Alumni: Undergraduate Research Fellows

B.A. in Psychology, Chinese, Asian Studies, and Leadership & Community Engagement

“One thing that is so helpful is the peer mentorship, being around peers, and communicating on the same project. That collaborative aspect helps you build upon yourself with different perspectives. It makes research better. This program reinforces respect to have for your peers and to collaborate with them.” 

Dual B.A. in Psychology and Neuroscience

“I would say the most valuable aspect of the fellows program has been the support from the team that has seen us grow through college and grow into our identities as researchers. My interest kind of diverged from the lab I was working in.  I wanted to do my own project and Winnie stepped up as a mentor helping me see that project to fruition. She didn't have to do that, and she did.  I appreciate that so much. Some valuable insights that I've taken away from the program is what it's like to be a researcher. And it helps me develop my passion for research, so much so that I'm considering doing a PhD or doing research in medical school.  I really do have a love for it. And I'm not ready to give that up just yet.”

B.A. in MCDB and Neuroscience

"The most invaluable part of the program was the honors thesis portion of the program. This gave us the opportunity to apply what we've been learning in the fellowship since sophomore year. Being able to directly apply what we had previously learned and put it into our own research with the help of our faculty mentors Joey, Winnie, and Leah. Being matched into a lab was also extremely helpful. We were given the opportunity to read about the other labs under the Institute, do the weekly seminars, and then being matched with what aligned with our interests, and what you want to do in the future. I think a lot of us were kind of like lost on what kind of research we wanted to do beforehand. But getting that introduction to what people are researching, what wellness research can look like, was very helpful.” 

Dual B.A. in Psychology and Sociology, Minors in French and Music, Certificate in Public Health

“From scared little baby sophomores to seniors, it was really cool to grow with Winnie and Joey. Building that bond was something we could always fall back on if something wasn't working. We had that bond with Winnie and Joey. In classes, it's really hard to get a full understanding of what research is without doing it.  Without actively engaging in this fellowship, I don't think I would have understood what was going on. Also, it helped build a community and make researchers less scary in general. Being able to engage with people of different research backgrounds has helped widen the breadth of what research can apply to --- which is everything.”

Dual B.A. in Psychology and Sociology, Certificate in Public Health

“I think a big thing that has been extremely valuable is the mentorship that was available through the program; there's such a big community of support. The Year 2 Project was extremely valuable through conceptualizing the project, doing the IRB, doing the REDCap, doing a project write up, presenting orally at a conference, and making a poster. You can learn a lot about time management, academic writing, reaching out and asking for help, and learning about different kinds of research methods.”