Exploring Mental Health and Diversity

This summer I’m interning at the Culture, Diversity, and Health (CDH) Lab at the University of Washington. I have always been very passionate about health, discrimination and diversity so working with Dr. Cynthia Levine has been incredibly fulfilling. My favorite project I’ve gotten to work on this summer has been my own independent research. My research focuses on the mental health effects that the COVID-19 pandemic presumably heightened. I’m currently analyzing how the COVID-19 pandemic affected burnout in students, specifically the 2020–2021 freshman class, and further examining variations between first-generation and continuing-generation college students. This research is really important to me because the pandemic is a significant moment in recent history, and I believe it’s critical we learn as much as we can from this experience, especially as we ease back into life before the pandemic.

Besides working on my own research, I’m also assisting with two other exciting projects. The first is the longitudinal research study of Dr. Levine, which concerns marginalized groups’ sleep health in the university environment. The second project is the work of a Ph.D. student’s research on the international student perspective. These opportunities have given me the chance to experience firsthand what a life involving research could look like. I’ve learned that it is very tedious and lengthy work, but it fills me with so much joy to know that we are making very important contributions to further our knowledge on these topics.

I’m very grateful that the CDH Lab gave me an opportunity to guide me through my own independent research. It’s been incredibly helpful to have my own mentor through this process, especially as a rising senior who is going to be writing her own thesis very soon. I’ve gotten the chance to learn about my own research interests and what I should expect this future process to look like. Working at the CDH Lab with other research assistants has been really gleeful as we’ve gotten to support each other through this job and the future journey we’ll take in research. Overall, I’m feeling very prepared to go into my senior fall semester!