IRiSS names 2022 RA Interns of the Year

For the 2021–22 academic year, Stanford researchers have recognized four outstanding Interns of the Year from three participating community colleges. Stanford and IRiSS are grateful to everyone who contributed to last year's research.

Simon Burdick-Disney (Mission College, not pictured)

For sociological research on neighborhood desirability and consumption

Supervisor: Hesu Yoon (Sociology)

Faculty: Jackelyn Hwang

Simon learned how to use qualitative coding software and completed a significant amount of coding tasks. After some basic training, he participated in additional workshops where we met with Stanford researchers to learn more advanced features. As coding progressed, he offered insightful notes during our weekly meeting, which helped me modify and update the initial coding schemes. Overall, it has been a great pleasure to work with Simon over the past few months, and his assistance has been invaluable for advancing my dissertation work.

Anam Mughal (Ohlone College)

For research on survivors of sexual assault

Supervisor: Bethany Nichols (Sociology)

Faculty: Michelle Jackson

One of the ways that Anam has grown the most (and of which I am most proud) is that she has developed into a self-reflexive qualitative researcher. As part of this research, Anam entered new communities that were unfamiliar and different from those she grew up in. She authentically processed her own thoughts and perceptions, and how they influenced the research she was doing. She also developed a deep curiosity about the research participants in our study, enabling her to connect with research participants and collect their stories in an honorable and authentic way.

Sarah de Vegvar (Foothill College)

For research on social media & technology use, and child and adolescent well-being

Supervisor: Angela Yuson Lee (Communication)

Faculty: Jeff Hancock

Sarah is the definition of a self-starter. Over the last year, she went above and beyond to conceptualize and launch an independent research project that is at the cutting-edge of the intersection of information studies and media psychology. She conducted a systematic review on how health information and misinformation are disseminated on TikTok. Her hard work on this important topic has been recognized by poster acceptances at the 2022 Conference for the Society of Personality and Social Psychology and the 2021 Harvard University Women in Psychology Conference, an impressive feat.

Paige Walker (Foothill College)

For research on first-year college students

Supervisor: Monique Harrison (Education)

Faculty: Mitchell Stevens

Paige did her own independent coding project, which is now about to be turned into a paper! It's on student reactions to pass/fail during spring 2020. She was able to do that with minimal supervision, and then just recently formally presented her methods and findings to our whole lab (to much acclaim). She exemplifies what this program can be. She has just been accepted to NYU and UCLA and is making her final decision shortly. I'm so proud of her and her work!