ICPSR Announces its 8 Undergraduate Interns for Summer 2014
ICPSR announces the eight participants in this year's Summer Internship Program for undergraduates (REU Site: The Quantitative Social Science Research at the University of Michigan). More than 240 applicants sought to participate in this 10th year of this highly competitive program. The interns will be placed in the following topical archives at ICPSR: Child Care & Early Education Research Connections, National Addiction & HIV Data Archive Program (NAHDAP), Resource Center for Minority Data (RCMD), Substance Abuse and Mental Health Data Archive (SAMHDA) and the General Archive (Members Archive).
During their 10 weeks in Ann Arbor, from June 2 to August 8, the interns will:
- Gain experience with processing data and learn popular statistical software packages, including SAS, SPSS, STATA, and R
- Attend graduate-level courses in the ICPSR Summer Program
- Participate in the Lunch and Lecture series
- Complete a research project resulting in conference-ready posters
The Summer Internship Program's objective is to support ICPSR's strategic focus on inclusion and diversity by expanding to undergraduates valuable educational opportunities involving social science research data. As with prior internship cohorts, we will encourage the interns to pursue graduate studies or a career in the social or behavioral sciences. Perhaps in the future they will be data depositors, summer program instructors, Official Representatives, or even Council members.
The Internship Program is proud to number 48 alumni. Many currently attend graduate school, or have successfully completed their schooling and have started a career in the social or behavioral sciences.
The Internship Program is managed by Abayomi Israel (Intern Alumni class of 2005), with John Garcia of the RCMD and the Summer Program, and Lynette Hoelter of the Instructional Resources unit serving as Co-Principal Investigators and providing support and guidance as Research Program Mentors. Each intern also will be assigned an experienced data processor as his/her Process Mentor. In addition, the interns will have the opportunity receive support on their summer research projects and advice on graduate school from the ICPSR faculty and staff.
The following are the 2014 interns:
La'Shante Grigsby
Clark Atlanta University, GA
Archive: NAHDAP
Grigsby is a Sociology major, with a minor in Criminal Justice, graduating in 2014. She currently holds a 3.55 GPA and has been on the Dean's List 2010-present. She is a member of Alpha Kappa Mu Honor Society; previously she was secretary of the university's National Association of Blacks in Criminal Justice (NABCJ) student chapter. In summer 2012, she was a junior analyst in the Peace and Conflict Resolution semester program at American University in Washington, DC. Grigsby also has been active as a Youth Outreach Volunteer at AID Atlanta, where she provided HIV/AIDS education to peers and parents; as a volunteer at Camp High Five in Winder, Georgia, where she helped HIV-affected children; and as an intern at the DC Metropolitan Police Department Headquarters, where she processed reports of sexual crimes and assisted detectives. Although she has experience using a variety of software programs including SPSS, she is interested gaining additional training on statistical software. She has received several scholarships, including the Clark University Undergraduate Merit Scholarship, the American University Dean Scholarship, and the NABCJ Scholarship. She is interested in learning the research skills needed to help eliminate disparities within the African-American community that impede the potential growth of African Americans. Grigsby plans to attend graduate school and conduct additional research en route to a career in Sociology.
Mark Harris
Grambling State University, LA
Archive: Child Care & Early Education Research Connections
Harris is a double major in Sociology and Mathematics graduating in 2014. In 2013, he was a summer research fellow at Columbia University in the Department of Sociology, where he did participant observations in the lower Manhattan family court on juvenile delinquents. The prior summer, he was a research fellow at the University of Chicago's School of Social Service Administration, where he conducted research on education socialization among African-American males attending high school to identify factors that foster educational aspiration for college matriculation. In 2013 he gave the presentation "Juvenile Socialization and Courtroom Interactions: A Qualitative Analysis of Client Interactions and Outcome" at the Leadership Alliance National Symposium (LANS) and the Columbia University GSAS Symposium. The previous year he gave the presentation "College is For Me: Toward A Process-Oriented Study of the Educational Socialization of African American Adolescent Boys" at the same LANS and Columbia GSAS symposiums. Harris is a member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, the Intergenerational Mentorship Program, the Computer Science and Mathematics Club, and the Sociology Research club. In addition, he is an academic mentor for the Center for Mathematical Achievement in Science and Technology (CMAST). He has experience using Stata, SAS, and SPSS. Harris plans graduate studies toward a doctoral degree in Sociology or Mathematics. His research interests include understanding ways in which young African Americans develop educational aspirations and what factors are behind a decline in the number of African Americans studying STEM disciplines, particularly Mathematics.
Shannon Heitkamp
University of St. Thomas, St. Paul, MN (ICPSR Member Institution)
Archive: Members Archive
Heitkamp is a double major in Economics and English graduating in 2015. Her cumulative GPA is 3.72, and she has been on the Dean's List since 2011. This spring she was accepted for a Collaborative Inquiry Grant for her research project "Hidden Narratives in Writing Center Consultations: The Effects of Perceived Difference," which uses a mixed-method design to identify areas of perceived difference in writing center consultations. In summer of 2013, she engaged in a qualitative research project, "Writing Across Cultures: International Students' Literacy Narratives," as part of the Excel! Research Scholars Program at St. Thomas. Heitkamp has extensive experience as a writing and literacy consultant: She was a high school literacy tutor, a writing mentor, and a tutor mentor from 2011-2013, during which time she helped students to develop writing, reading, and study skills. Additionally, she has worked as a writing peer consultant and an academic development program mentor with English as a Second Language (ESL) students to help them with writing and language acquisition. She also is a member of Sigma Tau Delta English Honor Society and has received multiple merit-based scholarships. This summer, Heitkamp aims to expand her research knowledge of quantitative methodologies. She has experience using Stata, as well as Minitab and Qualtrics, and has taken courses in Econometrics, Statistics, Economics, and Sociology. Her research interests include the relationship of participation in extracurricular activities to enrollment in post-secondary education and whether participation in group sports or arts activities has a greater impact on educational enrollment. She plans to attend graduate school in Education Policy, Education Studies, or Statistics.
NaShawn Johnson
Columbia University, NY (ICPSR Member Institution)
Archive: Members Archive
Johnson is majoring in Urban Studies, with a concentration in Political Science, graduating in 2015. According to Johnson, she has a "keen interest in urban politics and economic development as it affects current public policies." Her coursework has included Mathematics, Economic, and Political Research classes. Outside the classroom, she has been involved in several community efforts. Since last summer, she has been a Youth Program Assistant with Community Impact at Columbia University, where she works with the Big SIBS program; she also has been a volunteer and coordinator with the program since 2011. In summer 2013, she was an intern with the Greater New Orleans Sports Foundation, where she handled database, website, scheduling, planning, and reporting functions related to volunteer activities. In 2012, Johnson interned with Raymond James Financial/Morgan Keegan, where she helped brokers with presentations. Additionally, she is the Alumni Relations Chair of the Black Student Consortium at Columbia, where she helps organize networking events and maintains communication with the university's Black alumni. She has experience using Stata, Social Explorer, and the Microsoft Office Suite of programs. Johnson plans to utilize statistical research in her future career; her interests involve quantitative studies that connect the social, political, and economic structures of urban spaces.
Adelin Levin
Grand Valley State University, Allendale, MI (ICPSR Member Institution)
Archive: NAHDAP
Levin is a double major in Economics and Mathematics, with a minor in Mathematical Statistics graduating in 2015. Her GPA is 3.95. During the current academic year, she was a Research Assistant in the Grand Valley State University Economics Department, where she did statistical analysis of category and quantitative survey data capturing actions taken by local businesses in response to the Affordable Care Act. Levin also is a tutor in the Economics Department. She has displayed an interest in research evident in three major projects: Her Honors senior thesis is on "The Impact of First-Person Consent Legislation in the United States on Deceased Organ Donation Rates"; her Economics Senior Project is on "A Comparison of OLS and Quantile Regression Methods in Hedonic House Price Modeling"; and her Econometrics term project was on "Estimating Seat Belt and Airbag Efficacy Using the Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS) Data." Her coursework has included Applied Mathematical Economics, Health Economics, Applied Intermediate Statistics, and several other classes that have prepared her for a scholarly research role. She has experience using SAS, Stata, and R. Levin is enrolled in the Frederik Meijer Honors College and is a member of the Beta Gamma Sigma International Honors Society and the Omicron Delta Epsilon National Leadership Honor Society. From 2008 to 2013, she provided Information Technology support and training services at CompuCraft Inc. and Apple, Inc., in Grand Rapids. After graduation, she plans to enter a doctoral program in Economics.
Allison Megale
Drew University, Madison, NJ (ICPSR Member Institution)
Archive: SAMHDA
Megale is a double major in Psychology and Spanish graduating in 2015. Her GPA is 3.96, and she has been on the Dean's List each semester since Fall 2011. Last fall, she was a Research Assistant in the Psychology Department, where she helped with a study on children's haptic hand movements by conducing trials with children and undergraduate, and coding haptic movements in the Noldus program. Her coursework has included a variety of classes in Psychology and Statistics. Also last fall, she designed and conducted a Psychology study on how self-disclosure and uncertainty play a role in first-time online interactions among college students, as part of an advanced research project course. For the project, Megale submitted an APA-formatted research paper and created a poster. Additionally, she has held several jobs during her undergraduate years, including work as a tutor for students in Psychology and Spanish, and as an administrative assistant for the Drew University Spanish Department and for the Caspersen Graduate School Dean's Office. Her list of achievements includes membership in National Honor Society and in the Psi Chi international honor society in Psychology; she also is a recipient of the Drew University Dean's Award and the Elsie Fisher Endowed Scholar Award. She is an advanced user of SPSS and has experience with the Microsoft Office Suite programs. Upon graduation, Megale plans to pursue graduate studies in Psychology research.
Bianca Monzon
University of Illinois at Chicago (ICPSR Member Institution)
Archive: RCMD
Monzon is majoring in Sociology, with a concentration in Racial and Ethnic Relations, and a minor in Psychology, graduating in December 2014. Her GPA is 3.7. She also attained an Associates of Arts degree with honors from Wilber Wright College in Chicago in 2012, and studied at Saint Xavier University, Chicago (SXU). Monzon has research interests in social stratification, sociology of politics and the Middle East, sociology of education, and gender/sexuality. Among her research experiences are submission of a research paper on race, rape, and rape legislation reform; and a research paper on media depictions of Latinos and their influence on race-relation policies. She also submitted a research proposal on the development of self-identification in multiracial individuals. Monzon is a member of the UIC Honors College and has been on the Dean's List at UIC, Wilber Wright, and SXU. In 2013, she was a Heartland Alliance Volunteer English Teacher, which included responsibilities of preparing lectures and class activities, motivating students, and evaluating their progress. Monzon also was active in the SXU Barrier Breakers Club, which organized discussions about societal issues and promoted diversity; she was president in fall 2010. Additionally, she was a member of the SXU Encore program, which fostered student leadership by partnering incoming freshmen with faculty. Monzon has experience handling qualitative interviews, field notes, audit studies, and questionnaires. She has used SPSS and the Microsoft Office Suite programs. After graduation, she plans to pursue graduate studies, with the goal of becoming a professor and researcher in the field of Sociology.
Breanne Peterson
University of Iowa, Iowa City (ICPSR Member Institution)
Archive: Members Archive
Peterson is majoring in Psychology with a certificate in Human Rights, graduating in 2015. She is a member of the Honors Program, was a Roy J. Carver Hawkeye Scholar, and was on the Dean's List and President's List. Several positions have provided her research experience. She is a Research Assistant in the Iowa ADHD and Development Lab in the Psychology Department, where she administers assessments of intelligence and achievement, and analyzed the assessment data using SPSS. In 2012-13, she was a Research Assistant at the Iowa Social Science Research Center and Public Policy Center, where she conducted in-person and telephone interviews; she also was a Research Assistant in the BAT Lab, where she tracked limb movements of sleeping mice and performed perfusions and brain extractions on infant mice and rats. Additionally, Peterson has helped students as a tutor and mentor. She is an Honors Peer Advisor mentoring students at the Blank Honors Center; is a tutor for disadvantaged students at the university's Center for Diversity and Enrichment; and was a student volunteer last winter helping special needs students to improve their speaking, reading, and writing at the Satya Special School in Pondicherry, India. She has experience using SPSS and working knowledge of the Python programming language. Peterson also has taken courses in Statistics, Psychology, Research Methods, and Sociology. After graduation, she plans to pursue a PhD in Public Policy and conduct research in Education.
The work of interns from prior years is linked from the Summer Internship Program web page.
May 13, 2014