Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) Student (Summer 2017)
“During the summer of 2017 I was given the wonderful opportunity to work with Dr. Catherine McDonald at the Center for Injury Research and Prevention (CIRP) as a Research Experiences for Undergraduates (REU) student. During that time, I worked on her web-based intervention for risky driving project to evaluate its feasibility for newly licensed teens using self-report questionnaires, simulated driving assessments, and crash and citation records.
My role in this project over my 10 weeks at CIRP was to help code the driving simulation and eye tracking data previously collected. Specifically, I worked with coding the eye glance duration and frequency of participants after a distraction event was prompted. In addition to my work with Dr. McDonald this summer, I also learned about other projects throughout CIRP and gained valuable knowledge about the research process.
Currently I am in my senior year at Arcadia University, pursuing a BA in Psychology. The REU program has solidified my decision to continue my education and obtain my PhD in Clinical Psychology. Through this program, I have gained a greater appreciation for research and all that goes into it. I value the time I spent at CIRP this summer and the knowledge I will carry into my future endeavors.”