Research vs. “Me-Search” with Ximena Garcia-Rada

Growing up in Lima, Peru, Ximena Garcia-Rada has traveled across the world in pursuit of better education. From Ph.D. life at Harvard to new motherhood, and now an Assistant Professor role at Texas A&M, she has had to embrace the various cultures, the many life lessons, and the different types of growth in order to thrive. Garcia-Rada expels her knowledge and unique finds in her specific type of research, consumer behavior and caregiving. In her research, she discovered that caregivers tend to feel guilty if choosing to use something, whether that be a new tool or technology, to make their lives easier. They feel that by not putting in enough effort, they are not doing their job. Garcia-Rada dives deep into this topic during this episode of #MasterCast. Now researching and teaching at Mays, she encourages her students to be consistently inquisitive, just as she is, and to keep on growing in this “Academic Unicorn.”   Chapters:  0:29: Undergraduate to PhD journey 4:36: The struggles  8:51: Research vs. Me-Search 13:13: Exciting Finds 16:06: At Mays 19:30: First jobs and careers  21:03: Teaching consumer behavior 25:55: What students need to know