Rita Ewaz

Rita Ewaz is a Ph.D. student in the Education Studies program at UC San Diego. Her research interests combine topics in education, psychology, economics, and human development. Rita is interested in how socio-economic status, adverse experiences, social-emotional learning, and resilience affect children’s development, motivation for learning, and educational outcomes. Her prior research has focused on how adverse experiences and socio-economic status have influenced student’s academic resilience and trajectories to better inform educators on how to support diverse students in university settings. Rita aims to support evidence-based policy changes in K-12 public school systems to better support low-income, refugee, and immigrant students. Rita holds a master’s degree in Education Sciences from Tufts University and a bachelor’s degree in Human Developmental Sciences from UC San Diego.

Curriculum Vitae

University of California, San Diego- Expected 2028
- Ph.D. in Education Studies
Tufts University- 2023
- Master of Arts (MA) in Education Sciences
University of California, San Diego- 2022
- Bachelor of Science (BS) in Human Developmental Sciences

Ewaz, Rita M. "A Thematic Analysis of the Relationship between Socioeconomic Status and Student Academic Resilience in Higher Education during the COVID-19 Pandemic." Order No. 30489416 Tufts University, 2023. United States, Massachusetts: ProQuest. Web. 7 Sep. 2023.

(In-preparation) Ewaz, R; Levine, R. “How Childhood Socio-Economic Status Impacts
Academic Trajectories: College Students’ Perspectives.” University of California, San
Diego, 2023. United States --

Undergraduate Research Assistant- Adolescent Well-Being Lab
PI: Dr. Amy Bintliff, Ph.D.

McNair Scholar
PI: Dr. Amy Bintliff, Ph.D. and Rebecca Levine, LICSW

2023- Tufts University Honor Society
2022- Tufts University Dean’s Scholarship
2018-22: Provost Honors at UC San Diego