Reyes Diaz 1

Josue Reyes Diaz

Dr. Guenzel
ENC 1102-0203
October 13 , 2018
th

Research Dossier:
Puerto Ricans Study Abroad… Sort Of
Despite being raised in the state of Florida most of my life, I am a Puerto Rican native.
Hurricane Maria brought devastation to the island and, as a majority of the available research
indicates, has made the state of Florida the premier source of hope for those forced to evacuate.
At the start of the Fall 2017, weeks before Hurricane Maria made landfall with the island, a small
group of Puerto Rican UCF students, including myself, decided to meet and form the Puerto
Rican Student Association (PRSA) which saw unseen amounts of growth during the Spring 2018
semester. During this semester I gained awareness of the impact that this organization could have
on not only the transferring students, but the entire university. It was because of this that I ran for
and was elected as the Secretary for this current academic year. As a student at the University of
Central Florida and the elected PRSA Secretary, I’ve had direct exposure to the consequences of
Hurricane Maria on education for both refugees and the state of Florida. My experiences in the
midst of this situation are what sparked the exigence of my research.

The recent migrations from Puerto Rico to the state of Florida seem to prove themselves
permanent, which has required action from the state and its residents to properly accommodate
for the influx in population. My research focuses on the actions taken by higher education
institutions to ensure a smooth transition for refugee transfer students and how these measures
have impacted the goals of said students. The intended take away from my research is a greater
understanding of the transitions of these refugees and to use this information to improve upon the
already provided resources.

Throughout my research process, I’ve discovered that the impact of the actions taken by
higher education institutions in Florida has been majorly positive. The same is true for public
opinion of these actions. The opportunities provided by Florida in this state of crisis has served
as a light of hope for many and their families. Thanks to certain accommodations, such as in-
state tuition and resources like specific Puerto Rican Educational Relief Efforts sponsored by
some universities, transfer students have felt extremely welcomed and having access to these
additional resources has inspired some to pursue a greater purpose in life than they otherwise
would have. Data acquired from organizations such as FEMA, the Census Bureau, and Centro all
exhibit the trends of Florida being the number one destination for Puerto Rican immigrants.
Location makes this trend seem intuitive, but you would be wrong to disregard the effort put in
by the state to accommodate for the over 200,000 new Floridian Puerto Ricans. Thanks to the
resources provided by the state of Florida and its universities, many higher education students
now have a clearer path to achieving their dreams which the Hurricane had thrown off track.

The sources I’ve collected help concentrate my research more accurately. Sources such
as “Timeline of Events in Puerto Rico” (FEMA) and “Exodus: The Post-Hurricane Puerto Rican
Diaspora, Mapped” (Enchenique, Martin) serve as background for my research. Both
emphasizing heavily on data, they create a foundation for my research by creating larger context.
 Reyes Diaz 2

My research focuses primarily on higher education students from Puerto Rico, not the entire
population but this information is important when addressing the consequences of Hurricane
Maria. Additionally, “Puerto Rican Post-Maria Relocation by States.” and “Hurricane Maria:
When Dad wanted to flee, I understood Puerto Rico’s peril” help create the setting of how
monumental this shift in population from the island has truly been. They also emphasize the idea
of evacuating the island for greater opportunities in the mainland. Furthermore, most of the
articles written by the Orlando Sentinel such as “Puerto Rican college students head to Central
Florida” (Martin, Annie) and “UCF professor seeks to fill research gap as Puerto Rican
community grows” (Ocasio, Bianca Padró) present evidence to be used as support in my
research. They document the actions taken by higher education institutions to assist immigrant
students which creates one of the perspectives I plan to use in my research.
In terms of arguments, a wide array of reactions towards the migrations exist. Many
sources mentioned the idea of Florida’s limited long term resources for those migrating.
Conversely, certain perspectives emphasize the idea of assisting Puerto Ricans permanently
escape the island such as the formation of the UCF Puerto Rican Research HUB which focuses
on “establishing a Puerto Rican community in Florida.” For the context of my research, I plan on
analyzing these viewpoints and formulating how to improve upon them. Methods for conducting
research on my topic are extremely scarce, due to how recent the events of Hurricane Maria have
taken place. The closest thing available at this point in time is the genesis of the aformentioned
Puerto Rican Research Hub started by Dr. Fernando Rivera. The methods that are used to
formulate this research space are what I plan on imitating for my own research considering that
its goals are similar to my own but in a different research niche.

Research Questions:
What inspires Florida universities to provide resources to Hurricane Maria students?
What are the effects of the actions taken by the universities on the transfer students?
How does having access to these abundant resources impact the goals of incoming students?

Thesis: The recent migrations to the state of Florida from Puerto Rico after Hurricane Maria
have led to an increase in membership of Puerto Rican students in higher education institutions
across the state of Florida which, through networking within the members of the colleges,
provide sufficient and abundant resources to accommodate for the sudden influx of transfer
students both mentally and physically.

Field Research/Internet/Library: 2/23/5

Keywords:
· Hurricane Maria
· University of Central Florida
· UCF
· Transfer students
· Migration
· Resources
· Florida
 Reyes Diaz 3

· In-State Tuition
· Research Hub
· Exodus/Relocation
· Florida Education

Types of Evidence: Scholarly: With the large-scale migrations being such recent event,
there is close to nothing on the topic to be found in the library. In terms of creating a background
for myself, I can search for works that elaborate how other natural disaster migrations in the pass
have been handled.

Internet research:
· UCF Puerto Rican Research Hub,
· FEMA,
· Centro: Center for Puerto Rican Studies,
· Orlando Sentinel

Field research: I will examine how recent Puerto Rican Transfer students interact with the
resources provided to them by the university. I also plan to conduct multiple interviews with
students and UCF Puerto Rican leadership to obtain a grasp of what the general opinion about
said resources is between these transfer students and leaders.

Timetable:
Reyes Diaz 4
 Reyes Diaz 5

Annotated Bibliography

Agorakis, Stavros. Jasper, Mila. Laffrey, Anna. “How Florida Schools Adopted Puerto
Rican Students After the Hurricane” Sojourners, 19 March 2018,
https://sojo.net/articles/how-florida-schools-adopted-puerto-rican-students-after
hurricane. Accessed 8 October 2018.
In this article, the authors start off my comparing the 3 states where most Puerto Ricans
migrated to and primarily focuses on Floridan and specific examples of this transition period.
Mila Jasper and Anna Laffrey are both reporters for Medill News Service while Stavros
Agorakis is a student at Northwestern University, studying journalism, psychology and business.
He covers immigration and education for Medill News Service. The idea presented by this
source is similar to the way I want to layout my research but in a more professional manner.

Centro: Center for Puerto Rican Studies. Hunter College, 2017,

https://centropr.hunter.cuny.edu/. Accessed 19 September 2018.

This source serves as a research center for resources whose goal is to upkeep the Puerto
Rican spirit alive and well outside of the island. This was the first source I discovered that
indicated some form of action taken to help ease the culture shock of the migrations of the
Hurricane and helped narrow down my research questions.

“City of Orlando Relief Efforts To Help Puerto Rico” City of Orlando,

http://www.cityoforlando.net/city-of-orlando-relief-efforts-to-help-puerto-rico/.
Accessed 8 October 2018.

This site not only provides resources for Puerto Ricans affected by the Hurricane, it also
gives an overview of actions taken to assist the specified population. This source works as an
example of accommodation for the general population where as my other sources revolve around
colleges making accommodations. There is hometown bias as the information aggregator shows
off the great work done by Orlando.

Enchenique, Martin. “Exodus: The Post-Hurricane Puerto Rican Diaspora, Mapped.”

CITYLAB, https://www.citylab.com/equity/2018/03/exodus-the-post-hurricane
puerto-rican-diaspora-mapped/555401/. Accessed 19 September 2018.

Enchenique’s article provides a summary and perspective of the scale of the Puerto Rican
migration to the continental United States. Martin is a writer whose works have been featured in
numerous news websites and uses data collected by FEMA and the Census Bureau to support his
claims which boosts the credibility of his claims. With his Latino heritage there exists some
potential bias on how he perceives the refugees, but regardless this source serves as an extremely
valuable to my research as it creates a perspective on how greatly Florida has been impacted in
comparison to other states, which helps with my argument. Additionally, CITYLAB is an
 Reyes Diaz 6

information aggregator that focuses on social issues, making this an appropriate topic to discuss.
“CityLab is committed to telling the story of the world’s cities: how they work, the challenges
they face, and the solutions they need.”

Hinojosa, Jennifer. Roman, Nashia. Melendez, Edwin. “Puerto Rican Post-Maria

Relocation by States.” Centro: Center for Puerto Rican Studies, March 2018,
https://centropr.hunter.cuny.edu/sites/default/files/PDF/Schoolenroll-v2-3-3
2018.pdf. Accessed 8 October 2018.

In this study, Hinojosa and Roman share research they underwent to determine the Puerto
Rican distribution among all 50 United States. The authors share their methods used to collect
the data showcased. This assists my personal research by providing background and confirming
Florida as the number one destination for refugees, according to the numbers.

Martin, Annie. “Puerto Rican college students head to Central Florida” Orlando Sentinel, 6
November 2017, https://www.orlandosentinel.com/features/education/school
zone/os-college-students-puerto-rico-20171031-story.html. Accessed 7 October 2018.

This article reports on Puerto Rican refugees coming to Florida to continue their
education post Maria. Annie Martin is a Northwestern University graduate that focuses on
writing about higher education. This source, written shortly after the hurricane, indicates the
genesis of the Puerto Rican exodus about to take place. This helps set a foundation for my
research.

Martin, Annie. “Puerto Rican students will get in-state tuition at UCF through 2023,
trustees decide” Orlando Sentinel, 27 September 2018,
https://www.orlandosentinel.com/features/education/school-zone/os-ne
puerto-rican-ucf-tuition-20180927-story.html. Accessed 7 October 2018.
In this news article, Annie Martin reports UCF’s Board of Trustees decision to grant in-
state tuition to students affected by Hurricane Maria. Annie Martin is a graduated from
Northwestern University and has previously written in multiple news journals; she focuses on
higher education. This source is crucial for a major point in my research because it is the biggest
accommodation that the university has invested in for the Puerto Rican students.
Ocasio, Bianca Padró. “UCF professor seeks to fill research gap as Puerto Rican
community grows” Orlando Sentinel, 24 August 2018,
https://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/breaking-news/os-puerto-rico-ucf-research
hub-20180822-story.html. Accessed 7 October 2018.
This article by Bianca Ocasio focuses on Fernando Rivera and his motivation and
intentions towards the newly instated Puerto Rican Research Hub that he founded at UCF. An
Emerson College graduate, Ocasio previously worked as a breaking news intern and web
producer for Politico. Originally from Puerto Rico, her motivations to pursue this news story
indicate some bias in favor of the research hub, seeing as this sort of news is outside of her
described “breaking-news” background. Along with the In-state tuition, this marked another
 Reyes Diaz 7

huge impression on how residents of Florida are doing whatever they can to regulate the influx
of population.
Rivera, Fernando. “Hurricane Maria: When Dad wanted to flee, I understood
Puerto Rico’s peril” Orlando Sentinel, 19 September 2018,
https://www.orlandosentinel.com/opinion/os-op-2-weeks-without-dad-during
hurricane-maria-20180918-story.html. Accessed 7 October 2018.

Similar to most of my sources, this source provided me with a person specific anecdote
on how the Hurricane impacted an individual except in this case it was the individual Fernando
Rivera. The reason this is important is because Dr. Rivera is the Puerto Rico Research Hub
associate professor in the Department of Sociology at UCF as well as the Interim Assistant Vice
Provost for Faculty Excellence director. Because of his strong Puerto Rican background, he has
some bias towards the population impacted by the island. Despite this, the information I derived
in terms of types of motivation used to push people towards change was crucial for answering
one of my research questions.

“Timeline of Events in Puerto Rico” FEMA, 18 September 2018,

https://www.fema.gov/media-library/assets/documents/170388. Access 19 September
2018

A list of events culminated by FEMA themselves, this source summarizes the events that
have taken place since the Hurricane made landfall on Puerto Rico. The Federal Emergency
Management Agency is those responsible for tending to disasters like those thus creating huge
credibility of the source. My inclusion of this source is because it is a visualization of
information which has helped me put the events since the hurricane into an order and allowed me
to realize what exactly has been done and why it is the case.