Lisbette Acosta (she/her) is a junior studying Psychology from La Vega, Dominican Republic and Newington, CT. Growing up, Lisbette supported many members of her community in advancing their education—from adults to high school students applying to college, to elementary schoolers in need of tutoring. Lisbette was drawn to EDST first and foremost because she loves to learn: “I seek to analyze everything that has to do with learning all the way down to its neural impetus. I want to know all of the levels of learning, and how people can learn by their own accord.” The EDST program has helped her validate and explore her curiosity through her love of learning.
Lisbette says that in the Ed Studies community, “people care to know how you’re doing, and they understand that Yale is hard. The professors actively work to remove the many barriers to learning that can exist while also maintaining the rigor and beauty of the subjects we are learning.” The support she’s received from EDST has helped her find a platform and community to research the systems of inequality in education that she grew up around yet did not fully understand. Lisbette is particularly interested in child development, how children learn, and children with disabilities. She wants to learn what the best learning environments look like, how learning changes with disability, and how to best support children with disabilities in early intervention. Lisbette is also Peer Liaison for Yale Student Accessibility Services and is available to help all students navigate accessibility and disability, learn about day-to-day coping skills, navigating new university spaces, and how to navigate the various mental health supports on campus.