Student Features

Which grant that you received do you want to talk about?
Summer URG

Please provide a brief summary of your research.
My project investigated why certain tissues are more susceptible to protein-misfolding diseases like Alzheimer’s and Huntington’s Disease. I identified genes that alter the ability to maintain protein homeostasis differently in different tissues. I use C. elegans, a microscopic nematode with a short lifespan and transparent body that allows me to visually watch individual proteins with colorful tags. My project’s findings illustrate that while maintaining protein homeostasis is essential to every tissue, individual components can differ from tissue to tissue, contributing to different susceptibilities to protein-misfolding diseases.

What made you initially interested in researching your project in particular?
I’m interested in the biological processes underlaying aging and age-related diseases. My project gets to the heart of this by looking at proteins, the basic molecular machines that carry out the processes we need to survive. Many labs focus on studying an individual tissue, and this project allowed me to more broadly understand how tissues vary. I also wanted to learn to work with a new model organism and C. elegans are frequently used to study aging biology.

What made you interested in pursuing (interdisciplinary) research more broadly?
Coming to Northwestern, I was interested in science but didn’t want to practice medicine. I wasn’t sure what other paths I could pursue until the professors in some of my earliest science classes talked about their research. I was excited to learn that I could apply the basic principles I was learning in class to discover something new to improve the world. When I started doing research, I was shocked that you could physically perform experiments and investigate interesting questions about biological concepts as a career!

Describe your experiences with research thus far. Was it tricky? What skills do you think you’ve gained?
Through my research project, I’ve gained technical skills in learning new genetic techniques and working with a different model organism. I’ve also learned to efficiently plan, carry out, troubleshoot, and communicate a research project, with the support of mentors. I grew through navigating challenges, like having to pivot my project midway through the summer due to unexpected changes in mentorship.

Any tips or advice you have for students similar to you that are interested in pursuing undergraduate research?
Jump in! You never know until you try it, and even if research isn’t your thing long-term, there are valuable skills to be gained. You are never stuck–you can always change research projects and labs if you discover interests in a different field, or if the environment isn’t a good fit. The hardest step is the first one!

What is something that you could give a 10 min presentation on right off the cuff?
“The Big 5” (Pacific Northwest Trees)

What was your favorite childhood story (written, spoken, or film)?
My Neighbor Totoro

Which grant that you received do you want to talk about?
Summer URG

Please provide a brief summary of your research.
My SURG project investigated how musical timbre impacts the perception and memory of harmonic progressions. Working with Bienen professor Daniel Shanahan, I used the summer grant period to design the experiment, run it, analyze the results, and start a paper based on the findings. For the main experimental task, participants listened to chord progressions played by two contrasting timbres (electric guitar or piano) and then rearranged shapes (corresponding to each chord) to match what they heard. Half the progressions were nominally rock progressions, the other half followed classical music theory conventions. The aim of the experiment was to see if participants would make particular errors when reordering the chords and whether timbre/harmonic congruence would have any correlation with these errors.

What made you initially interested in researching your project in particular?</strong
I’ve always had a big interest in harmony and I think especially after taking the Bienen music theory sequence, I became more curious how our perception of harmony may be impacted by other contextual factors.

What made you interested in pursuing (interdisciplinary) research more broadly?
Being a dual degree student, I’ve balanced coursework the last few years in two very different academic areas—cognitive/behavioral sciences and music. I’ve known for a while that I wanted to find a way to bridge my two interests, and I’m really fortunate that Northwestern is one of very few schools in the country with a music cognition department.

Describe your experiences with research thus far. Was it tricky? What skills do you think you’ve gained?
This summer was my first time ever conducting research and I definitely grew a lot from the experience. I’ve struggled a lot in the past with self-efficacy, and the research process overall helped me gain confidence in my academic abilities. More specifically, I grew more comfortable engaging with academic papers, programming in R, and working with basic stats procedures.

Any tips or advice you have for students similar to you that are interested in pursuing undergraduate research?
Don’t be intimidated and if you’re thinking about reaching out to a professor, just do it! Also try to be honest with yourself and pursue something you’re actually interested in; it will make the whole process more rewarding and enjoyable.

What is something that you could give a 10 min presentation on right off the cuff?
Kilwins Ice Cream Flavors Ranked Worst to Best (and what your favorite flavor says about you)

What was your favorite childhood story (written, spoken, or film)?
Ratatouille (still my favorite :))

Which grant that you received do you want to talk about?
Summer URG

Please provide a brief summary of your research.
I studied the genetics behind the drug resistance of parasitic nematodes. Parasitic nematodes impact an estimated 1.5 billion people worldwide. Benzimidazoles, one of the primary drug classes used to treat parasitic nematode infections, target beta-tubulin in the microtubules in nematode cells. There is one gene that encodes for beta-tubulin that has been extensively studied, ben-1, but there are also five other genes that also encode for beta-tubulin that haven’t been as studied: tbb-1, tbb-2, tbb-4, tbb-6, and mec-7. I used CRISPR to knock out these genes in the model organism C. elegans in two different backgrounds, a wild-type and one with a ben-1 deletion already, and then conducted a variety of experiments to determine whether the gene has been deleted. Once that was confirmed, I ran a high-throughput assay to investigate the implications of these gene deletions on drug resistance by exposing these mutant strains to Albendazole, a specific benzimidazole. Data analysis is still underway, being done through R, but as of right now, it appears that only mutant strains with the ben-1 deletion were resistant to Albendazole.

What made you initially interested in researching your project in particular?
One of my core values is the dedication to a project that feels like it has a large impact on the broader community. This is why I decided to dedicate my life to value systems such as those imposed by Effective Altruism, which focuses on making your career have the greatest impact it can possibly have. As an overall fairly neglected issue and one that impacts billions of people, I was honored to receive this project when I first started in my lab under the Posner grant.

What made you interested in pursuing (interdisciplinary) research more broadly?
I’ve always been interested in many different things. As a STEM kid, I did theatre in high school and even won an art award. I’m a double major in Psychology and Biology simply because I love both. I think some of the best projects are the ones that surpass the boundaries of multiple disciplines, and that is often what leads to the most learning.

Describe your experiences with research thus far. Was it tricky? What skills do you think you’ve gained?
It was definitely tricky. There is a lot of room for error and many of the techniques we use need to be developed over time. I’ve definitely messed up a couple of times, but I put in the work to fix the mistakes. I’ve gained not only the ability to do these techniques, but also the ability to think more critically about genetics and my project. I’ve also gained an extensive network of grad students, post docs, lab techs, and my PI, which I am forever grateful for. I’ve learned a lot about myself, too – as a FGLI student, I’ve felt like I am behind of all of my peers ever since I started university. However, doing this project has helped me gain confidence in the work I am doing while I am an undergrad at Northwestern.

Any tips or advice you have for students similar to you that are interested in pursuing undergraduate research?
Get out there. I cannot begin to express how important it is to just get out there and try new things, even if you don’t feel like you are good enough. You never know until you try and you put in the work. I started as a team of many undergraduates, all of whom were much more qualified than I am. However, I put in the work and the dedication to my project and I am now the singular undergraduate on my project and am writing the paper. It is insane what can be accomplished if you just put in the work.

What would you name a boat if you had one?
S.S. Allison after my father (RIP) and I’s middle name

What is something that you could give a 10 min presentation on right off the cuff?
The lore of the appalachian mountains

What was your favorite childhood story (written, spoken, or film)?
The one that goes “there were 10 in the bed and the little one says “roll over”” because my mom used to read that to my brothers and I every night

Which grant that you received do you want to talk about?
Summer URG

Please provide a brief summary of your research.
My research this summer focused on determining whether mixtures of peptide amphiphiles (PAs) with the peptide sequences A2G2 and V2A2 would result in molecularly mixed or phase-separated (non-mixing) supramolecular nanofiber assemblies. To test this, I utilized variable temperature polarized light microscopy (VT-PLM) to record the temperature at which PA fiber assemblies transitioned into spherical micelles. This transition temperature was denoted by the complete loss of birefringence signal, produced by anisotropic nanofiber assemblies, indicating a complete transition to isotropic spherical micelles.

Based on previous work, the A2G2 peptide sequence is known to form weak β-sheets that produce less cohesive nanofibers, leading to lower transition temperatures. In contrast, the V2A2 sequence is known to form strong β-sheets and more cohesive nanofibers, resulting in higher transition temperatures. Thus, increases in mol % composition of A2G2-based PAs mixed with V2A2-based PAs were expected to decrease cohesion within fiber nanostructures and therefore decrease the transition temperature. This trend was seen in my past work on mixtures of A2G2E2 with V2A2E2 PAs and A2G2E4-GIKVAV with V2A2E4-GIKVAV PAs, which indicated some degree of mixing between the PA pairs.

I chose to further analyze this trend by altering the equivalents of NaOH added to PA mixtures of the A2G2E4-GIKVAV with V2A2E4-GIKVAV PAs, which were originally prepared with 4 equivalents of NaOH. This mixture was selected in particular to better analyze the effect of epitopes like GIKVAV on the mixing of PAs. As greater equivalents of NaOH tend to reduce cohesion within a fiber assembly and therefore reduce the transition temperature, I was curious to see if the same transition temperature trend would persist in mixtures of 3 and 3.5 equivalents of NaOH as well. Under VT-PLM, the same trend in transition temperature was observed for all equivalents of NaOH, noted by a more rapid decrease in birefringence signal intensity with increasing % A2G2E4-GIKVAV. In addition, for the 30% and 50% A2G2E4-GIKVAV samples at all NaOH equivalents, there appeared to be multiple inflection points along the heating profiles; however, these inflections became less distinct with greater equivalents of NaOH. These inflection points suggested that there was a two-phase mixture at intermediate compositions of the two PAs, i.e., the appearance of a miscibility gap at lower equivalents of NaOH. Therefore, this further confirmed that rather than PA mixtures forming either fully phase-separated or completely molecularly mixed fiber assemblies, there seemed to be an upper limit on the degree of mixing between the different PAs.

To add a little context for the photos – this is a photo of the birefringence signal detected from various fiber assembly mixtures of peptide amphiphiles under a polarized light microscope (PLM).

What made you initially interested in researching your project in particular?
When I first looked into doing research, I came across the Stupp lab group’s 2021 Science paper on spinal cord regeneration utilizing peptide amphiphile assemblies. I was almost immediately sold on wanting to learn more about peptide amphiphiles and how they could be manipulated to perform such amazing feats in medicine. With my project, I had the opportunity to not only look into the mechanisms involving mixtures of peptide amphiphiles but specifically those containing one of the two epitope sequences used in the spinal cord regeneration study. Suffice to say, my project entailed an amazing and fascinating first experience in research.

What made you interested in pursuing (interdisciplinary) research more broadly?
I had never done research in the past, so I was quite curious to see what it would entail. I also have a passion for chemistry, and I was always interested in conducting some kind of lab work in the future.

Describe your experiences with research thus far. Was it tricky? What skills do you think you’ve gained?
I am really glad that I had the opportunity to conduct research in such a wonderful lab group! I learned a lot about how important and helpful working with other researchers can be for fostering new ideas for a project. I often had to present my research at subgroup meetings, and the feedback that I received from other lab members helped a lot to both answer some of the questions that came up in my project as well as provide new approaches to answering my research question. These subgroup meetings also allowed me to develop my communication and presentation skills to best explain my findings to a more unfamiliar audience. I also worked on a paper describing some of my discoveries, which allowed me to practice reading scientific papers as well as better understand my own project overall.

I would say the trickiest part about my research was making sure to keep a detailed record of my previous data and samples. Throughout the course of my project, I had made a ton of samples of various buffer solutions and peptide amphiphiles that had been used in different experiments at different times. Thus, I learned to take very thorough notes during my sample prep and data collection to make my experiments more easily reproducible.

Any tips or advice you have for students similar to you that are interested in pursuing undergraduate research?
Definitely do it! It can be a very rewarding as well as eye-opening experience into different fields of work that not many people get to witness first-hand or even be a part of. I think research is also a great way to see how what you learn in classes gets applied to real world issues/questions.

What would you name a boat if you had one?
Larry

What was your favorite childhood story (written, spoken, or film)?
Dr. Seuss’s The Lorax

What was a memorable interaction that you had on campus this week?
Said “Hi” to my former organic chemistry lab TA and he remembered me 🙂

Which grant that you received do you want to talk about?
Summer URG

Please provide a brief summary of your research.
My SURG project entailed writing a dramatic play, centered around the topics of immigration, wealth inequality, and cultural perceptions of Colombians in upper-middle-class Eastern coast communities. This creative project required in-depth research into the history of immigration in the United States, financial and demographic trends among Colombian immigrant families, and the predominant factors that influence the socioeconomic statuses among those families, as it pertains to literature, film, and the historical and socioeconomic context of these issues.

What made you initially interested in researching your project in particular?
As a Latino journalist and undergraduate at the Medill School of Journalism & Integrated Marketing Communications, I came across some prevalent data indicating both the rising rates of Latino immigrants to the United States and wealth inequalities among different groups. I began to ask myself questions such as why are Latinos continually stereotyped across the media? Why has there historically been a lack of Latino representation in the film and television industry? What is driving the discrepancies in cross-generational wealth and how is race rooted in these issues?

Despite the major presence of Latino immigrants in the United States, many migrant groups continue to be marginalized and mistreated. I was interested in subverting the stereotypical narratives we’ve seen in pop culture and examining subtextual elements of class and privilege through the lens of immigration in upper-middle-class Eastern coast communities.

Henry Godinez, who served as my faculty sponsor for this project, attended a performance of my debut play last spring, which I actually wrote through a 2022 SURG. I was already a fan of Godinez’ work in Latino theatre so hearing his praise and support for my writing was very inspiring, and it was an honor to work with him on my 2023 SURG.

What made you interested in pursuing (interdisciplinary) research more broadly?
I completed a 2022 SURG, writing a Latinx social justice play that was selected by an SPP Committee and produced by The Virginia Wadsworth Wirtz Center for The Performing Arts this past spring, with my 2022 SURG faculty sponsor and Tony Award Winner David Catlin serving as the faculty mentor for this production. After seeing the success of this project, I was inspired to pursue another SURG and write my next play, conducting research for it on topics such as discrepancies in cross-generational wealth and class.

Describe your experiences with research thus far. Was it tricky? What skills do you think you’ve gained?
Like any creative or artistic project, research will always have obstacles that arise, but learning how to overcome adversity has helped me gain invaluable skills and empowered me to grow as a writer, scholar, and human in profound ways.

I’m particularly grateful to the Office of Undergraduate Research for the amazing opportunities I’ve been able to pursue during my time at Northwestern.

Any tips or advice you have for students similar to you that are interested in pursuing undergraduate research?
Pursue what you’re passionate about and above all, WRITE! I’ve had the privilege of having some incredible mentors who have been integral to my intellectual, creative, and artistic growth, and have encouraged me to continue writing even after the grant period. I would recommend first identifying your area of interest to find the right mentor who can help you develop your passion project and refine your work through a SURG.

What would you name a boat if you had one?
Buena Hora

What is something that you could give a 10 min presentation on right off the cuff?
New Girl

If your (speaking) voice were an instrument, what do you think it would be?
Acoustic Guitar

What was your favorite childhood story (written, spoken, or film)?
Up

What was a memorable interaction that you had on campus this week?
Volunteering at a food pantry with RUF friends or catching up with my sophomore year roommate on the way to a meeting for my Latin dance group, Dale Duro!

Which grant that you received do you want to talk about?
Summer URG

Please provide a brief summary of your research.
My research was focused on theaters for young audiences in Berlin, Germany, and the best practices they implement in order to serve a multi- and intercultural audience. It was structured around interviews with arts administrators and observations of productions at 5 different theaters, from which I was able to gather a more holistic understanding of TYA (theatre for young audiences) in Berlin and the ways in which many artists and companies there work to prioritize theatre that is engaging and impactful for all of the young people living in Berlin. I sought to understand further the ways in which Berlin’s socio-cultural landscape influences the companies and artists creating theatre for young people, as well as identifying room for growth in this area and what plans those companies and artists have to further develop.

What made you initially interested in researching your project in particular?
In addition to my work as a theatre artist positioning me uniquely in both TYA spheres and spaces devoted to the advancement of diversity, equity, and inclusion in the theatre industry, Berlin is a city close to my heart. My mother is German, and I have spent all of my life visiting Germany, particularly Berlin. I spent 6 months living there with family friends as an au pair after I graduated from high school in 2020, and learned much about the specific socio-political contexts that exist in both past and present Berlin. The combination of my academic and professional interests and my personal history and culture led to the development of my research.

What made you interested in pursuing (interdisciplinary) research more broadly?
I found that in addition to my personal interest in the subject and the desire to learn more about it, I was enthusiastic about how the research process could help be become a better student and person. The opportunity to meaningfully engage with a subject and industry that I was excited about and to explore new skills and perspectives was attractive to me for my academic and professional development but also for my personal growth.

Describe your experiences with research thus far. Was it tricky? What skills do you think you’ve gained?
I found the research process to be time-consuming but rewarding. Being able to learn and further develop a number of skills, such as the ability to analyze qualitative data, the ability to interview people in a personable yet direct manner, speaking confidently to large groups of people, and taking meaningful notes while staying engaged in an experience, will allow me to continue to grow in my academic and professional careers. I also found particularly meaningful the relationships I was able to build with a number of the theatre artists and companies that I connected with in Berlin, the opportunity to bear witness to so many artists pursuing their dreams and working day in and day out to create theatre that will resonate with and uplift young people of all backgrounds, and the chance to make discoveries and experience them in practice, as opposed to just in theory.

Any tips or advice you have for students similar to you that are interested in pursuing undergraduate research?
I would absolutely encouraged anyone interested in undergraduate research to go for it. The point of undergraduate research, in my opinion, is not to discover world-changing findings; it is to allow undergraduate students to engage with subjects they are excited about and to develop important life and career skills. I would recommend that students are genuinely interested in the subject of their research, as it is time-consuming, but that if they really are excited about what they’re engaging with, research is a truly rewarding process.

What is something that you could give a 10 min presentation on right off the cuff?
Cassandra of Troy

What was your favorite childhood story (written, spoken, or film)?
Momo by Michael Ende

Which grant that you received do you want to talk about?
Summer URG

Please provide a brief summary of your research.
I was investigating how A549s, a patient derived lung cancer cell line, essentially hijack the circadian clock. Every cell in our body has a circadian rhythm, and we can visualize how long a cell’s circadian period lasts in a device called the LumiCycle. There have been numerous studies investigating the relationship between circadian disruption (via shift work) and the development of cancer. Previous research by Dr. Clara Peek showed a bidirectional interaction between HIF-1a (a protein involved in the cellular response to low oxygen conditions) and BMAL1 (a core circadian clock component). Since tumor cells are naturally in low oxygen conditions, this relationship is pathologically relevant. Other scientists showed that circadian disruption leads to lung tumorigenesis, but we were investigating the opposite pathway – that being how A549s take over the circadian clock to benefit their growth and proliferation . My goal was to treat cells with different drugs that worked on our proposed signaling pathway and measure the length of the cell’s circadian period.

What made you initially interested in researching your project in particular?
I didn’t have a particular interest in circadian biology until I took Bio 203, where we briefly went over how the circadian clock works. From there, I knew I wanted to work in a circadian lab. I had a previous interest in muscle physiology and injury repair, which is the main focus of the Peek lab and my initial reason for joining. When I arrived, one of the research techs, Adam Steffeck, mentioned that he needed help with the lab’s lung cancer project. Although lung cancer and muscle physiology share few commonalities, the shared circadian component was my main motivation for helping with this project. From there, I began training in the lab and was ready to commit to the project full time when summer rolled around.

What made you interested in pursuing (interdisciplinary) research more broadly?
I knew I wanted to start doing research because of my classes. I always found everything we learned so interesting, but never felt like I could fully grasp how these concepts applied to a real world setting. Techniques always seem practical when learning about them in lecture, but I wanted to experience the scientific process myself. I wanted to see how the things we learned failed, understand why they failed and make judgement calls as to what the next move should be to push the project forward. I saw research as a way to bring the content we cover to fruition, which was my main motivation to get involved.

Describe your experiences with research thus far. Was it tricky? What skills do you think you’ve gained?
I’ve loved my experience so far, but I can’t say that every moment has been easy. Seeing your experiments that you’ve planned and set up for weeks fail because of reasons outside your control can be frustrating, and you have to learn to come back and think about your own work critically. I think the trickiest part is being able to ask the right questions at the right times. If you didn’t get the result you wanted, was it because of a procedural error? Or is something mechanistic? I think I’ve gotten better at knowing when and where to ask these questions over the summer. Furthermore, my bench skills and scientific intuition have increased greatly over this time as a result of the experience, even when things failed.

Any tips or advice you have for students similar to you that are interested in pursuing undergraduate research?
I think the best thing I’ve learned over the past few months working in the lab is to never feel scared to ask questions or reach out to others, whether that is your PI, a potential PI, or someone who’s project you are particularly interested in. There were a few times I was scared to reach out to my PI with questions or to present data, just because I was worried she would be too busy. Those meetings, which I thought would only last a few minutes, often turned into hour long discussions criticizing the pathway and developing new experiments. I am by no means an expert in the field, so it was critical for me to ask questions to further my understanding. Even if you think your questions are elementary or are wasting someone’s time, everyone was in your shoes learning at some point. People are always willing to help if you show initiative, so never, ever be afraid to reach out.

Which grant that you received do you want to talk about?
Summer Undergraduate Research Grant

Please provide a brief summary of your research.
For 8 weeks (June 12th-July 31st) I researched eight Black female activists during the Civil Rights Movement (1954-1968) whose contributions appeared invisible in history because as Bernice McNair Barnett elucidates, Social Movement scholarship focuses on male leaders. My goal in this project was to recognize Black women and their leadership. The intersection of these women’s identities have resulted in the erasure of their contributions to American History furthering the notion that men were the only leaders during this time. The purpose of this project was to show Black women the power their voices hold, by highlighting the voices of Black figures that came before them. The women I researched are as follows: Claudette Colvin, Gloria Richardson, McCree Harris, Septima Poinsette Clark, Pauli Murray, Diane Nash, JoAnn Robinson, and Georgia Gilmore. I wrote first-person poetry from the perspective of the women I studied using journal articles, interviews, archives, and oral histories to elucidate their lives. I chose poetry as the medium to tell the stories of these women because of its accessibility and relatability as a modern medium of communication.

What made you initially interested in researching your project in particular?
Originally I wanted to do a research program, but after meeting with Megan Novak we realized I already had an interest in doing poetry centered research. Megan helped me to hone in on what marginalized community I wanted to focus my poetry on, so that my research wasn’t too broad.

What made you interested in pursuing (interdisciplinary) research more broadly?
I became interested in pursuing research after taking SESP 251 Pathways class that focused on doing meaningful work during the summer through SURG or SIGP. I also attended events where UGR would present, so I was very interested in doing research and poetry.

Describe your experiences with research thus far. Was it tricky? What skills do you think you’ve gained?
Research is fun, rewarding, and thorough. I found it fun researching each women and learning anecdotes about them that I was never taught in history class. It was difficult when I couldn’t find information on some of the women after trying different avenues to obtain it. It was also tricky revising poems, some poems would have revisions that would take a few days, while others would take weeks. From my research experience I have gained patience and flexibility. Some days, I would have to wait for sources to come through interlibrary loan, so I would be flexible and start researching another activist.

Any tips or advice you have for students similar to you that are interested in pursuing undergraduate research?
Schedule a meeting with Office of Undergraduate Research they are really helpful in understanding how your interests can become a research opportunity.

What was your favorite childhood story (written, spoken, or film)?
My favorite childhood story was The Kissing Hand by Audrey Penn, my mom used to read it to me when I was younger.

Which grant that you received do you want to talk about?
Undergraduate Language Grant

What language did you study and why?
Professionally, I chose to study Spanish because I want to go into civil rights law, and I want to be able to work with the many people in the U.S. in need of legal support that speak Spanish. More personally, I want to be able to communicate with as many people in my communities and around the world as possible.

What program did you attend and why did you choose it?
I chose to study at a language institute in San Jose, Costa Rica. I knew I wanted to be in San Jose because it is surrounded by universities and museums, making it a very good place to meet other people my age as well as learn a lot about the the country. As a nature lover, I couldn’t miss the chance to see the incredible conservation efforts that Costa Rica has worked on.

Describe your experience doing summer language study. Was it tricky? How do you think your language skills improved?
Living in a Spanish-speaking country while learning Spanish did wonders for instilling the language in my mind. I had no choice but to practice, I would wake up and speak Spanish at the breakfast table with my family, then go to hours of Spanish classes, then go to lunch where I would have to speak Spanish to order my food, then have tandem conversations with English students where I would speak in English for about 30 minutes. This level of constant exposure made it a necessity for me to improve my Spanish to function in the world around me. After my experience in Costa Rica, I believe there is no way as effective to learn a language as intensive immersion. When I first arrived in Costa Rica, I was entirely overconfident in my language skills. I had just completed a year of Spanish at Northwestern and was feeling very good about where I was. But, as soon as I arrived at my host family, who does not speak any English, I found that I could barely understand anything they were saying, much less participate in any form of conversation with them. However, in my last week there, I found myself at the dinner table in the midst of an hour-long conversation with my host mom. This is just one specific instance of growth, but throughout my time there, I gradually felt myself becoming more and more capable of speaking and conversing in Spanish.

Did intensive summer language study change or solidify any of your future goals? If so, how?
It absolutely did! It solidified my goal of becoming bilingual for the work that I want to do in the future. I realized how crucial a common language is to building relationships, and I want to be able to truly accomplish that connection throughout my professional and personal life.

Do you have any tips or advice for students similar to you that are interested in pursing intensive language study?
You absolutely have to stay with a host family! I really think this is what pushed my language learning to the next level because I simply had to use Spanish to communicate with the people I was living with. I also think choosing a location that is not overly touristy is really important because, at least for me, if there is the option to lean on English as a crutch when you go to restaurants or stores, you won’t practice your language as much as you could.

If your (speaking) voice were an instrument, what do you think it would be?
In my heart I want it to be the bass clarinet but there is such a good chance I’m wrong.

What was your favorite childhood story?
One time when I was 7 I “accidentally” cut a massive chunk out of my friend’s super long and gorgeous hair like near her chin. It was really bad.

Which grant that you received do you want to talk about?
Undergraduate Language Grant

What language did you study and why?
Italian because my both SIGP and JR programs took place in Italy

What program did you attend and why did you choose it?
I attended an intensive Italian course at Scuola Leonardo Da Vinci in Florence

Describe your experience doing summer language study. Was it tricky? How do you think your language skills improved?
In the span of 8 weeks, from the beginner level I was able to get to intermediate. It was a very fun and culturally immersive experience as well. I traveled around Tuscany, visiting alpaca farm, vineyards, Florentine mosaic, Italian leather artisan houses, castles, museums, and even learned how to make pasta from scratch.

Did intensive summer language study change or solidify any of your future goals? If so, how?
Yes, it definitely made me narrow down what kind of reporting I would like to do in terms of my career, also I realized that I would most probably move to Europe after graduation.

Do you have any tips or advice for students similar to you that are interested in pursing intensive language study?
Don’t be afraid of making friends with teachers, staff and your host family. Usually, connections like that make you practice your language skills and open so many new opportunities.

What would you name a boat if you had one?
Wonder

What is something that you could give a 10 min presentation on right off the cuff?
Cooking and baking

If your (speaking) voice were an instrument, what do you think it would be?
Violin

What was your favorite childhood story (written, spoken, or film)?
Harry Potter

What was a memorable interaction that you had on campus this week?
We had a Pulitzer Prize guest speaker

Which grant that you received do you want to talk about?
Summer URG

Please provide a brief summary of your research.
I research bioactive nanomaterials that can be used for applications in regenerative medicine. This summer, I looked at a system that uses a self-assembling nanofiber that acts like a track for dancing sliders with attached bioactive sequences. The sequence on the sliders was IKVAV, a laminin mimetic that can be used to promote adhesion and dendrite development of neurons in the brain and spinal cord.

What made you initially interested in researching your project in particular?
I loved biology and have always found regenerative medicine extremely fascinating. Using the body’s own machinery to recovery otherwise permanent or life-threatening injuries genuinely feels magical to me, so I’m so excited to be part of such impactful research.

What made you interested in pursuing (interdisciplinary) research more broadly?
I always enjoyed hearing about other people’s projects and thought it was so cool to uncover new information about the world. Research is a way to do hands-on work to satiate my curiosity and use the information I was learning in class productively. I also wanted to blend my science knowledge with artistic skills, which is something that I do often now.

Describe your experiences with research thus far. Was it tricky? What skills do you think you’ve gained?
Research can feel like a bit of a puzzle sometimes. You get to design experiments and run different tests to collect puzzle pieces, and then you use your knowledge and understanding to try and put the pieces together. I love being able to work together with others and explore new areas of science to progress in my project, all while learning new techniques and developing a plethora of skills. It can be frustrating sometimes when you can’t understand your results or don’ know how to validate a theory.

Any tips or advice you have for students similar to you that are interested in pursuing undergraduate research?
I would recommend just going for it! Nobody expects you to know anything going in, and the more you are willing to learn, the farther you can go! Being in a lab, I feel like being part of a family. You don’t need any crazy skills to jump into research.

What is something that you could give a 10 min presentation on right off the cuff?
Puppeteering

What was your favorite childhood story (written, spoken, or film)?
Spirited Away (Movie)

What language did you study and why?
I studied Arabic because I wanted to improve my language skills to be able to speak about complex topics, but more importantly, I wanted to better understand the language in a cultural context from native speakers.

What program did you attend and why did you choose it?
My experience at CET Jordan’s summer intensive program exceeded my expectations. I studied with CET through their semester abroad program in the fall of 2022, so I had reasonable expectations for what returning to Jordan would look like for me. Still, I was beyond pleased with how the program helped me learn Arabic through the intensive classroom experience, field-based excursions throughout the country, personalized time with professors, and the driven cohort of students.

Describe your experience doing summer language study. Was it tricky? How do you think your language skills improved?
We spent up to five hours daily speaking, listening, reading, and writing in Arabic in a classroom setting (where I worked with five other students). For example, we read and discussed a famous Arabic novel, “Men in the Sun” by Ghassan Kanafani; we watched Arabic news to discuss our course’s central theme ‘phenomena’ including the study of women’s rights, child labor, and climate change; we had weekly presentations on class topics and field-based activities, such as a presentation on our takeaways from a trip to a local radio station. We were regularly assessed on these skills and also took the ACTFL Oral Proficiency Interview at the end of the summer. Last fall, I achieved Advanced Mid and advanced to Advanced High on my interview this summer. When I studied abroad in the fall, I felt like I was learning a new word every two minutes and was solely focused on language acquisition. While I still learned hundreds of new words this summer, I was thankful that I had a different experience while language learning. I prioritized solidifying my confidence in my language skills: I would not resort to English if someone did not understand me, I learned how to speak casually and conversationally by engaging in more conversations with local shop owners and with taxi drivers, and by the end of the summer, I was able to confidently call taxis, bargain at local shops, and ask new people for help if I needed it. It became clear to me that while it is beneficial to focus on mastering words and complex structures, I could also grow my language skills by speaking in a wider variety of settings and with people from different Arabic-speaking countries. This was difficult and often made me feel vulnerable, but language learning is not linear, and I think that this experience gave me the confidence to continue making mistakes and learning from them.

Did intensive summer language study change or solidify any of your future goals? If so, how?
As for my academic development, my language acquisition from this summer will now allow me to take more advanced Arabic courses at Northwestern to complete the new Arabic minor, which I am very excited about. I also have more resources to keep practicing my language skills, including the textbooks I used in class, reading and listening to the news, and even simply staying in touch with my Arabic-speaking friends from Jordan. Through the program, I also interned at a local NGO that promotes women’s and children’s economic and social empowerment in Jordanian society. I used Arabic to translate the company’s resources and extrapolate governmental data written in Arabic. This showed me how I could use Arabic in a professional setting and especially in a way that can help people and communities, which I hope to do in the future. In particular, I would love to use Arabic to work in the government/ for a foreign policy agency to facilitate cross-cultural and multi-national discourses. Not only did the summer solidify my career goals, but I also learned a lot more about how I learn and can support others with their learning. It was challenging to commit to the language pledge when it would be a lot easier to resort to English with my student cohort. But our commitment to each other and ourselves and as a result, our much-improved language skills, taught me a lot of perseverance and resilience. Immersing myself in a new language and culture was uncomfortable at first. It made me a lot more grateful for my friendships and support systems, especially the locals I met that were patiently willing to listen to me stumble over words sometimes. I appreciated learning about a new culture and environment by living in it, and I am forever thankful to CET, my program, and the ULG for showing me I could.

Do you have any tips or advice for students similar to you that are interested in pursing intensive language study?
If you are studying in a new country, find communities and places that connect you to home! My program required me to speak exclusively in Arabic for the whole summer; I felt more comfortable exploring new areas while listening to my favorite songs in English and sometimes just drinking a mocha from Starbucks. I started writing down one good thing that happened and one thing I was grateful for every day, which was SO grounding! I also love looking back and reading about my experience now that I’m back at NU. Give yourself some grace. Prioritize self-care. You’ve got this!

What is something that you could give a 10 min presentation on right off the cuff?
Why the color green is the best color ever

What language did you study and why?
German because I plan on doing my Journalism Residency and my masters in Germany

What program did you attend and why did you choose it?
I chose Goethe because it is recognized for its immersive program and skilled teachers.

Describe your experience doing summer language study. Was it tricky? How do you think your language skills improved?
My daily schedule was packed, with classes from 8:00 AM to 1:00 PM, followed by an intensive private lesson lasting 1 hour and 45 minutes. I also took online lessons that exceeded my 120 hours to practice my German further. This demanding routine was hectic but incredibly effective in making me fully immerse in the German language. It pushed me to the limits of my language abilities and compelled me to adapt quickly. The program’s quality was exceptional in every aspect. The language instruction was top-notch. Our instructors were dedicated to ensuring we remained fully immersed in the German language, and they discouraged us from speaking in our native languages. Group assignments, pair work, and regular tests challenged us to apply what we learned in class actively. Homework was a routine part of our studies, and it was diligently checked and discussed during our lessons. What truly enhanced my experience was the opportunity to interact with other students in the program. I made friends from various backgrounds, including a Dutch-Colombian friend, an Italian, and a Turkish classmate, among others. We organized post-class hangouts, where we practiced speaking in German and supported each other’s language learning journeys. These friendships remain strong, and we continue to communicate in German. The Goethe Institute also organized daily activities, such as visits to Kunst Halle (Art Museum), bar outings, beach trips, and A1 practice sessions. Participating in these activities not only exposed me to different aspects of German culture but also allowed me to make lasting connections with fellow participants. Interacting with the local community and native speakers was another invaluable aspect of my program. Whenever I went grocery shopping or ordered food, I conversed with locals in German. They were friendly and corrected my mistakes, creating a comfortable and supportive learning environment.

Did intensive summer language study change or solidify any of your future goals? If so, how?
It has equipped me with the language skills needed to pursue my dream of doing my masters in Germany and working in German media organizations. With a strong foundation in German up to B1 level, I am well-prepared to excel in my future academic endeavors and professional pursuits. My competence in German has enormous potential for enhancing my academic ambitions. Journalism and strategic communication are disciplines that need a global perspective as well as the capacity to communicate successfully across cultural boundaries. German proficiency provides the door to a multitude of academic resources, research opportunities, and networking chances in Germany, a country noted for its expertise in media and communication studies. It has positioned me favorably for my Journalism Residency and professional opportunities with esteemed German media organizations like Deutsch Welle, Der Spiegel, and Reflectist, which require a high level of language proficiency.

Do you have any tips or advice for students similar to you that are interested in pursing intensive language study?
Embrace your passion for learning a new language wholeheartedly, dedicating your entire effort. Pursue this endeavor not solely for monetary gain, but as a means to acquire a valuable skill in the form of a new language. The experience of learning a new language is exceptionally rewarding, extending beyond linguistic proficiency. It offers a profound understanding of the culture, traditions, and values of the people and country associated with that language.

What would you name a boat if you had one?
Not Titanic

What is something that you could give a 10 min presentation on right off the cuff?
Pakistan’s political crisis

If your (speaking) voice were an instrument, what do you think it would be?
A sitar (South Asian instrument)

What was your favorite childhood story (written, spoken, or film)?
Interstellar

What was a memorable interaction that you had on campus this week?
I met Laila Al-Arian, a Journalist from A l Jazeera English

Please provide a brief summary of your research.
The sense of touch is critical for humans, and our daily interactions with objects require accurate tactile perception. To better understand the associated neural processes, functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) during tactile stimulation can identify how tactile signals travel within the central nervous system. However, there is a lack of stimulators that provide constant forces resembling the natural grip forces used in object manipulation. We developed a novel system that delivers accurate, localized, and automated constant-force stimulation that can be used in studies of tactile perception in various populations, such as those with stroke.

What made you initially interested in researching your project in particular?
I have always had an interest in the technology behind medical imaging, and I find it fascinating that we have the capability to see within the body. When I joined the Robotics and Sensorimotor Control Lab, which was focused on researching how humans perceive somatosensory signals, I wanted to integrate neuroimaging into the study of tactile perception. My PI and I worked together to develop a new research direction utilizing fMRI to study the neural correlates of tactile perception.

What made you interested in pursuing (interdisciplinary) research more broadly?
I enjoy trying to tackle complex challenges on the forefront of a particular topic, and I find it rewarding that my work will eventually have a real impact on people around the world. I also love the interdisciplinary aspect of research and being exposed to so many different industries and fields. Collaborators on my project included roboticists, mechanical engineers, computer scientists, neuroscientists, and more!

Describe your experiences with research thus far. Was it tricky? What skills do you think you’ve gained?
Over the 2-3 years that it took to complete my research, there were certainly some challenges. I think the hardest part was trying to coordinate the different components of the project and ensuring that each team knew what the end goal was. I definitely developed skills in effective communication and delegation. Also, while it was daunting at first, I found it especially rewarding to be able to work and make decisions independently. My experience with research has certainly prepared me for working in the “real world.”

Any tips or advice you have for students similar to you that are interested in pursuing undergraduate research?
I would say to find something you are truly interested in, especially if you plan on starting a project and following through with it to the end. On this point, I think finding a lab or PI that allows you to take control over a project is especially important. Being able to go through the whole “scientific method” was the best way for me to develop my research skills.

If you had unlimited time, money, resources, support, etc. what is something you would research?
How to cure color blindness (I’m color blind…)

Favorite bathroom on campus?
First floor of Bienen

Please briefly summarize your research.
As an Emerging Scholar, I conducted literature reviews, critically analyzed testimonios, and edited Dr. Alyssa Garcia’s manuscript, Moral Discourses, Regulated Bodies: Sex, the State, and Subjectivity in Cuba.

What made you interested in pursuing (interdisciplinary) research more broadly?
I was interested in getting hands-on experience with research and academia.

How has it been working with faculty to transition from an assistant position to a more independent role?
Working with a faculty mentor helped with independent research because I was able to get experience before starting my own project. It made starting an independent project less intimidating.

What’s been your favorite part about being in a cohort with other scholars?
My favorite part has been the community, especially with people who share similar experiences to me.

Do you have any tips or advice for first years similar to you who are interested (but maybe hesitant) to apply for a 15 month long program?
You should go for it! It is intimidating but it is a great experience. It isn’t easy, but you will learn a lot.

If you had unlimited time, money, resources, support, etc. what is something you would research?
Victim’s Economic Security and Safety Act, Employment protections for survivors of sexual and domestic violence

Favorite bathroom on campus?
Lincoln has the best bathrooms

What’s the most interesting thing you’ve learned/read about/listened to this week?
I finished On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous yesterday!

What is your most useless talent?
I’m really good at putting on fake eyelashes

Please provide a brief summary of your research.
Anterior temporal lobectomy (ATL) involves the surgical resection of left or right medial temporal lobe (MTL) structures to control seizures in 80% of patients with medication-resistant temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE). MTL supports the formation and retrieval of memories for past experiences, so the benefits associated with ATL must be balanced with the risks of memory decline. Currently, presurgical memory lateralization relies on an invasive procedure called the Wada test, which can be inaccurate, particularly in younger children or those with developmental delays. This project aims to improve memory outcomes in pediatric TLE patients by using fMRI to determine memory lateralization prior to left or right ATL. To achieve this, we designed two memory tasks to be performed in-scanner, one examining associative memory and one examining naturalistic event memory. In healthy participants, we hypothesize bilateral MTL activation during the performance of both tasks. In patients with left or right TLE, we hypothesize greater activation lateralized to the non-epileptic MTL. Now, we are leading pilot testing of the memory tasks and subsequent data collection in healthy children and adolescents. Once we analyze the data, we plan to recommend one or both tasks to be paired with fMRI and employed in the presurgical evaluation of pediatric TLE patients. We further plan to pair the tasks with intracranial EEG during presurgical monitoring to examine the neurophysiological mechanisms underlying fMRI effects. We hope the findings of this project indicate that our clinical memory task method can replace the Wada test for patients being considered for ATL.

What made you initially interested in researching your project in particular?
My major (Industrial Engineering) is not related to this area, but I took an Intro to Psychology class and became genuinely interested in Neuroscience topics. I wanted to learn more about it and I also thought it would be fun to work with kids when we got to the data collection phase! My major is very quantitative (a lot of Statistics and Computer Science), so I was very excited about applying my theoretical knowledge to this project, especially because I was so interested in it.

What made you interested in pursuing (interdisciplinary) research more broadly?
First, I wanted to find a hands-on experience to apply all the theoretical things I am learning at Northwestern. Second, I was curious about what doing research would be like; I had never been part of a research project before and wanted to try it out.

Describe your experiences with research thus far. Was it tricky? What skills do you think you’ve gained?
I had a great experience! Dr. Johnson (my faculty mentor) was very supportive and willing to teach me. While I was coding the behavioral tasks, I also had a lot of autonomy, which was very exciting. Though this project, I ended up discovering I really enjoy Neuroscience! The projects I am working on are challenging but the support of my lab and my genuine interest in the research keep me going. Two of the most important skills I’ve gained are not being afraid to ask for help and not running away from challenges.

Any tips or advice you have for students similar to you that are interested in pursuing undergraduate research?
Find something that you are genuinely interested in – this will make a huge difference in the long run! Also, don’t give up on finding a lab and use the Office of Undergraduate Research resources.

If you had unlimited time, money, resources, support, etc. what is something you would research?
I would still research the same thing!

What is your most useless talent?
If I feel tired, I can sleep anywhere. And I really mean anywhere.

Please provide a brief summary of your research.
I helped Melissa gather sources from academic papers to video interviews for a book about history of Hip-Hop— from its origins to various stylistic methods that artists implement today. In addition, I also worked on restyling some presentations for her vocal classes.

What made you initially interested in researching your project in particular?
I like music and history! I wanted to get exposed to more types of music and be more knowledgeable in regards to different cultures and genres. Melissa was also a lovely faculty-in-residence for the South Area last year <3

What made you interested in pursuing (interdisciplinary) research more broadly?
I like many things but I wasn’t sure if I should do research, so I just decided to try it out. Interdisciplinary fields seem to flow naturally with any subject, since the world is connected to each other.

Describe your experiences with research thus far. Was it tricky? What skills do you think you’ve gained?
Overall, it was really fun! I had the opportunity to both enjoy summer and learn more about how to actually do research. I think time management and clear communication were skills that I’ve gained throughout this experience.

Any tips or advice you have for students similar to you that are interested in pursuing undergraduate research?
Try it out! If you like it, that’s great. If you don’t, at least you know you won’t be a researcher for the rest of your life. No regret-life.

Favorite bathroom on campus?
One of the fancy ones in Kellogg or the Allen Center

What’s the most interesting thing you’ve learned/read about/listened to this week?
Sign — ONEW

Please provide a brief summary of your research.
Last summer, I had the privilege of working with Professor Larissa Buchholz to create a systematic literature review for her research project on the globalization of art and cultural production. Literature reviews are an essential first step in any research project because they help the research team gauge how much information is available on their topics of interest, as well as the types of questions that have already been asked. Using the online platform Endnote, I developed of bibliographical archive of all the pre-existing research and writing that was relevant to art and globalization. Towards the end of the summer, I worked on analyzing all this literature, identifying common themes and significant patterns that guided Professor Buchholz in her own research the following fall.

What made you initially interested in researching your project in particular?
I was initially drawn to this research project because of my interests in International Affairs and my background in the arts world. I was a ballet dancer all throughout high school (and briefly into college!), and I felt that Professor Buchholz’s work was the perfect blend of this particular passion and my separate academic pursuits. In the classroom, I have studied quite a bit how globalization has impacted the world economy, politics, and social activism–however, before joining this project, I had yet to truly explore the intersection of globalization and art forms (such as dance, poetry, painting, films, music, etc.). It is truly fascinating to question what motivates humans around the world to share, invent, and mimic these different practices. Professor Buchholz’s project allowed me to explore a field of study I was both extremely unfamiliar with and highly curious about.

What made you interested in pursuing (interdisciplinary) research more broadly?
I am a firm believer that the research process teaches valuable practices that can be applied to almost any career path. I knew that by pursuing some form of research, I would help to improve my organizational, collaborative, and analytical skills enormously.

Describe your experiences with research thus far. Was it tricky? What skills do you think you’ve gained?
My experience was definitely not easy. Prior to this research, I did not have much experience with coding or computer software tools, and it took a good amount of practice to get to a place where I was comfortable inputting all of our work into various online databases. Nonetheless, this just reminded me of my ability to learn quickly and adapt to changes, even well into my college career. I walked away from this experience feeling much more confident using technology as a means for more efficient research collection and analysis.

Any tips or advice you have for students similar to you that are interested in pursuing undergraduate research?
Even if you do not think it will be an important aspect of your career later on, give undergraduate research a try! There’s no better time to try new kinds of work and learning than in college. You have nothing to lose with research–only skills to be gained.

Please provide the tile and a brief summary of your research/conference presentation.
Title: How Do Transgender and Non-Binary College Students Define ‘Having Sex’? My research investigated how transgender and non-binary college students define the phrase ‘having sex’ and the factors that influence those definitions. I interviewed 8 self-identified non-cisgender college students and used a phenomenology framework of analysis to code for significant themes. The findings of my research reveal how participants’ gender identities impact their sexual experiences and highlights their need to redefine and construct their own definitions of ‘having sex,’ outside of the cis-heteronormative definitions that they learned from Sex Education classes, popular media, or their peers.

What made you initially interested in researching your project in particular?
In my first sexuality studies class at Northwestern (shout out Introduction to Sexuality Studies with Professor Fenrich), we had a guest lecture by Linguistics Professor Gregory Ward on how several populations define ‘having sex.’ Looking at the existing scholarship, I realized how each study, even the queer-friendly ones, relied on a strict gender binary and the conformity of its participants’ bodies to cisgender norms. I was interested in adding transgender and non-binary voices to this incredibly important conversation that affects sex education curriculum, medical inquiry into sexual behavior, and support for sexual well-being.

What conference(s) did you present at and how did you find out about them?
Moving Transgender History Forward 2023 at the University of Victoria; I was looking for places to submit my work as I had just begun writing up the final article and got really lucky to stumble upon their information!

What was it like presenting at a conference? Anything that you didn’t expect?
I presented a virtual poster so I actually got to record a video presentation to submit before the conference began. I really appreciated that as it eased some of the nerves of presenting my research for the first time. As the conference wasn’t only for undergraduates, I went in expecting no one to be interested in my work, as they were mostly graduate students and professors but everyone was really kind! Throughout the conference, so many people asked about my work and future interests and even offered to put me in contact with others working on similar projects!

Any tips or advice you have for students similar to you that are interested in presenting at a conference one day?
I would absolutely recommend it. If you’re anxious about presenting in front of a crowd, look for virtual options so you know your presentation is already complete and you can focus on learning from and talking with others! Also, it can be intimidating to ask questions of presenters but I haven’t had a bad experience yet, and usually they’re just thrilled someone is interested in learning more. A great question to ask if you’re not sure what to say but want to start a conversation with them is “was there anything really interesting about your research that you didn’t get to share in the presentation?”

What is your most useless talent?
I can make my tongue roll into a clover shape!

Can you briefly summarize your project and share what made you initially interested in that topic?
My project focused on psychological trauma across 5 different countries: Argentina, Northern Ireland, Bosnia, Japan, and South Korea. I became interested in this topic while taking a class on trauma in the Global Health Department in the fall of my Junior year. In the class, I realized that I had a lot of questions about trauma and mental health. For example, I was curious about how perceptions of trauma and spaces for trauma care differed across distinct cultural contexts. My research this summer helped me to answer some of these questions and allowed me to learn from incredible experts in the field.

What was the most unexpected or challenging part of your trip?
The most challenging part of my trip was conducting interviews with multiple language barriers. Even though most of my interviewees were fluent in English, it was still difficult to translate some words regarding trauma and psychology. Also, there are always words that don’t completely translate into another language. So, when my interviewees would talk about their life experiences, sometimes it was challenging to authentically understand their experiences and emotions.

In what ways do you think circumnavigating the globe helped you grow?
I think this is a tough question and one that I am still in the process of realizing. I believe that this trip helped me to grow in many different ways. I learned how to enjoy my own company, how to become comfortable with being uncomfortable, and how to connect with people from different backgrounds and across different ages. I learned the importance of flexibility and open-mindedness in traveling. Finally, I learned that there are many different versions of living a successful, happy, and meaningful life, that there isn’t just one designated way for doing things.

What did you miss most from home while you were abroad?
My friends and family. And AC.

Do you have any advice for students interested in the Circumnavigator Grant?
My advice for anyone interested in this grant would be to apply. I think that this is a once in a lifetime opportunity and the rewards from this experience outweigh the challenges during the application process. Also, there are so many people at Northwestern who are here to support you!

Please provide a brief summary of your research.
My research project looked into the role of insights, or “Aha” moments, in mathematical problem-solving. It turned out that people did experience insights, sometimes multiple, when solving a math problem. What’s more, people are more likely to reach a correct answer, and more confident in the correctness of their solutions if they experienced insights when solving math problems. These suggest that insight may play an important role in facilitating math problem-solving and providing a more positive subjective experience of doing math. My results are interesting in that they provided a new perspective to look at math problem-solving. People often think math is step-by-step and boring, while being intimidating. But my research suggests that creativity and spontaneity are important parts of math as well, and maybe they should be emphasized more in math education in real life. Besides, my results hint that insights might have various functions besides leading to the solutions directly, contributing to our current understanding of insights.

What made you initially interested in researching your project in particular?
I major in both psychology and math. When I learned about the concept of insights, or “Aha” moments, I immediately related it to my own experience of doing math. Then, I had the luck to meet my supervisor who also has background in math and resonates with me on the math insight experience. What’s more, math insights are frequently suggested in the anecdotes of famous mathematicians. However, the research on this phenomenon is very limited. So with the curiosity on this special cognitive process in math problem-solving, I became interested in conducting my AYURG project.

What made you interested in pursuing (interdisciplinary) research more broadly?
Curiosity! I am always inclined to probe into the “why”s and “how”s in life, even if they seem trivial. When I work out a math problem, succeed in doing a tricky movement on ice skates, etc., I often jump out of the moment and think: how did that happen? Research is a great way to find out the answers of millions of such questions in my mind. I am also excited to see how research can make a difference in the world via understanding the world better.

Describe your experiences with research thus far. Was it tricky? What skills do you think you’ve gained?
I think the trickiest part of research for me is to communicate it with others, while it is one of the most important parts of research. I have learned repetitively that I can’t assume others know my research project as well as I do when I explain it to them. Realizing this, I am hopefully growing to be a better speaker and listener.

Any tips or advice you have for students similar to you that are interested in pursuing undergraduate research?
Go for it! No research question is too trivial to probe into. Also, be sure to share your research with others. Sharing will probably be more rewarding and inspiring than you would imagine.

What is your most useless talent?
Sensing that a *gorgeous* sunset is going to happen

Please provide a brief summary of your research.
My research investigated how two proteins, dynein and ZYG-8, work together to promote proper spindle assembly during meiosis in C. elegans eggs. Meiosis is a type of cell division that creates eggs (oocytes) and sperm. Proper spindle assembly is vital for proper chromosome segregation during meiosis, which is needed to produce viable sex cells. Although structures known as centrosomes organize spindles during mitosis, they are absent in oocyte meiosis. Recent research at the Wignall Lab shows that these acentrosomal spindles are formed and stabilized by a variety of proteins in C. elegans oocytes, which are found in similar forms (homologs) in humans. Two of these proteins are dynein and ZYG-8, but their interactions with each other–if there are any–were still unknown. Therefore, my goal was to investigate how these two proteins might interact to assemble and maintain proper acentrosomal spindles, and promote proper chromosome segregation during oocyte meiosis.

What made you initially interested in researching your project in particular?
When I first came across the research at the Wignall Lab, I was marveled by their findings and ongoing projects. As a Pre-Med interested in molecular biology and OB-Gyn, investigating factors that contribute to the formation of viable oocytes immediately piqued my interest. Dr. Sadie Wignall and her graduate students’ research are providing a broader and more detailed understanding of proper spindle formation, which is a step towards understanding the underlying causes of birth defects and miscarriages in humans. One of the graduate students at the lab, Emily Czajkowski, needed help with her research. After spending a full quarter training and helping Emily advance her experiments, I decided to continue at the Wignall lab and launch my project to potentially expand her research!

What made you interested in pursuing (interdisciplinary) research more broadly?
I applied for the URAP program because I wanted to see if research was right for me. Even though I spent hours in the lab for my Pre-Med classes, I knew that research outside of the classroom would be different. I spent one quarter training with my mentor, Emily, who is part of the Interdisciplinary Biological Sciences Graduate Program. I thoroughly enjoyed problem solving and having deep discussions on our experimental results, which required an interdisciplinary approach. At the end of the quarter, I knew research was something I wanted to pursue further through URAP to continue applying my knowledge, practicing my critical thinking skills, and contributing to exciting, pioneering research.

Describe your experiences with research thus far. Was it tricky? What skills do you think you’ve gained?
Through this experience, I learned the ins and outs of scientific research; it can be procedurally complex, and a lot of times, things that may work in theory might not work in practice. Research is a constant process of trial and error, but when you get those “wins” and reach new conclusions, the process becomes rewarding and exciting. I learned a variety of wet-lab skills, how to use one of the world’s most sophisticated microscopes (Deltavision), and the importance of peer discussion and collaboration. Science is often seen as a competitive field, but this experience has shown me that it is rather a supportive space, driven by collaboration.

Any tips or advice you have for students similar to you that are interested in pursuing undergraduate research?
If you are interested in pursuing undergraduate research, I would highly recommend the URAP program! You will learn a lot from the incredible graduate students and faculty at our university, form meaningful professional relationships, and gain a greater insight into their ground-breaking work. I would suggest that you learn about the ongoing research happening on campus and reach out to a professor whose research appeals to you. Sometimes it takes multiple emails to reach them, but take advantage of the URAP advisors to craft a nice letter and don’t give up until you get a response! Finally, I would suggest getting to know the professor or graduate student you are interested in working with before asking for or committing to a research opportunity. This way you can ensure your goals align with theirs, and that you will become great partners in the future.

Please provide a brief summary of your research.
My research looked at how factors beyond an individual school/teacher (such as recessions, state education budgets, and the time of year) affected success rates and fundraising outcomes in crowdfunding for public schools. Another significant part of my research was looking at equity in outcomes by community prosperity at the school and state levels. The final findings of my research provided some interesting understandings of how equity in crowdfunding is more complicated than it seems. Success rates correlate with e, and projects’ success rates varied significantly by the type of materials requested and the proportion of high-poverty students; but schools with higher levels of poverty were less negatively affected by recessions.

What made you initially interested in researching your project in particular?
After completing a comprehensive literature review of crowdfunding with Dr. Gerber through URAP, I wanted to dig in deeper to one particular niche. Education crowdfunding was particularly interesting because I’d seen a lot behind the scenes of school fundraising through my mom’s work, so it was neat to explore a different format of funding schools.

What made you interested in pursuing (interdisciplinary) research more broadly?
Research interests me because you get to spend so much time with a particular topic of interest – on the quarter system, it feels like you’ll only get to spend a week or two on a class topic you care about before it breezes by!

Describe your experiences with research thus far. Was it tricky? What skills do you think you’ve gained?
The hardest thing about research so far has been finding my initial footing – I got rejected from a few programs before I started with Dr. Gerber through URAP. It was difficult to not compare myself to friends who had smoother paths into research, but no two research journeys are truly comparable. Learning to understand that we’re on similar, but not the same, paths is a really important skill I constantly develop. You’ll always get to where you’re meant to be in the way that’s right for you, even if it’s not as fast as it feels like you want it to be!

Any tips or advice you have for students similar to you that are interested in pursuing undergraduate research?
Be persistent in every way! Email professors you’re interested in working with and keep emailing until you can connect & don’t let one ‘no’ discourage you. I know it’s a lot easier said than done, but getting back up once you’ve let the disappointment process is another step closer to your goal. Above everything else, persistence is what’s gotten me through every research issue from finding a mentor to software problems.

What is your most useless talent?
I’m ambidextrous, but only for doing winged eyeliner!

Please provide the tile and a brief summary of your research/conference presentation.
Title: Modeling Individual Sleep Needs from Wearable-Device Data An individual’s natural sleep and wake cycle plays a critical role in nearly every aspect of their daily life. There are currently thought to be two processes that interact to regulate one’s sleep/wake cycle: a sleep homeostat, which depends on the amount of time you have been awake; and the circadian rhythm, an internal 24-hour molecular clock present in nearly every cell of the body. Both processes differ between individuals, whether that’s from a decision to pull an all-nighter one day or from a genetic inclination towards being an “early bird” or a “night owl”. This project focuses on building a model that can predict how particular sleep disruptions impact an individual’s sleep cycle, as well as their ability to recover from these disruptions. These processes have been studied and modeled using mathematical equations, which I was able to rewrite as more biologically realistic equations, and implement as code, resulting in a computational “two-process” model that can simulate a theoretical sleep-wake cycle with disruptions. Once we have a model that can use an individual’s data to predict their optimal sleep despite disruptions, it could be used in the field of sleep medicine to identify and address parameters affecting those with sleep disorders. Given its versatility, the model could also be used by anyone experiencing disruptions due to travel, social events, work, or family, and provide information about how to get sufficient sleep regardless.

What made you initially interested in researching your project in particular?
I actually took a course called Modeling Biological Dynamics with Prof. Rosemary Braun, who is my mentor for this research project, and in that class, we learned mathematical and computational techniques for analyzing and predicting biological dynamics. So much of biology is made up of these dynamic systems, and it is incredible to see how we can model those computationally! It was eye-opening to be able to implement equations into code and see a system “come to life” as I generated the plots on my computer, and further, to be able to change parts of those equations and see how it impacts our system. The course was incredible & solidified my already intense passion for computational biology 🙂 Prof. Braun played a huge role in that, because in lecture she would be just as excited about whatever we were going to cover that day and she went above and beyond in explaining how and why these dynamic models are made and what makes them work. She happened to be starting a new project on modeling individual sleep cycles after our course ended, and reached out to see if any students would like to join – which became the opportunity of a lifetime for me!

What conference(s) did you present at and how did you find out about them?
National Collegiate Research Conference – I found out by doing a Google search for upcoming undergraduate research conferences because I hadn’t gotten the chance to present my research yet and was itching to do so!

What was it like presenting at a conference? Anything that you didn’t expect?
I really enjoyed it 🙂 I didn’t realize how awesome it would be to talk to other people about my research and get them just as excited as I am about the project. Since this was an undergraduate research conference, instead of focused on a specific subject area, I was also just blown away by the breadth of research projects that students around the world are working on. It was incredible to meet and learn from my peers in such an intellectually stimulating environment at Harvard University.

Any tips or advice you have for students similar to you that are interested in presenting at a conference one day?
I would definitely recommend starting off with an undergraduate conference – a great option being the OUR’s Annual Research Expo in the Spring – because it’s honestly a lot less nerve-wracking for your first-time presentation to be to mostly undergraduate students who can relate to your current experience. That being said, presenting your work is really just a valuable experience that lets you discover more about your own project, and allows you to connect with other researchers like yourself, who are all working towards this common goal of bringing new information into the world.

If you had unlimited time, money, resources, support, etc. what is something you would research?
I’ve always been curious about the presence of so many squirrels on every college campus I’ve seen – so I’d want to find out if there is a significant correlation and if so, why? Who knows, maybe squirrels are all insanely smart and they just come to listen in on our classes and stuff?

What is your most useless talent?
I can make any animal sound … a little too spot-on

Please provide a brief summary of your research.
For my project I performed on various street corners around the country, from Chicago to San Francisco, Seattle to Juneau, Alaska, to research how music and performance reflects and changes the mood of a space, and how it has the power to draw passersby into an emotional headspace and create deep connections in an ever-estranged world.

What made you initially interested in researching your project in particular?
I like to sing with my guitar on the street and I felt there was a lot to unpack about the experiences I had doing that.

What made you interested in pursuing (interdisciplinary) research more broadly?
I wanted to focus my attention on something meaningful to me and try to parse our what made it meaningful and useful for the world.

Describe your experiences with research thus far. Was it tricky? What skills do you think you’ve gained?
Although I had a lot of fun doing my research, it was oftentimes also scary to get in front of a crowd of un expecting passersby to sing a song. It put me on the journey of learning how to let go of my filter of whether something is socially acceptable and just allowing whatever happens to transpire. Usually it heeds exciting results.

Any tips or advice you have for students similar to you that are interested in pursuing undergraduate research?
What makes you come alive? Follow that! Go for it!

If you had unlimited time, money, resources, support, etc. what is something you would research?
Why humans are never satisfied

What is your go-to phrase to yell during the finals “Primal Scream”?
Aaaaaaaaaaaaaah (with a yodel)

Favorite bathroom on campus?
Parkes Hall secret bathroom on the first floor

What’s the most interesting thing you’ve learned/read about/listened to this week?
In the scope of eternity, everything is just as it should be, and that since time isn’t real, everything is perfect and all is well.

What is your most useless talent?
I can sing opera while walking on my hands (but I think it’s pretty useful).

Please briefly summarize your research.
I’m really interested in community archives and participatory storytelling/archival work that takes place in queer communities! Last summer, I worked with Professor Rodriguez at the Puerto Rican Cultural Center in Humboldt Park, Chicago, where a community archive project is underway to collect materials from multiple eras of political activism, resistance, and community formation in the Puerto Rican neighborhood known as Paseo Boricua. This summer, I’m working on creating an oral history and multimedia archive of the experiences of queer Asian Americans in the Boston area, where I am originally from. I will be interviewing queer Asian people from different walks of life, focusing specifically on feelings of isolation, community, and political/social involvement. I am also hoping to collect some materials and media that will serve as an archive of queer objects. The aim of my research is to promote the sharing of queer wisdom and sites of belonging.

What made you interested in pursuing (interdisciplinary) research more broadly?
I have always found it hard to restrict my interests into one category! And I think it’s cool that we’re becoming more used to seeing people combine different sources of knowledge and deconstructing what is a “hard science” or “humanity” or whatever. I’ve been inspired by a lot of knowledge-synthesizing fields like queer ecology or Black geography, which are reshaping how we think about the laws that govern our bodies and relations.

How has it been working with faculty to transition from an assistant position to a more independent role?
My faculty advisor was really determined to help me succeed at my own project and so my transition from assistant to independent role was very smooth. I was able to use a lot of skills and foundational knowledge that I gained from working for the PRCC archive to think about what roles a community archive might play in a queer and Asian space. Working closely with Prof. Rodriguez has helped me navigate building my own project without feeling overwhelmed.

What’s been your favorite part about being in a cohort with other scholars?
I love the community that we have and I love how passionate and empathetic everyone in my cohort is. It makes me feel much more confident in myself and reassures me that my research is valuable!

Do you have any tips or advice for first years similar to you who are interested (but maybe hesitant) to apply for a 15 month long program?
There is flexibility! A lot of stuff can happen/change in 15 months and that’s okay! You can still do the program. And you don’t need to confine yourself to the same research that your professor/mentor is doing! Also, finding a place to stay over the summer and taking care of yourself can be intimidating, but Chicago is an amazing place to be and there are a lot of fully furnished apartments you can sublet around campus!

Favorite bathroom on campus?
Willard – double shower curtains!

What is your most useless talent?
Keeping a long Duolingo streak

Please provide a brief summary of your research.
Past research in syntax has shown that a phenomenon called “grammatical illusion” exists in English. “Grammatical illusion” happens when native speakers of a language erroneously accept ungrammatical sentences. For example, in “The key to the boxes are on the table” (Bock & Miller, 1991), the plural noun, boxes, makes readers erroneously accept this sentence. More specifially, researchers have found grammatical illusions in English “locative constructions,” which refer to sentences like “Mary put chocolates in a container” or “I poured water into the cup” (Kim & Yoshida, 2016). So far, there has been no related research in Mandarin Chinese. In my research, I aim to answer the following questions though studying Chinese locative constructions: Do grammatical illusions exist in Mandarin, or is the phenomenon only observed in English? If it does, in which environments are such illusions most prevalent?

What made you initially interested in researching your project in particular?
Before Winter 2022, I had never thought that I would pursue research in syntax. Although I was already a Linguistics major interested in human language at the time, the connection between language and social factors (sociolinguistics) excited me the most. In Winter 2022, I took Prof. Masaya Yoshida’s class on syntax. Hoping to understand the relationship between syntax and sociolinguistics, I went to Masaya’s office hours. Little did I know, our discussions opened a new world for me: As a bilingual speaker, how does my Chinese syntax affect my English? How can Chinese and English syntax be similar in unexpected ways? These questions motivated my research questions for this project and drives me to fill the gap in the field of Chinese syntax research.

What made you interested in pursuing (interdisciplinary) research more broadly?
Research has always been a way to fulfill my curiosity, intellectual or not. It also enables me to explore different facets of my identity in a systematic way. For example, I enjoy watching New Wave films, and I’m also interested in diverse Chinese dialects. Last year, I was able to combine these two interests of mine in my research project “The Use of Languages in Taiwan New Cinema.” I was able to watch as many Taiwanese films as I wanted and learn more about how history affected language manifested in the films. Research allows me to dive deeply into my passions, and that’s why research has also become one of my passions.

Describe your experiences with research thus far. Was it tricky? What skills do you think you’ve gained?
Research is definitely not a linear process. The most important skill I’ve gained through research is the ability to adapt to new challenges that might come up. For example, this summer, I found out that there was barely any literature related to Chinese locative verbs, so I went ahead and constructed thousands of sentences on my own. In the data collection process, because there are less Mandarin native speakers in the U.S., recruiting participants was very tricky. I learned that patience is key, and that it’s always important to trust the process.

Any tips or advice you have for students similar to you that are interested in pursuing undergraduate research?
Talk to your professors and go to office hours! You never know if you’ll find out about a topic that interests you.

What is your most useless talent?
I can taste how fresh a cooked shrimp is (how long it has died)

What language did you study and why?
American Sign Language (ASL) – I chose to specifically study ASL because proficiency in this language is essential to my ultimate goal of becoming a hearing healthcare professional qualified to visit underserved countries to serve Deaf refugees and individuals with hearing loss around the world. Not to mention — ASL is a really cool and unique language!

What program did you attend and why did you choose it?
I had the opportunity to study ASL in an 8-week intensive course at the University of Chicago’s Summer Language Institute, providing me with a year’s worth of ASL instruction. I specifically chose it as my language program primarily because it is only one of two programs I have found that satisfy the requirements of the ULG grant for American Sign Language, as agreed upon by an advisor: the 220 hours of instruction, in which I studied ASL for five hours a day, five days a week for two months, proved to be the longest and most immersive, affordable course I could find available. Also, one of my favorite aspects was that the course was taught entirely by an individual who is Deaf, making the experience more authentic and rewarding.

Describe your experience doing summer language study. Was it tricky? How do you think your language skills improved?
It definitely wasn’t as easy as I thought it would be! It required constant review and repetition, but this ultimately helped improve my language proficiency. Also, since communication in ASL is based on visual signs mainly done through hands, facial expression, and body language, I had made this my reality even outside of class. Sometimes, when I speak with my family — even today, I still sign what I say to make sure I don’t forget my vocabulary. I ultimately realized that language is all about practice, if you don’t retain it through consistency and repetition, you will lose it just as easily as you learned it.

Did intensive summer language study change or solidify any of your future goals? If so, how?
It definitely solidified my future career goal of becoming a hearing healthcare professional qualified to serve individuals who may utilize ASL. Before my program, I was inspired by ASL, and now, I’ve immersed myself in it! I’ve learned more about deaf culture, language acquisition and experienced being part of an amazing community that I don’t want to let go of. When school gets overwhelmingly difficult, I think of my experience learning ASL over the summer and it motivates me to work harder towards the career goals I yearn to achieve in the future.

Do you have any tips or advice for students similar to you that are interested in pursing intensive language study?
Just go for it!! Even if you think it’ll be difficult because the language you want to study is not very well-known or there aren’t many programs for it, don’t let that stop you from trying. I hope my journey of being the first recipient to successfully be funded the ULG to study ASL can be of motivation and proof that is IS in fact possible.

What is your go-to phrase to yell during the finals “Primal Scream”?
I haven’t done it yet, but I plan on doing so this quarter though because it’s been my worse one yet haha!

Favorite bathroom on campus?
SHEPARD Hall!

Please provide a brief summary of what you plan to research over the summer, where you plan to go, and why you chose those locations. 
I plan on researching the factors that contribute to the prevalence of trauma diagnoses in Argentina, Northern Ireland, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Rwanda, and South Korea. I chose these locations primarily because they are post-conflict regions, so they have a large population of traumatized individuals and spaces for trauma care. I also selected these countries because they offer valuable insight into the diversity of trauma narratives and experiences around the world.

What made you interested in pursuing interdisciplinary research?
I became interested in pursuing interdisciplinary research because I personally found that my passions rarely fit into one specific discipline. At Northwestern, I have really enjoyed taking a wide variety of courses from multiple departments every quarter, and as a pre-med student, I have learned that effective and compassionate healthcare encompasses knowledge and skills from a diverse range of disciplines. So, I am excited to integrate social science research into my academic career!

Describe your experiences with research thus far in your career.
I currently work as an undergraduate research assistant in an oncology lab at Feinberg. I have learned many practical scientific skills from working in this lab, but I also had a passion to learn more about mental health topics via ethnographic methods. I conducted mini research projects in a few of my global health courses by studying transgenerational differences in experiences of depression among 1st generation and 2nd generation Korean immigrants. However, this is the first time that I am pursuing a qualitative research project of this size.

What made you initially interested in researching your topic in particular?
I became interested in researching trauma in particular because I believe that the world we live in today is deeply traumatic; I want to learn more about the experience of trauma and trauma care as it is a globally meaningful topic. I also became intrigued by the complexity of trauma as a psychological, social, and clinical phenomenon when I took a course on trauma last quarter.

Any tips or advice you have for students interested in pursuing undergraduate research?
I think that the biggest piece of advice that I have in pursuing undergraduate research is to trust your passions! There is a really great network of support at Northwestern from faculty and the Undergraduate Office of Research to help you reach your goals.

Which aspect of your trip are you most excited about?
One of the most enjoyable parts of traveling is the relationships and connections that I get to make with different people, so I am the most excited about all of the people that I am going to meet and learn from in the 5 countries that I will visit. I am also excited about all the different types of food that I will get to experience!

Do you collect anything?
I love to collect postcards from the places that I visit around the world. Sometimes I will put them up on my wall so that every time I look at them, I can remember the experiences that I had in my travels, and other times, I will use them to write cards to friends and family.

What is your favorite dessert?
My favorite dessert at the moment is a chocolate molten lava cake!

What language did you study and why?
Having built a strong foundation in my Spanish skills throughout high school, which sparked my desire to become fluent and eventually work in Spain, I knew that studying abroad in a Spanish-speaking country in college would be the best way accelerate my language learning. I have always sought out ways to gain a deeper meaning of global connections through Spanish language, and studying Spanish as part of Northwestern’s Spanish Language and Culture Summer 2022 Program in Barcelona was the ideal way for me to improve my Spanish while making memories that will last well beyond my college years.

What program did you attend and why did you choose it?
I attended NU’s Spanish Language and Culture Summer Program in Barcelona. This specific program caught my attention due to the specialized curriculum Northwestern and the Universitat Pompeu Fabra have constructed for Northwestern students. The program also made the most sense given my future aspiration to work in Spain after graduation. Not only did studying in Barcelona allow me to absorb Spanish culture and traditions, but it also enabled me to refine my Spanish accent and jargon specific to Spain and its various regions.

Describe your experience doing summer language study. Was it tricky? How do you think your language skills improved?
My summer language study experience was incredible. The ULG made it possible for me to take advantage of everything my program had to offer. Of course, language learning in another country inevitably leads to challenges in adjusting to a foreign way of life. That said, many of my favorite memories were the result of being put in new contexts and learning to embrace cultural and linguistic differences. While regularly speaking the target language with classmates, professors, and locals can be intimidating, I found that my language confidence improved immensely the more I leaned into the language and spoke it as often as I could. As a result of my experience, I can confidently say I am a better Spanish speaker and a more thoughtful global citizen.

Did intensive summer language study change or solidify any of your future goals? If so, how?
My summer experience certainly solidified my love of Spanish language and culture, improved my skills, and assured me that my professional path should take me to Spain. Upon returning to campus from my summer abroad, I have continued my Spanish studies in classes and am seeking out work experiences in Spain. In fact, I just applied to a Madrid-based internship for the upcoming summer — a position that I would not have felt qualified to apply for if I had not participated in the Barcelona program. Pursuing the language study experience has prepared me to work, live, and make an impact in a Spanish-speaking country.

Do you have any tips or advice for students similar to you that are interested in pursing intensive language study?
My biggest piece of advice for future students would be to find ways to authentically practice your language of study. There is no replacement for intensive language practice with native speakers, so take advantage of every opportunity in order to refine you skills. One of my favorite memories from my experience over the summer was making connections with local store owners. I would go to the market and bakery each morning and have great conversations with the locals who began to recognize me as a regular and would always speak Spanish with me. It was such an amazing way to authentically practice my language skills while meeting people I never would have met if it weren’t for the ULG and this experience.

What language did you study and why?
I studied Swahili because I was interested in working in East Africa as a doctor one day. I firmly believe that learning the local language is the most important step one can take to provide ethical care when participating in international public health.

What program did you attend and why did you choose it?
I attended Howard University’s Swahili program because they have strong ties to the exchange university (Daystar University in Nairobi) and because the program values cultural exchange and immersion. I also had the chance to attend Pwani University on the coast of the Indian ocean which was incredible!

Describe your experience doing summer language study. Was it tricky? How do you think your language skills improved?
It was really difficult to start out because I was a complete beginner. All of the other students were significantly more advanced than me and I was so nervous. The learning curve was step but being surrounded by more advanced students actually helped me learn quickly! My Swahili went from complete beginner to high intermediate in only 6 weeks and I wish I could have spent more time learning in the immersive setting. I was able to haggle prices, joke with my Kenyan friends, and even give a 10 minute presentation by the end of my course.

Did intensive summer language study change or solidify any of your future goals? If so, how?
Studying in Kenya helped me realize that I am actually more interested in working within the US to help recent East African immigrants, rather than moving abroad myself. There is a significant lack of health professionals who can speak this language, despite the fact that 150 million people in East Africa speak it. Hearing how many of my Kenyan friends at my exchange university want to move to the US made me realize how necessary it is for people in the US to learn Swahili, especially in the medical field. Working within immigration in the US is a new goal that emerged from my time and experience in Kenya.

Do you have any tips or advice for students similar to you that are interested in pursing intensive language study?
Do not give up! It may seem overwhelming at first but it is an incredible opportunity. Learning intensively is so rewarding because you can see your growth, it happens so quickly!

What’s the most interesting thing you’ve learned/read about/listened to this week?
Harry Potter in french! I am living in Paris at the moment and reading Harry Potter in french, and the word for magic wand is “baguette magique” (not even kidding).

What is your most useless talent?
The slide whistle

Please provide a brief summary of your research.
How can navigating depression, though personally nuanced, be reframed through a whimsical dramedy series to make viewers feel less isolated and contribute to the de-stigmatization of mental health on screen? Over the summer, I investigated the ways in which depression, anxiety, and grief interact with our daily lives and relationships, and how these experiences can be depicted on TV in a way that promotes a sense of community and healing. The purpose of my research was to aid the development of my own TV series, Equanimitea: a dramedy in which a pair of siblings are tasked with unpacking the mess and mystery of their mother’s disappearance. While running their mother’s tea shop, they discover a discrete syrup she created to help patrons become temporarily invisible. Over the course of my grant period, I explored literature on emotional connection and mental health, analyzed the story telling techniques of various TV comedies, and spoke with mental health professionals who advised the development of my story and characters. While utilizing these resources to write the pilot episode of my series, I began to unravel my own thoughts on what it means to make yourself invisible/seen and what I would like my work to contribute to the ever evolving conversation of mental health on screen.

What made you initially interested in researching your project in particular?
During the school year I began developing my TV series as part of the inaugural cohort of the Pritzker Pucker Studio Lab for the Promotion of Mental Health via Cinematic Arts. Wanting to create something meaningful and conscientious, I sought out additional time and opportunities to further the research and development of my series. I felt that beyond my own experiences with depression there was a lot more to learn about how those feelings might manifest in people of different backgrounds and personalities. Additionally, I was interested in how they live with in the dynamic of a dysfunctional family where addiction and feelings of grief and anxiety are also part of the mix. I also wondered how comedy might play a role in all of that. There were many layers of my project that needed further exploration.

What made you interested in pursuing (interdisciplinary) research more broadly?
Media, particularly film and television, has a huge impact on our perception and our understanding of the world we live in. When it comes to mental health, I feel there is an intrinsic responsibility that creators have to build something that is not only compelling, but also accurate and thoughtful. To do this, it is essential to dive into a realm in which you are not an expert and seek out the guidance of those who are. For me, that was finding the connections between psychology, mental health and screenwriting.

Describe your experiences with research thus far. Was it tricky? What skills do you think you’ve gained?
The trickiest part of my research was figuring out what questions to ask and setting goals that were realistic and attainable. This summer, I learned a lot about my creative process as a writer. Initially, I felt overwhelmed by the massive ideas and expectations I had set and I found myself having to slow down and pick apart my thoughts little by little. Though I was impatient at times, I learned that it is okay to share pieces of my work that are still in progress. Often times seeking the input of others (some who perhaps have nothing to do with your field) or just simply thinking out loud helped me dissolve some of my mental road blocks while writing.

Any tips or advice you have for students similar to you that are interested in pursuing undergraduate research?
Just go for it! You’d be surprised how far one thought or question can take you. Don’t worry if your research takes you somewhere different from what you initially proposed. It can often be more exciting when you end up learning or creating something unexpected.

Please provide a brief summary of your research.

Broadly, my research focuses on testing the antimicrobial properties of different types of materials, both porous and non-porous, and evaluating their potential for usage in real-world environments, such as healthcare facilities and public transportation. Heavy metals such as copper and silver are known to have inherent antimicrobial properties, which has led to recent advancements in copper-coated and metal nanoparticle-containing materials. How environmental factors such as humidity could enhance or diminish the antimicrobial properties of these novel materials is poorly understood. My work aims to establish the antimicrobial efficacy of copper-coated stainless steel and metal nanoparticle-containing textiles under different humidity conditions, as well as determine how bacteria might respond to exposure to these materials. The testing process is actually quite simple: I apply bacteria to the materials in question and allow them to sit on the materials in a specific humidity environment for a given length of time. I then recover the bacteria from the materials and quantify the amount of surviving bacteria relative to the initial amount of bacteria applied. So far, I’ve found that the antimicrobial efficacies of both copper-coated stainless steel and metal-containing textiles are not significantly affected by changes in humidity. In the future, I will investigate using artificial saliva as the bacteria-containing medium, which contain salts and small molecules known to affect the viability of viruses. Ultimately, these test results will help improve our understanding of when and how to use heavy metal-containing materials in healthcare, commercial, and residential facilities for the benefit of public health, and reveal considerations we should make before replacing traditional materials with antimicrobial ones to prevent transmission of COVID-19 and other pathogens.

What made you initially interested in researching your project in particular?

Public health has always been a special topic of interest for me, and learning about superbugs and antibiotic resistance throughout high school got me really interested in the different “microbiomes” we interact with on a daily basis, whether it be in the air we breathe or in the lids of our water bottles. I wanted to get hands-on experience working with different microbes and become involved in something that could address the spread of antibiotic resistance. This project was the perfect opportunity to do so. The materials I was working with were potential alternatives to using antibiotics on traditional surfaces, and Professor Hartmann’s lab had a lot of really interesting bacterial strains gathered from indoor microbial communities.

What made you interested in pursuing (interdisciplinary) research more broadly?

For me, interdisciplinary research felt like the natural first step in putting the skills I’ve learned in classes to good use. Because research is so investigative, it has allowed me to take all the knowledge I’d stored in the back of my brain and use it to ask questions and learn even more skills. Unlike the many jobs and internships I was looking into at the time, research was much more amorphous in that I had the freedom to really think about what I wanted to explore and what skills I wanted to gain from my experience.

Describe your experiences with research thus far. Was it tricky? What skills do you think you’ve gained?

It was definitely intimidating going into lab the first day, but with a bit of time and a very supportive lab group, I felt comfortable with my project and the protocols associated with it. With wet-lab work, it took me a lot of time to wrap my head around each step of a protocol and understand why I was doing it. Because this was my first time working on a wet-lab project, I think one of the most important skills I learned was to be comfortable asking questions when I wasn’t sure about something. Knowing what you are doing and why you are doing it makes research much more enjoyable, and also allows you to learn a variety of different technical skills you might not have otherwise found.

Any tips or advice you have for students similar to you that are interested in pursuing undergraduate research?

When finding a research opportunity, make sure you find a project that you are genuinely curious about, not just because it sounds cool or “cutting-edge”. Your work might not seem as awesome as someone else’s, but you will be much more invested and be able to talk about your research more easily if it’s something you are genuinely interested in. Also, when research starts feeling slow because you aren’t getting good results or a piece of equipment is down and you can’t run a protocol, remind yourself that everyone in research has experienced something similar. Stay optimistic and focused on your project’s goals and remember that negative results can be useful as well!

Do you have a podcast/documentary/piece of shareable media related to your research? Post the link(s) to share here!

A fun video I watched when Professor Hartmann first introduced me to this project! I don’t actually use electroplating to make the copper-coated surfaces for my experiments, but it’s a really cool concept nonetheless! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T3qhqTVssoo

If you had unlimited time, money, resources, support, etc. what is something you would research?

I’ve always wondered what the optimal ratio of milk to cereal is.

Favorite bathroom on campus?

Shepard Hall basement

What is your most useless talent?

I can brush my teeth with either hand

Please provide a brief summary of your research.
Last summer I received a SURG to work in the Gratton Lab on an independent project related to brain networks and Parkinson’s Disease (PD). I used structural and functional MRIs of PD participants and age-matched healthy participants. I ran analyses to find any areas of the brain in which a participant’s brain network organization differed from the group average. Then, I further analyzed this data by determining if these variant regions had any defining structural features, such as occurring in particularly thin areas of the cortex or in a specific anatomical location. Finally, I looked at these results to see if there were any differences between the healthy and PD subject groups.

What made you initially interested in researching your project in particular?
I had been a member of this lab for two quarters and worked on a related project on brain networks. But when I was given the chance to develop my own idea for the SURG, I wanted to tie it back to medicine/diseases somehow because I am a premedical student. That is how I got the idea to look at Parkinson’s Disease.

What made you interested in pursuing (interdisciplinary) research more broadly?
I am a neuroscience major, but my schedule did not allow me to start taking any courses in this field until junior year. I knew research would allow me to start learning about neuroscience earlier and likely give me a unique perspective that I would not get in class.

Describe your experiences with research thus far. Was it tricky? What skills do you think you’ve gained?
Research was scary to start without any experience or background knowledge, but it was very helpful to ask for related research papers and critically read those. I also learned a lot of coding skills with my SURG project.

Any tips or advice you have for students similar to you that are interested in pursuing undergraduate research?
Use the department websites to find labs in the field that you’re interested in and don’t be scared to reach out to professors/labs.

What’s the most interesting thing you’ve learned/read about/listened to this week?
I learned all about Hungarian history while visiting Budapest this week! (I am currently studying abroad in Copenhagen)

Please provide a brief summary of your research.
My archival research followed a survey of Indigenous Intellectuals in Chicago around the turn of the 20th century, more specifically Simon Pokagon (Pokagon Band Potawatomi) to William Jones (Meskwaki), a linguistic anthropologist. Particularly, I was interested in their entanglements as emblematic of two different generations of Indigenous Intellectuals. I ultimately wanted to ground them in the literal space of the Chicagoland area, so I used old maps in cross reference with their writings to place them in their specific Chicago eras. I read through their main written sources, and ended up focusing more on William Jones to produce a public-facing essay tracing different portrayals of Jones, ranging from his personal letters to a biography written by a friend. Jones is particularly significant because he was the first Indigenous person to receive an anthropology PhD, and worked as a curator in the Field Museum in the early 20th century.

What made you initially interested in researching your project in particular?
I was born and raised in Chicago, so the Field Museum is a place very near to my heart. So many memories were made in my childhood in its winding halls of taxidermy, fossils, and artifacts. However, growing up means learning more, and that ultimately meant learning more about the ways the Field Museum has participated in colonial projects like most American educational institutions. I started with this larger project to grapple more with the Field’s history, and slowly narrowed down to the individual stories within the Field that went against the grain of the time. Now, when I go to the Field, I can make connections across time to people who are part of the Museum’s history.

What made you interested in pursuing (interdisciplinary) research more broadly?
I’m a lover of storytelling, and archival historical research allows for that. I wanted to find people in the archive and become a platform for their stories, hopefully upsetting general assumptions about history. In the case of my research, the idea of an Indigenous man working in a nearly all-white space infamous for creating caricatures of Indigenous people goes against general assumptions of what was happening inside of the Museum. These stories subvert ideas about Indigenous people, such as their only place in Museums as being on display, and refocuses on truth. Even beyond my specific projects, I want to hear these stories, either from oral retellings or by piecing together findings in archives. I want to remember that the names in history at large were people first and foremost before anything else.

Describe your experiences with research thus far. Was it tricky? What skills do you think you’ve gained?
Before my SURG, I did an archival URAP that was more about coding data over large swaths of journals. This however was more my jam. Overall, I loved the experience. I took my time and fell down rabbit holes, and came out with a really cohesive story about someone who not many people know about. The biggest issue I faced during archival research was that one of my subjects, William Jones, had absolutely terrible handwriting. Transcription of cursive is definitely the best skill I’ve gained from last summer.

Any tips or advice you have for students similar to you that are interested in pursuing undergraduate research?
If you have an interest or a passion, talk about it! Ask the faculty you know to find Northwestern’s expert on it. Tell your friends about what you’re thinking (if they’re good friends, they’ll listen). Amazing things can happen when you have these conversations.

Do you have a podcast/documentary/piece of shareable media related to your research?
https://storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/4fb71bd68c524f13ab5a926cbf33f856. This essay is part of a larger project by Professor Kelly Wisecup of the English department.

If you had unlimited time, money, resources, support, etc. what is something you would research?
I’d want to try to learn as much as I can about Hercules, Washington’s enslaved chef who escaped, possibly expanding the project to cover other enslaved chefs of pivotal early American figures.

What is your go-to phrase to yell during the finals “Primal Scream”?
[unintelligible rage noises]

What’s the most interesting thing you’ve learned/read about/listened to this week?
Marscapone, hazelnut, and espresso make for ridiculous cookie add-ins.

What is your most useless talent?
When I unfocus my eyes, I look like a lizard.

Please provide a brief summary of your research.
My research project explored the rise of emigration from France in the late 20th and early 21st centuries through the creation of a two-part narrative podcast series. The journalistic research project combines over 15 hours of interviews with academic scholars and French citizens to paint a nuanced picture of the economic and educational reasons behind the recent rise in French emigration. Each of the two episodes ranges in length from 30 minutes to an hour and includes background sounds from France, interviews and personal narration. The podcast series is also the culmination of two months of reporting from and living in France.

What made you initially interested in researching your project in particular?
I initially became interested in creating this podcast series due to my family background. I come from a half-French, half-American family and have always been fascinated by both of these cultures. As a result, I wanted to find a way to investigate and document stories that speak to the merger of these two nationalities and the impact globalization had on our political, economical and educational systems. Researching migration became an outlet for me to explore these topics. This is because migration uniquely points to times when cultures mix and individuals are forced to confront their national identities. I then chose podcasting as a medium for research because I wanted to personalize the stories behind the statistics and present my research in an accessible, compelling manner. Secondly, I was interested in gaining more experience with bilingual reporting. I knew this research project would enable me to conduct numerous interviews in French and subsequently translate them, which was proven to be an invaluable experience for me in my development as a news reporter.

What made you interested in pursuing (interdisciplinary) research more broadly?
I have always been fascinated by research and its ability to allow us to understand the world. The grant has uniquely provided me, and many of my classmates, with an opportunity to explore a variety of non-STEM fields. I decided to pursue research in the fields of political science, journalism and economics because those are the fields that particularly pique my curiosity.

Describe your experiences with research thus far. Was it tricky? What skills do you think you’ve gained?
I have loved my research experience thus far. SURG has enabled me to spend two months reporting from France and meet fascinating people in person from a variety of unique places. For example, I spent a weekend in Sarrebourg, a commune in the North of France with a population of around 12,000 people. While there, I met and interviewed Julie Cumin, a farmer and psychology student who moved back to France for ecological reasons after emigrating. Another example is when I visited Station F, the largest startup campus in the world, for a portion of episode one about the startup world in France and how it has incentivized emigration among entrepreneurs. I met Sacha Mourain there, a co-founder and CEO of a Station F-based company. Every interviewee told me something interesting and surprising. These conversations and experiences then enabled me to gain practical skills. For one, it has allowed me to create my first long-form podcast series and tell a concrete, logical and succinct story from many different narratives. Secondly, I was able to learn from my faculty advisor Professor Nettles – a Medill professor and contributor to a variety of exceptional publications, such as New York Times Opinion, Chicago Reader, Chicago PBS station and NPR affiliate WBEZ. Professor Nettles consistently provided feedback and edits that have allowed me to understand the process of a real journalist, such as editing tips and feedback on the scripts. I also learned to report amidst cultural differences. Even though I come from a French family, I still had to learn how to adapt to variations in culture. A huge part of journalism is learning to relate to people who have a different upbringing than you, and this project has taught me how to better approach people in a welcoming way and evaluate the biases I have been taught growing up in the United States.

Any tips or advice you have for students similar to you that are interested in pursuing undergraduate research?
The first piece of advice I would give to students similar to me who are interested in pursuing undergraduate research is to go for it! SURG provides this amazing opportunity to pursue research in a field that interests you. I would then give two additional pieces of advice. For one, I would encourage them to reach out to the URG office and advisors. The URG advisors helped me immensely in drafting my proposal. The writing style of research proposals differs from journalism articles or traditional academic essays, and it can be helpful to learn how to write in this way through URG workshops and or advising. Secondly, I would encourage them to always keep digging. When I drafted the proposal, I had a list of people I said I would speak with; however, I ended up speaking with three times as many people than I planned to as I quickly realized the story is more intricate and nuanced that my proposal could ever outline. I would suggest that every time you conduct an interview ask “who else could I speak with?” Your branch of connections will keep growing if you do this and you will be exposed to stories you never anticipated hearing.

Favorite Breakfast food?
Definitely a good shakshouka with pita bread and tahini sauce. And, of course, a hot coffee on the side!

What do you find the most rewarding about working with undergrads?
The chance to share things with them that I love or find fascinating and then hearing their perspectives on those things. No matter how well I think I know a movie or piece of writing, students always see and read in their own distinct ways, and their unique perspectives regularly show me things I hadn’t seen or considered before. I guess that’s kind of a cliche, but it’s at the heart of why I love working with undergrads.

What do you feel helps students have a more productive meeting with you?
I’m always happy when a student comes in with a very specific agenda for a meeting, but I also think Northwestern students should give themselves more permission to be vulnerable and explore. One of the most important things I think I can do for Northwestern students, either in my role at the Office of Fellowships or in the classroom, is to convince them that it’s okay to not know something, especially if that something is their plan for the future. So one version of a productive meeting is to provide students a chance to ask me what I think about any random thing that’s on their mind, or just to provide a sympathetic ear as they think out loud.

What’s the one thing you wish students knew about research?
Here’s another cliche, but it’s a perennial challenge to convince students that research doesn’t only happen in labs. Whatever interests you is also a thing that researchers study. My whole field, film studies, grows out of love for and curiosity about the medium. What do you love? What are you curious about? That’s where research begins, regardless of your answer.

Please provide the tile and a brief summary of your research/conference presentation.
My research with Dr. Onnie Rogers focused on how Black and White parents justify their perceptions of race, and specifically how they rationalize colorblindness. Parents were asked: “How do you think your life would be different if you were Black/White?”, where Black parents answer about being White, and White parents answer about being Black. The first part was multiple choice. Parents selected that their life would be (1) Better, (2) the Same, or (3) Worse. The second part asked parents to explain their answer choice in a free response. We inductively coded and thematically analyzed open-ended responses where parents believed that their life would be the same. We found that there are multiple qualitatively distinct ways parents justify colorblindness, including foregrounding individual autonomy, erasure of race, diversion from race, and emphasizing inherent commonalities.

What made you initially interested in researching your project in particular?
I took a developmental psychology class with Dr. Rogers in the fall of my first year and absolutely loved both her and her topic of research.

What conference(s) did you present at and how did you find out about them?
I had the opportunity to present my findings at the Northwestern undergraduate research expo, and the Society for Personality and Social Psychology expo. Dr. Rogers encouraged me to apply to both and I was fortunate enough to be accepted. Both were spectacular learning experiences!

What was it like presenting at a conference? Anything that you didn’t expect?
Both of my presentations were virtual, so they were very different from what I would imagine an in person conference to be like. One thing that I did not expect was how difficult it can be to distill hours and hours of work into a five minute presentation. Without clear and understandable articulation of results, even high quality research becomes useless.

Any tips or advice you have for students similar to you that are interested in presenting at a conference one day?
Do not be afraid to try for opportunities even if you feel unqualified. Even if you don’t get them, you will learn a lot from the experience of preparing for it, which will make you better equipped for the next try.

What is your most useless talent?
I can make a clover with my tongue.

Please provide a brief summary of your research.
As a research assistant for Professor Coronado, I have been archiving the works of Elena Izcue, a Peruvian artist from the early 20th century. Next, I will be helping him go through a large collection of records of música serrana, music from the Andean region.

What made you initially interested in researching your project in particular?
I am interested in Latin American art, especially as it pertains to themes of gender and indigeneity.

What made you interested in pursuing (interdisciplinary) research more broadly?
I have always been interested in art and literature, but I feel that Latin American art is extremely under researched in the U.S., especially more recent 20th century art/literature by women.

Describe your experiences with research thus far. Was it tricky? What skills do you think you’ve gained?
It’s been very interesting so far, and I have definitely learned a lot about how to categorize and archive materials.

Any tips or advice you have for students similar to you that are interested in pursuing undergraduate research?
I started by asking a professor I liked if he needed any help and that’s what got me here, so there’s definitely more than one way to start! Also, there’s research to be done in every academic area imaginable.

If you had unlimited time, money, resources, support, etc. what is something you would research?
I would want to do a project on female textile artists, especially in the context of textile art being commonly denoted as a “craft” instead of art.

What meme lives rent free in your head?
Kim there’s people that are dying

Favorite breakfast food?
Cereal

What’s the most interesting thing you’ve learned/read about/listened to this week?
I went to the MCA and learned about Andrea Bowers. I really liked her exhibit, it was huge!

What is your most useless talent?
I’m really good at Mario Kart!

We’re happy to introduce Coline Ferrant and Molly Sheridan, a URAP mentor/mentee duo from 2018/2019! These two just published their URAP work as a working paper (read here). We caught up with Coline, who is now an Assistant Professor at the American University of Central Asia in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, and Molly, who is applying to graduate programs in audiology!

Coline, please provide a brief summary of your research.
Coline: Generally, my research interests include urban & rural sociology, food & eating, ethnography, and public writing. Specifically, within URAP, our project was about barriers to participation in the WIC (Women, Infants, and Children) program and involved fieldwork in two WIC Centers, in Pilsen and Gage Park.

Molly, what made you initially interested in researching your project in particular?
Molly: 3 things initially drew me to the project: it aligned with my interests, allowed me to learn something new, and allowed me gain research experience in the process. I am extremely interested in working with children and families in the future. I have been accepted into the Doctor of Audiology program at UW-Madison and intend to work in pediatrics, which will also involve a lot of working with families. Working on this research with Coline gave me the chance to be in Chicago, implementing a survey, and interacting with families. In that aspect, it supported my future interests and goals. I could also learn for the first time about WIC centers, the barriers to family participation, and how to ease these barriers. I loved that it was such meaningful work.

What have you found the most rewarding about working with one another?
Coline: As a mentee, Molly was conscientious and responsive to feedback. As a co-author, I appreciated the maturity and concision of her writing. All along, she completed tasks rigorously and on time, and I had absolute trust in her.

Molly: I gained a lot more from Coline than just the research knowledge. Coline was a great mentor – she had trust in my abilities and gave me real work instead of just busywork. She helped me feel competent and confident in my research and writing abilities. She was always accessible for me to ask questions and walked me through the steps before asking me to do it on my own. She became a resource for me throughout our research experience, and also afterward, as she was recently one of my graduate school recommenders. I am endlessly thankful that we were able to work on this project together, and for all of her help and advice afterward as well.

Molly, how do you feel your URAP (or overall research) experience prepared you for grad school?
Molly: Coline was a PhD student during our URAP experience, so I learned a lot about what it’s like to be a PhD student and what it takes to get there. It helped me decide between getting a PhD or a Masters, and prepared me for my future decision. On my graduate school application, there was a question specifically asking about my research experience. I am confident that participating in URAP contributed greatly to my application, as I had real research experience (and a publication) that came out of it.

In addition, my future graduate school experience will involve a capstone research project. I know some of my peers are worried about that aspect of the program, but I feel confident about it after this experience.

Coline, how was your experience shifting from URAP mentor to co-author?
Coline: All smooth and organic. Both Molly and me were interested in having the project deliver. This involved transforming our working relationship from a vertical one to a horizontal one, and it happened pretty naturally.

What was it like finalizing your publication together? Anything that you didn’t expect?
Coline: The publication process took time – as usual in research. Nothing unexpected for me!

Molly: I truly did not know anything about writing a publication, choosing a journal, formatting it for submission, and revising it later. Coline involved me in the process every step of the way and I learned so much. I would never have embarked on this journey without her – it seems very daunting until you’ve done it! I would say that I was most surprised by how long the process took (Covid probably didn’t help though).

Any tips or advice you have for students similar to you that are interested in pursuing undergraduate research? What is something you wish students knew about research?
Coline: Research really is an opportunity to investigate in depth a topic or an issue you find curious or interesting.

Molly: Don’t be afraid to apply or reach out to your TA, professor, etc. Coline was my TA and I was pretty much the only one that participated in discussion, so that’s how we met. If you’re interested in something, find out who is researching that topic on campus and reach out. Many students come into these positions without past research experience, so don’t worry if that’s you. I had a few past management positions and they did not relate to research at all, but they demonstrated my ability to work independently, which was crucial for our URAP/publication experience. No matter what field you’re going into or what degree you may be pursuing next, research will always look good on a resume and support your next move. You’ll also make close relationships with those who can support you in your next step with things like letters of recommendation.

Favorite breakfast food?
Coline: Tacos al pastor!

Molly: Waffle with chocolate chips and whipped cream!

Please provide a brief summary of your research.
I am currently assisting professor Richard Ashley on his “Wayfinding” project. The research focuses on the effects of linguistic, mathematical, and other symbolic processing on musical comprehension. We are utilizing the music21 toolkit to analyze musical scores in terms of form, harmonic progression, melodic structure, and their interaction with musical expectations. The music21 toolkit uses Python to help us program a musical prediction model – the codes that we are aiming to generate will predict and quantify disparities between musicians and everyday listeners’ musical experiences based on their understanding of music structure.

What made you initially interested in researching your project in particular?
I am a dual degree student in music cognition and psychology, so I have always been very interested in exploring the intersection between music and cognitive sciences. In classical western music theory, we talk at length about musical expectations and how chords progress in a way that either confirms or subverts our expectations. I thought it would be very valuable to approach this phenomenon from a more mathematic and quantitative perspective.

What made you interested in pursuing (interdisciplinary) research more broadly?
I feel that there are many overlaps between music, cognitive sciences, and psychology that have not been explored at length. I wish to provide a fresh perspective (as a classically trained instrumentalist/composer) and investigate the various ways music impacts our lives. This is a topic that I am deeply passionate about, and I feel that there is not a segment of this area of study that can be completely separated from one another.

Describe your experiences with research thus far. Was it tricky? What skills do you think you’ve gained?
It has been very exciting and fulfilling working with Dr. Ashley and my lab partners. The project felt a little intimidating when I first started, given that I had to read over forty chapters of Music21 Toolkit documentation and learn how to code in python from scratch in the span of two weeks. I also read a large volume of research on musical expectations and generative models that provide context for our research. Despite it’s initial difficulty, I have learned so much from this experience in both computer programming, problem-solving and critical thinking skills. I was able to code an entire sequence of chord progressions and generate an original sequence of codes that perform “scale-degree finding functions”. Though we are still at a stage of compiling a singular cohesive model, I am hopeful and excited to see the final product of our project!

Any tips or advice you have for students similar to you that are interested in pursuing undergraduate research?
Talk to different faculty members and browse through available URAP projects! Try to see how your studies or interests align with the existing projects – it’ll make the research experience a lot more meaningful to you. Also be open to new ideas and always be ready to learn!

If you had unlimited time, money, resources, support, etc. what is something you would research?
The entire collection of Hayao Miyazaki’s films in conjunction with Joe Hisaishi’s film scores

What meme lives rent free in your head?
the mike wazowski face meme

Favorite breakfast food?
chocolate chip pancake with blueberries

What’s the most interesting thing you’ve learned/read about/listened to this week?
natural coconut water can look pink

What is your most useless talent?
i can blow air donut-like bubbles under water

Please provide a brief summary of your research.
My work is part of a larger research project by Prof. Christos Dimoulas and PhD student Lukas Lazarek that studies how we can evaluate the usefulness of programming language features. In this specific project, we are interested in the features of type checking and blame reporting in gradually typed languages – languages such as Typed Racket that allow programmers to add type annotations to where they think is most useful, creating interactions between typed and untyped code. We evaluate usefulness based on how often a simulated programmer manages to determine the location of a type mismatch in a buggy program using the language-provided features across a suite of debugging scenarios.

Empirical research with this method so far indicates that, despite its theoretical superiority, Typed Racket is only marginally more useful than other academic and industrial gradually typed languages. However, the results are based on debugging scenarios that do not have the complex, so-called higher-order interactions between program components that theory says give an advantage to Typed Racket.

My research aims to create a new suite of debugging scenarios to properly evaluate Typed Racket. To do so, I am designing and implementing a generator for programs that takes in a specification describing the interactions between program components. By enumerating specifications with various degrees of higher-orderness, we will construct a new suite of debugging scenarios to evaluate Typed Racket.

What made you interested in pursuing (interdisciplinary) research more broadly?
I really enjoyed learning about programming languages in CS 321 and getting a taste of more advanced PL topics. I was also curious to see what research in computer science was like.

Describe your experiences with research thus far. Was it tricky? What skills do you think you’ve gained?
Research has been a really rewarding experience. The most difficult part for me was training because I was learning really in-depth about topics that I had never been exposed to before. There are also skills in research that it takes a while to develop, like reading papers (I am still working on this!). I’ve gained skills in managing my own projects/time and communicating both the successful results of research and when something is stuck. I enjoy the aspect of problem solving necessary for research.

Any tips or advice you have for students similar to you that are interested in pursuing undergraduate research?
Many labs/groups/professors have a track of undergraduate and graduate courses that will prepare you for research in their area. At least, this is what I heard from CS research workshops, and I’m sure it’s true more broadly, so don’t hesitate to ask professors how you can prepare academically to do research.

If you had unlimited time, money, resources, support, etc. what is something you would research?
How to slow down/stop/reverse climate change.

What meme lives rent free in your head?
It’s about drive it’s about power 

What made you initially interested in researching your project in particular?
For as long as I can remember, I’ve relaxed by watching videos of past major political events on YouTube and CSPAN. There’s so much out there. You can watch the each of the Walter Mondale and Jimmy Carter debates on YouTube, as well as coverage from Watergate and live reactions to the 1976 Presidential Elections. I found Rush Limbaugh in one of my CSPAN searches. His rise in politics was as fascinating as it was consequential. Professor Marshall and I were hooked.

Please provide a brief summary of your research.
By 1994, Republicans, and Rush Limbaugh in particular, had essentially cornered the radio media market nationally. And that resulted in real electoral consequences for Democrats, who were swept in Congress for the first time in nearly half a century in that year’s midterms. I spent the summer investigating ways Democrats looked to close that radio gap. Former politicians like Gary Hart, Mario Cuomo and L. Douglas Wilder started their own shows, each seeking to become “the Limbaugh of the Left,” but to do it with “thought talk” instead of bluster. For a myriad of reasons, it didn’t land.

What made you interested in pursuing (interdisciplinary) research more broadly?
It’s a skill I never gleaned through my classes at Northwestern, one that I think is necessary for someone that wants to go into journalism and write long-form investigative stories. I needed the training wheels.

Describe your experiences with research thus far. Was it tricky? What skills do you think you’ve gained?
There’s so much information out there. Too much, almost. I’ve learned how to refine searches, the key words to input for the most valuable links and documents.

Any tips or advice you have for students similar to you that are interested in pursuing undergraduate research?
Talk to people. When I started working with Professor Marshall this summer, I thought I’d spend it sifting through documents, reading papers and going through archives. I decided somewhere along the line to approach my research like a Journalist; by reaching out to potential sources and scheduling interviews. It’s how I ended up getting to talk to people like Gary Hart, Marjorie Margolies and Doug Wilder. Those interviews proved invaluable.

What is your most useless talent?
I know probably everything about every hockey player in the NHL. What teams they played for, where they were drafted, favorite foods, etc.

Please provide a brief summary of your research.
I worked on a couple of projects. In one of those, I tried to gauge the role of individual differences in compulsive use of social media platforms such as YouTube. Another was an examination of ephemeral sharing on Facebook and Instagram.

What made you initially interested in researching your project in particular?
When I was working with Dr. Justin Martin on one of his projects on the intrinsic need for orientation, I stumbled upon articles that looked at associations between individuals’ behaviors and their personality traits. Then I read more on such individual differences and started to think about how such differences along with use motivations might affect people’s social media use. On Quora and on Reddit, I had also seen people ask questions about how to fix their “social media addiction,” and that also got me quite interested in the topic that I chose.

What made you interested in pursuing (interdisciplinary) research more broadly?
During my sophomore year, I took a statistics course with Dr. Justin Martin. That course was my first glimpse into a scientific examination of questions in mass media, social media, and psychology. Then when I started reading on media psychology, I started coming up with my own questions. Some of those had already been answered by others, and I just had to look them up on an academic database such as Google Scholar. Some were not. Among those that were not, a few could be answered with the methods I learned in that statistics class. Outside of the class, I have worked as a research assistant for Prof. Justin Martin as well as Prof. George Anghelcev. Both are amazing scholars, and have always encouraged me to follow my curiosity in research. I am very grateful to Dr. Martin and Dr. Anghelcev, as well as Dr. Ilhem Allagui who helped me with one of my projects.

Describe your experiences with research thus far. Was it tricky? What skills do you think you’ve gained?
Before I received this grant, I had mostly only worked for professors (Dr. Justin Martin, Dr. Torsten Menge, and Dr. George Anghelcev) as a research assistant. When you work on projects supervised by your professors, it is methodical in some ways, and they assign you particular things to learn and tasks to complete. I have learnt a lot this way, and I am quite grateful for the experience. But at the same time, I also wanted to grow and do some independent work where I could be my own supervisor. SURG allowed me to do that. I worked on a project with two other student co-authors and after completion, we applied for presentation at the International Communication Association(ICA)’s 72nd conference. Our full paper got accepted and we will be presenting at ICA’s conference in May this year.
During this time, I think I have mostly learned to do independent work, and over the last three years, I have learned that as much as it is about thinking through things, research is mostly reading and writing and re-writing. Being orderly and industrious really helps. In terms of skills, I have learned to do many different types of quantitative analyses necessary for research work in the social sciences.

Any tips or advice you have for students similar to you that are interested in pursuing undergraduate research?
Everybody finds it overwhelming at the beginning. So if you are having those intimidating feelings, please understand that it’s completely natural. Also, this might not be exclusively a research-related advice, but if you struggle with procrastination at times, getting a study partner or a work partner might help. I had a friend with whom I had regular Zoom study sessions, in which both of us would be working on our own research projects. That immensely helped me with my productivity throughout the summer.

Do you have a podcast/documentary/piece of shareable media related to your research?
I am going to present a paper with a couple of other student co-authors at the ICA meeting this year. Here is a link to my paper. If you want to read but the full text is not available for you, just press the button “Request the full text from the author” and I’ll be happy to send it to you.

If you had unlimited time, money, resources, support, etc. what is something you would research?
Two things come to mind: 1. Reducing the spread of fake news, and 2. different forms of problematic use of social media.

Favorite breakfast food?
Milk and cereal.

What’s the most interesting thing you’ve learned/read about/listened to this week?
People become less aggressive if you remove their amygdala. Don’t try it; there are other consequences too.

Please briefly summarize your research.
Since this past summer, I have been working at the Child Language Lab run by Dr. Adriana Weisleder. The lab focuses on researching the language development of bilingual children and children with language impairments. As someone who is interested in both developmental psychology and languages, my experience in the lab has been very engaging! I have primarily worked on the Daylong Dual-Input LENA Recordings Annotations with PhD student, Anele Villanueva. The project consists in analyzing daylong audio recordings of the environments of infants from bilingual Latinx households. In order to annotate daylong audio recordings, I annotate 30-second clips from the longer recordings selected by random sampling. The annotation categories I am primarily focused on is the speech register, so who is the speaker directing their speech towards. Within that, I also annotate for the speaker type (adult or child) and the language (English, Spanish, or Mixed). The purpose of this project is to increase the knowledge of the language context of dual language learners (Spanish-English) from immigrant Latinx families. This is an area of study that has not been deeply researched and will provide information on how to best support bilingual children during their language development. I am also currently starting to plan my independent summer research project, which will consist in analyzing the messages about Hispanic culture that picture books communicate to Hispanic children in the Chicago area.

What made you interested in pursuing (interdisciplinary) research more broadly?
I did not expect to pursue research during my time at Northwestern, but it only makes sense that I have pursued research that has an interdisciplinary lens. The value of interdisciplinary research stems from the fact that it considers multiple viewpoints and so, I think it is becomes more applicable to the real-world outside of the lab environment. More specifically for me, I have a variety of interests and interdisciplinary research allows me to delve into many interests through one activity. My time at the lab has allowed me to interact with a variety of fields (Psychology, Communication Sciences Disorders, Linguistics, Spanish, Cultural Anthropology), which has been much more interesting for me and has deepened the quality of the research I have participated in.

How has it been working with faculty to transition from an assistant position to a more independent role?
I am currently in that transition from an assistant position to a more independent role so I cannot fully speak on the experience. Nevertheless, so far, it has been going well. The team at the Lab are very supportive and are helping me through the transition. I do not have research experience prior to my time at the Lab and I know I would not have pursued an independent research project if it were not for the workshops, faculty members, and research experience provided by Emerging Scholars Program. Learning the basics of research as a research assistant during the summer and Fall Quarter has given me the foundation to now confidently plan my own research project. In addition, my faculty member and the team at the Lab has been extremely helpful in supporting me both throughout transitioning and planning my research project.

What’s been your favorite part about being in a cohort with other scholars?
It is really nice to be in a cohort where we are all going through the same experiences for the first time together. We were all going through similar stages of starting research during the summer and we are now similar stages planning our research projects. While it is difficult to begin brainstorming an independent research project, more recently, my cohort has been supportive in helping me brainstorm project ideas.

Do you have any tips or advice for first years similar to you who are interested (but maybe hesitant) to apply for a 15 month long program?
My major advice is if the program just sounds interesting (even if you are hesitant about it), just apply. I was initially wary about applying to the Emerging Scholars Program because it seemed like a long commitment. While 15 months is a good amount of time, I have had such wonderful and engaging experience while doing research. It has been an excellent way to dip my toes into the water of research without diving in head first into pursuing research. I am currently not planning to do research as a career choice, but nonetheless, my research experience has been very interesting and definitely worthwhile. More specifically, I would suggest that if you are intrigued or excited by one of the listed faculty members or their projects, that is a definite sign that you should apply.

Favorite breakfast food?
Pan con palta (bread with avocado). I could eat it every day for the rest of my life. Is this the same things as avocado toast? Some might say  maybe so (they both ARE made up of bread… and avocado), but I would beg to differ. This Peruvian dish is delicious and heartwarming and existed way before trendy restaurants decided to offer it up as an $18 brunch option.

What is your most useless talent?
My useless talent is being able to whistle the entirety of Le Vie en Rose. I am sad that I haven’t yet found a proper use for my whistling but I have found it quite handy for when I am bored out of my mind or when there is a need to annoy someone.

Please briefly summarize your research.
I am conducting archival research with Dr. Joshua Chambers-Letson in the Performance Studies Department. Our work includes looking at the correspondence of queer of color artists in order to articulate how they incorporate themes of love and loss into their works and creative processes. Additionally, we conducted archival research on the avant-garde performance movement that took place in New York in the 1970s to learn more about how Asian and Asian-American artists such as Yoko Ono, Shigeko Kubota, and Nam June Paik, express their identities and experiences through music, technology, and performance. Our research culminated with a trip to New York, where we talked to artists about their present-day processes and studied in the archives.

What made you interested in pursuing (interdisciplinary) research more broadly?
I was interested in pursuing research specifically related to artists and their identities because as a recording artist, I strive to incorporate themes surrounding my own identity into my music. I thought it would be immensely beneficial for me to learn more about the legacy of artists who have approached their creative processes in a similar way throughout history.

How has it been working with faculty to transition from an assistant position to a more independent role?
My research professor has been incredibly helpful in equipping me with the skills and resources I need to pursue my own independent project. I’ve also been able to receive feedback and encouragement along the way as we’ve worked together, which has made the transition very manageable.

What’s been your favorite part about being in a cohort with other scholars?
My favorite part about being in a cohort with other scholars is hearing about everyone’s different projects and interests. Additionally, I personally feel like I couldn’t have been matched with a better professor or had a better experience, and it’s really fun to be in a cohort because everyone I’ve talked to feels that way about their mentorship experience as well.

Do you have any tips or advice for first years similar to you who are interested (but maybe hesitant) to apply for a 15 month long program?
I really like the fact that this program is 15 months because it relieves the pressure to complete a project within 8 weeks that you might encounter with a summer program. Additionally, 15 months gives me time to adjust to doing research while on the quarter system and develop a lasting connection with my mentor.

Favorite breakfast food?
Blueberry waffles!

What’s the most interesting thing you’ve learned/read about/listened to this week?
Alicia Keys’ new album “Keys!” She gave it an A-side and a B-side which I think is really cool.

What made you initially interested in researching your project in particular?
Shortly before joining the Life-Span Development Lab I took a class on Positive Psychology. In this class I was introduced to a large field of psychology largely unexplored. While there is endless research on what can go “wrong” with the mind, there is much less out there on the effects of human flourishing. One of the researchers that we learned about was Barbara Fredrickson, whose work on positivity resonance as the foundation of love truly stood out to me. When I started working on the EIF study at LDL, I saw the potential to explore this phenomenon of positivity resonance on a demographic that had been largely ignored, friendships in young adults.

Please provide a brief summary of your research.
This summer I worked as an administrator and experimenter for our Emotion in Friendships study, where we looked at the role of emotions in dyadic interactions. Pairs of friends participated in a conversation of areas of disagreement and one of areas of agreement, and were asked to fill out a series of questionnaires related to their emotions, well-being, and social experiences. I also spent the summer training as a technician for our Caregiver-Youth Interaction Study, which looks at how emotional interactions between youths experiencing symptoms of thought disorder and their parent/caregiver. This study aims to elucidate how these interactions may influence wellbeing for both participants.

What made you interested in pursuing (interdisciplinary) research more broadly?
In high school I participated in a Psychology summer program at Columbia where one of our assignments was to design a fake study. We were able to “test” this study on our classmates, and then presented our “findings” as a final project. In conceptualizing, designing, and conducting this study and then analyzing our findings I found a love for research. The idea of being able to test different areas of interest I had within the field of Psychology quantitatively and determine existing relationships in the real world seemed fascinating. A few years later when I was applying to colleges, I saw all the research opportunities Northwestern offers and knew I absolutely had to go for it.

Describe your experiences with research thus far. Was it tricky? What skills do you think you’ve gained?
The trickiest aspect of research I have experienced so far is the long-term nature of a research project. The life-span of a research study is long, and sometimes goals that you thought would wrap up quickly can end up taking longer than anticipated. Being involved in a research study from recruitment, through data cleaning and analysis truly makes you realize that research is much more than analyzing data. In my time at the Life-Span Development Lab, I have learning to set achievable goals and manage longer timelines, keeping motivated to follow through on a longterm project.

Any tips or advice you have for students similar to you that are interested in pursuing undergraduate research?
Before getting involved in research I at a loss on how to get involved. Research at such a notorious research institution seemed larger than life, and I was so nervous to reach out. Now that I have had a chance to work in research at Northwestern, I realize just how much support there is to get involved. The Office of Undergraduate Research has endless opportunities and many people working to help you get involved in research, all you have to do is reach out!

Favorite breakfast food?
Chocolate Chips Pancakes!

What’s the most interesting thing you’ve learned/read about/listened to this week?
In my Advanced Statistics and Experimental Design we are learning about the perils of underpowered and overpowered studies. I found this super interesting considering how relevant it is to research but also how little it is emphasized.

Please provide a brief summary of what you plan to research over the summer, where you plan to go, and why you chose those locations.
My research project is focused on investigating cultural shifts and youth education and engagement programs surrounding birth control methods, specifically within countries that have/had restrictive policies on the sales and usage of contraceptives. I plan on going to Argentina, Ireland, Romania, Singapore, and Japan. I chose these countries because of their past or present policies around birth control, but it was also important to me to ensure each one told a unique story. For example, Ireland’s restrictions were due to the Roman Catholic Church debates, so it provides a different narrative as the only country in the itinerary with a religious aspect. Japan legalized most forms of birth control in 1999 which is almost 40 years after Western countries, so it provides the perspective of one of the latest legalizations.

Describe your experiences with research thus far in your career.
I worked as a research assistant through the Undergraduate Research Assistant Program (URAP) my first year at Northwestern. My experience was great, and I learned a lot, but I took a break from research after that because I felt I had a lot to figure out about myself and my professional goals before returning to it. Now, as a third-year, I have a greater idea of my career goals and the research process, so I felt ready to apply for this grant.

What made you initially interested in researching your topic in particular?
I have been interested in reproductive health since my own high school health class experience. Coming from an urban community, sexual health was thought of and taught differently, and I saw so many areas for improvement at 17 years old. Once I came to Northwestern, I started taking classes related to reproductive and maternal health, and I really found my passion. I also started working with outside organizations, like Illinois Contraceptive Access Now (ICAN!) and Peer Health Exchange (PHE), which developed my technical skills and helped me start to think about what kind of career I could build in this field. Once I considered what to research, it felt natural to choose a project that allowed me to study sexual health education programs on a global scale considering my classes, work experience, and just passion!

Any tips or advice you have for students interested in pursuing undergraduate research?
My biggest piece of advice is GO FOR IT! It sounds simple, but I felt very hesitant early on to apply for such a large grant. I am extremely grateful to my family and friends that supported me from day one when I mentioned this is what I wanted to do. The field of research has been and continues to be exclusive in many ways, but I would encourage students from various backgrounds with unique perspectives to start getting into it. The Office of Undergraduate Research and faculty are here to support you every step of the way. I recall many late-night re-writes of portions of my proposal, texting friends that I was not sure I could do this, and even doubting myself, but I can say I am so glad I did not give up. So, if you are even thinking about getting into research, I hope you know that you are not alone, and you are beyond capable to do this, so start writing.

Do you collect anything?
I have always loved reading, so I keep my top almost 50 books in my room now, but I have way more back home. I read almost exclusively young adult fiction when it comes to reading for fun. I also have met many authors through book conventions around the country, so I have some signed copies that are precious to me!

What is your favorite dessert?
I love chocolate! Chocolate ice cream has been my favorite since I was a kid, and I will always choose a slice of chocolate cake!

What is your most unusual talent?
I am not sure if I would call it a talent yet, but my roommate and I recently purchased an air hockey table for our place. We play quite often, and I am not sure what I am preparing for, but I realized I am pretty good at air hockey!

What language did you study and why?
Spanish. Since I was a kid, I have loved football (soccer), and I remember the many fun times that my father would take me to the stadium to watch the Kenyan national team play. My love for this sport has only grown over the years; I play football for my university, play FIFA video games, and currently, I am focusing my journalism career on researching, studying, and reporting on football. The love for soccer and its integration into culture in Spain excites me so much. I am focused on learning these aspects of the sport and translating them in my home country, hoping that the sport will develop to the levels it has peaked in Spain. I hope to emulate the integration of football into a culture in Spain to the Kenyan football scene. As a journalist, my biggest barrier was communication. I needed to learn Spanish to engage with the local community more deeply. Last summer, I was privileged to get that opportunity from Northwestern Undergraduate Language Grant.

What program did you attend and why did you choose it?
AIL Madrid. Initially, I was looking forward to traveling to Spain for my language study, but unfortunately, due to COVID-19 restrictions, I had to take my program online. AIL provided me with a very engaging online study program from native speakers for tutors to weekly virtual tours around Madrid. The reviews that the program had received online too were positive, and when I enrolled, I was not disappointed.

Describe your experience doing summer language study. Was it tricky? How do you think your language skills improved?
It was completely different from what I expected, in a good way, though. When I got in class, I heard the tutor speaking in Spanish, and I was waiting for them to finish and translate what they had said in English. They informed us that learning this new language meant they would not use translations (unless necessary) because that would slow our learning process. This aspect got me being very attentive in class and doing extra work outside of class to ensure I understood better what was being taught, and at the end of it, I found that technique very helpful to my overall learning of the language because my skills improved immensely from writing to reading and speaking.

Did intensive summer language study change or solidify any of your future goals? If so, how?
Learning Spanish has made it easier for me to access more documents in my research on how culture and football are intertwined in Spain. This is major step forward as a journalist focused on learning more about football and culture in Spain.

Do you have any tips or advice for students similar to you that are interested in pursing intensive language study?
Have clear goals on why you want to study the particular language, that helps you to be more driven and focused during your study. Do enough research about the program where you want to take your language, that completely defines how successful your language study will be. Be open minded, have fun, try new things and enjoy especially if you get to travel because learning a new language is meant to be fun 🙂

If you had unlimited time, money, resources, support, etc. what is something you would research?
Whether we can become immortal.

Favorite breakfast food?
Crunchy bacon, avocado, runny eggs, toast and milk.

What is your most useless talent?
Moving my ears.