Maria Sarmiento
Maria Sarmiento is an honors student graduating from Eastern Washington University in Spring 2026 with a major in Political Science. Before attending EWU, she graduated with the highest honors and an Associate of Arts and Sciences from Big Bend Community College in the Spring of 2023. During her time at Big Bend Community College, Maria served in Phi Theta Kappa as the Vice President of Leadership from 2021 to 2023, an Honors Society focused on planning different events that focused on serving the community and fostering academic growth. At EWU, Maria is a part of the Honors Program, a community of scholars that supports the development and empowerment of students to become leaders. Maria also serves as the secretary to the Asian Student Association, an organization on campus that strives to foster connections between different Asian student populations.
Her research interests focus on the policies that hinder socio-emotional development in children.
During her 2025 McNair Summer Research Internship, Maria plans to research the ideologies that contribute to the stigma of adopted and biological children. Maria has worked with programs such as Head Start, and the Early Childhood Education and Assistance Program which pushed her interest in minimizing stigma and bringing awareness to socio-emotional development within children. In the future, Maria aspires to get her master’s degree in education and then attain her Ph.D. in Political Theory. Maria’s long-term goal is to pursue a career in higher education as a college professor.
2025 EWU Faculty Research Mentor: Dr. Thomas Hawley
The Ideological Root of Stigma for Children in Care
Abstract: Within society, different philosophers have contributed to the definition of family, specifically in their importance in the development of communities. From Aristotle to Hegel, the accumulation of these definitions has formed a stigma that has created a negative stereotype surrounding the children in the foster care system and minimized the legitimacy of foster children’s family structures. The discrimination directed towards children in care is rooted in the Aristotelian definition that biologically related families are given higher priority, creating negative expectations of children in care in education and the policies surrounding the children’s lives. Although these definitions have been challenged in how to approach family dynamics as presented by Hegel, the naturalist meaning is the prevailing narrative. The purpose of this study is to trace the beginning of the stigma that has manifested in the foster care system that affects the educational opportunities and expectations for children in care. This qualitative study aims to create a timeline of the origin of stigma within non-traditional family structures and its effects on civil society. This research project strives to
analyze the thoughts of philosophers regarding the concept of family, how these ideologies are reinforced throughout different aspects of the children’s lives, such as education, policies, and interactions within their community. This paper intends to find solutions to the biased systems that are created to serve children in care, how to deconstruct these beliefs to provide better opportunities for all children, and give insight into future solutions that other researchers may be able to contribute.
Maria Sarmiento Presents Research at the University of Mexico’s Annual McNair Conference!
