After six terms with the Reproductive Rights and Reproductive Health Internship, I am incredibly sad for my internship to come to a close with my graduation in May. Researching and interning through Newcomb Institute has been one of the most formative experiences of my college career, and I am so grateful to have been connected to the people and opportunities that come with the RRRH internship.
During my last term, my work on our research project is also coming to a satisfying conclusion. For the past three years, I have been working with Dr. Katherine Johnson and Dr. Alyssa Lederer on a mixed and multiple methods study investigating the potential for a Gender and Sexuality Studies course to alter students’ knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors regarding sexual violence. I entered this position at the very beginning of the project and thus was afforded the opportunity to observe and participate in the research process from start to finish; I worked on everything from conducting literature reviews to conducting semi-structured interviews with students who took the course to analyze the interview data using a qualitative coding software to writing manuscripts on our findings for publication. In these last few months, we have finalized and submitted two manuscripts and continued working on several others for publication soon. This term, I have also presented our findings at Newcomb Institute’s annual Conceiving Equity lecture and via live interviews with former NOAF executive director Amy Irvin’s 102.3 WHIV ProFrequency radio show and with the Creative Community League. Moreover, I have been able to challenge myself by utilizing the lessons I’ve learned through my research assistant position in my honors thesis research on perinatal loss. I am looking forward to using the communication, speaking, listening, leadership, and research skills I have learned in this position in future endeavors. Thank you, Dr. Daniel, Dr. Lederer, Dr. Johnson, Newcomb Institute, and the RRRH program for all of the opportunities, memories, and growth