overview

• Dr. Thayra M. Reyes Díaz is an assistant professor in the Department of English at the University of Puerto Rico in Cayey. She has offered courses in ​​English as a second language, literature, advanced composition, and gender studies, as well as courses in pedagogy in ​​elementary and secondary English. She has also collaborated as an editor, translator, and proofreader at the UPR Interdisciplinary Research Institute in Cayey. She has a Doctorate in Curriculum, Teaching, and Learning Environments with an emphasis on Teaching English as a Second Language from Ana G. Méndez University. Her doctoral dissertation was titled: Through the Looking Glass: Female Character Representations in Young Adult Literature in the Teaching of ESL. Dr. Reyes has been a workshop leader in professional development programs for teachers. She has an international certification in Cognitive Neuroscience Applied to Education, from the International Bureau of Applied Cognitive Neuroscience (BINCA). She has collaborated as an opinion columnist in the newspaper El Nuevo Día on topics related to curriculum, teaching, and education in Puerto Rico. Dr. Reyes is an active member of PRTESOL and the International Literacy Association (ILA). She recently published a children's book titled: Un choque en el tiempo (A Clash in Time- Editorial Raíces, PR 2022), awarded with an honorable mention in the category of Best Children’s Illustrated Fiction Book at the International Latino Book Awards (ILBA) 2023. Dr. Reyes is currently developing a course based on creative writing titled: Writing to Heal: Creative Writing Techniques to Promote Student Resilience, Empowerment, and Agency under the Interdisciplinary Research Institute of the UPR at Cayey and the Mellon Foundation.