Meet Our 2018 Spring Semester Research Assistants/Interns!

Meet our 2018 Spring Semester Research Assistants/Interns and their upcoming plans for the semester! We are so excited to have them!

My name is Kailyn Cottle and I’m a psychology major. I am from Wilmington, NC. I grew interest in becoming a Research Assistant/Intern because I wanted to gain experience in the psychology field in any way that I could, so when Dr. Gray approached me about being an assistant last year, I quickly agreed. The project that I am working on is titled "Societal Perceptions of Human Behavior". I am excited for my overall study so that people can have a better understanding and awareness of the issue of human trafficking and all its implications. Also, simply excited that I get to work with Dr. Gray and the other interns/assistants.

Hello! My name is Zoey Guignardi and I am a Psychology major from Cocoa Beach Florida. I was interested in becoming a research assistant because of our leader Dr. Gray, she made research exciting and something that was interesting and a cool thing to be a part of. This semester I am helping anybody that needs help and helping to carry out the data collection for the studies that are being run in the lab this semester. I am excited to be working on so many studies and getting the community involved! After graduation, I plan on continuing to better myself and working to create new opportunities doing what I love such as cooking and catering dinner parties.

Hello, my name is Gayla Olvera and I am currently a junior psychology major with a healthcare management minor. I am from Wilson, NC. I grew interest in being a Research Assistant because I had never worked with research and I wanted to learn more about it. Dr. Gray really peaked my interest through her passion, and now I love it! This semester I’m working closely with Juan Jimenez’s project comparing the help-seeking propensity of Caucasian Americans and Hispanics in both rural and urban locations in Eastern North Carolina regarding mental health. I’m also the Research Lab Manager so I am responsible for keeping our website up and running, appointments set up, and other administrative duties. I’m so excited to work with our team of Research Interns/Assistants and to do these projects and see the results! I’m also excited to be able to reach out in the community and make an impact. This semester will be great!

My name is Maddie Walton and I am a psychology major with an RLS minor from Goldsboro, NC. I was interested in being a research assistant because I wanted to gain research experience and help build my resume for grad school. I also like a challenge/ trying new things, so the research assistantship provided me with both of those. This semester, I am helping David's informed consent project as well as Andrew's forgiveness project. I am so excited to learn new things and ideas- broaden my abilities as an undergraduate student and prospective graduate student. I take great pride in assisting with research that has the potential to positively affect someone's life. I am also excited to work closely with Dr. Gray.

My name is Juan D. Jimenez and I’m a psychology major. My hometown is Pink Hill, N.C. My interest in a psychology research internship began after taking a few classes with Dr. Gray. My interest is predominantly in clinical psychology but since I am graduating soon, I wanted to get as much out of my education in psychology as I could. Clinical psychologists use the information that psychological researchers gather and so I believe that taking part in the research process will give me a better understanding and appreciation for the work that goes into making sure the clinicians have the information that they need. My current project is a study that will seek to compare the help-seeking propensity of Caucasian Americans and Hispanics in both rural and urban locations in Eastern North Carolina regarding mental health. I'm excited to gather data that may potentially shed a light on a problem that faces members of my community and others within the area, which is the lack of information regarding mental health and the motivation towards seeking mental health services. After graduating, I plan to take a small break and travel before finding a job as a substance abuse counselor. While working, I would be paying off my student loans and save up money for graduate school down the road.

My name is Krystal Helms and I am a psychology major. I’m from Pikeville, NC. I grew interest in being a Psychology Research Assistant after being in most of the psychology classes and the way in which Dr. Gray speaks of research. It showed me new things that I did not expect to be interested in. I was amazed with what came with psychology other than the normal factors like therapists and such. I am interested in studying depression, and I hope to go to grad school. This semester I working with David Shield’s project, and I’m also helping with Kailyn Cottle’s project. I will be doing data collection and entering data. I’m excited about learning how to input data and different ways to prepare myself for my own study.

My name is Andrew Taylor. I am a psychology major from Faison, North Carolina. I am interested in research, and I’ve always wanted to make a scientific contribution. I was offered the chance to be a research assistant to conduct my own personal research, and the research of others. It was a great way to gain experience and to see if I really wanted to have a career in psychology as a researcher. Based on some of the studies that I’ve worked on and the research that I’ve read, I discovered that I have an interest in moral transgressions and ethical issues in social contexts. I am passionate about understanding the ethical issues that permeate our society, and seeking out differences between social groups.

Feel free to reach out to our UMO Psychology Research Assistants or Interns about our program and their experiences! We are so excited for this semester.