Biography
Allen Varela, MS, is the Assistant Director of Academic Support Services of the Honors College. He received his Master of Science in Higher Education Administration, Bachelor of Arts in Psychology, and Minor in Criminal Justice from Florida International University. Allen Varela has at least ten years' experience as an administrator in FIU Honors College & five years’ experience as a substitute teacher with the School Board of Broward County and City of Pembroke Pines. He came to FIU Honors College in 2013. In 2014, he directed the Fourth Annual Florida Undergraduate Research Conference, which had over 1000 in attendance including recruiters from across the nation. In 2015, he directed the Florida Collegiate Honors Council Conference at Miami Airport Marriott Hotel.
In 2016, he presented at the 2016 Florida Statewide Symposium on Engagement in Undergraduate Research. In 2017, he presented at the Honors Education at Research Universities Conference on Engaging Student Groups in a Fully-Online Course. All of Allen Varela's conference presentations can be found here. He is the Director of the Undergraduate Research at FIU (URFIU) Conference. He is also Director of the Advanced Research and Creativity in Honors Program (ARCH) and the Miami-Dade College Undergraduate Research Internship Program (MDC URIP) at FIU.
From August 2017 - January 2022, Allen was the advisor for Panther ESports, which became an FIU Sport Club. He is the advisor for FIU Chapter of the National Society of Collegiate Scholars (NSCS). He is also co-editor of the FIU Undergraduate Research Journal.
On a personal note, Allen Varela likes to travel, play video games, and watch anime. He is a fan of Sonic the Hedgehog, One Piece, and Beastars.