Dr. Alma Garza is an Assistant Professor of Sociology who joined the UTA Department of Sociology & Anthropology in Fall 2022. As a sociologist of education, Alma examines issues at the intersection of race and ethnicity, social class, and culture to understand students’ academic opportunities and skills development. In her first book manuscript (ongoing), Alma centers the collegiate lives of 60 first and second year, high-achieving Mexican-origin students who attended two distinct four-year universities. Her objective is to understand how core socialization processes in college equip students with class cultural skills that are racialized. In a second line of research, Alma assesses how parenting strategies contribute to inequalities in school settings. Prior to joining UTA, Alma served as a postdoctoral researcher at Purdue University. She undertook graduate study and earned a Ph.D. in Sociology from the University of California, Irvine. In the brief opportunities between preparing for class and performing research, Alma enjoys cooking, spending time in the outdoors and watching college football.