy faculty about her work on critical STEM and met with engineering faculty to discuss potential collaboration.
The common threads through all of it? Finding ways to empower teachers to expand opportunities for emerging bilingual students through STEM.
“I want us to start thinking bigger than ‘Well, these kids don’t speak English, or these kids don’t speak Spanish,’” Navarro Martell explains. “It’s very exciting to see how it’s picking up traction, not just in the U.S. but also in Mexico.”
Centering communities
Navarro Martell is passionate about transborder education because she is a product of it, experiencing both the U.S. and Mexican education systems. She moved from Tijuana to Chula Vista with her family at age 11. She later worked as a bilingual teacher but became frustrated with the limited resources available to teach science content in dual-language classrooms.
In addition to her work in academia, Navarro Martell actively supports local migrant communities in other ways. Over the summer, she and colleagues organized a fundraiser for the human rights nonprofit Border Angels that raised $6,000.
“It’s important to acknowledge the communities that come with the students we support,” she said. “Thinking of children, families and communities, and supporting organizations that are making a difference in the field — that’s important to me, too.”
