Hello everyone for the last time this summer! As a reminder of who I am — my name is Hanna Enos, and I’m a rising junior majoring in Psychology with minors in Neuroscience, Linguistics, and Applied Statistics. This summer, I worked under the guidance of my mentor Dr. Melissa Libertus to explore data from an ongoing longitudinal project in the Kids’ Thinking (KiT) lab examining the influence of the home learning environment on the acquisition of children’s early math skills. Specifically, my Brackenridge project explored parental money talk during play grocery shopping with toddlers and preschoolers. I can say for certain that my idea of what research looks like has changed over the summer, and I am altogether so thankful for this experience!
My work this summer for the Brackenridge Fellowship was the first time I conducted an independent research project, and this experience has broadened my understanding of what research looks like through my own experiences within my project and hearing about the experiences of my peers during weekly fellowship meetings. To be honest, I did not know what to expect at the start of the summer. Prior to this summer, I had previously assisted with a variety of projects, but as I mentioned before — I had never conducted my own. I came into the fellowship with an initial question I wanted to answer and a whole bunch of data to analyze and explore. As I started work on my project, I came to realize the flexibility, adaptability, and perseverance required to conduct research. However, the most valuable part of my experience this summer has been the confidence I’ve gained in my ability to conduct independent research.
Through gaining more exposure the literature and cultivating my research skills, I now feel more confident in my ability to conduct an independent research project. While working on my project, I have gained valuable experience in time management, organization, data exploration, statistical analysis, and writing. Additionally, through meetings with my advisors, discussions with my peers, and fellowship activities I have also gained valuable experience in communicating and presenting my research. When I look back on where I was at the beginning of the summer versus where I am now, I am blown away by how much I learned and grew as a researcher. Research is daunting, but I now believe that the best way to learn is by doing. Now as I near the end of the summer, I feel prepared to tackle the next steps of my project.
Moving forward, I plan to expand on the current work of my Brackenridge project through a Psychology Honors Thesis and eventual Bachelor of Philosophy project describing parental money talk during play grocery shopping. I plan to explore potential differences in parental money talk based on differences in socioeconomic status and child age.
Like I mentioned before, I am so thankful to the Honors College for giving me this experience to conduct my research. I also want to extend my thanks to my mentor Dr. Melissa Libertus and everyone in the KiT lab for their continued support and encouragement. Also thanks to my cat Crissy, who can be seen in my cover image, for providing me support and always sitting next to me while I’m working. Now as I end the summer, I look forward to working on the next steps for my project!