Document Type

Article

Domestic/International

Domestic

Location

Boston, MA

Publication Date

2026

Abstract

This summer, I had the privilege of participating as a research assistant in two different labs at Boston University’s Wheelock School of Education and Human Development. My first lab with Dr. Jennifer Grief Green focused on adding research on adaptive learning to existing teacher training models on student mental health. Through this, I conducted data analysis, literature reviews, and an IRB proposal. My second lab with Dr. Jenna Sung was focused on single-session interventions for caregivers whose children have school absenteeism because of emotional-based avoidance. I have been offered to continue this internship into the fall, and am currently assisting in building an AI model parents can use in real time to give them strategies and reassurance while assisting their children. I will also be directing a research project under Dr. Jenna Sung, with goals of presenting this winter.  Both of these labs gave me the opportunity to experience research in a way that went beyond what I had encountered in the classroom. I entered the summer with a general interest in psychology, mental health, and research, but I was still figuring out what I wanted my future career to look like and what role research might play in it. Working in two different research environments allowed me to explore those questions while developing practical skills that I could not have gained through coursework alone. More importantly, the experience helped me understand that research is not simply about producing a final paper, presentation, or study. It is a process that requires patience, collaboration, attention to detail, flexibility, and a willingness to learn from mistakes.

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The views expressed in this paper are solely those of the author.