Kira is a senior majoring in Economics and French with a minor in Sociology. She is interested in economic development in francophone countries.
In March 2023, Kira shared with us what the Cohen Research Award has meant to her, and for her interest in the field:
I’m immensely grateful to have been given the opportunity to participate in the Cohen Fellowship. It has allowed me to experience every aspect of the research process.
I’ve benefited from attending Brown Bag meetings where I hear about new and developing research and procedures as well as be involved in a collaborative setting where I can listen to some of the best minds point out pitfalls and different perspectives. It helps form my way of thinking and approaching projects.
This fellowship allows me to not only hear about research, but to assist with it hands on. I’ve been in the PEEL lab to assist with several experiments and trials made to study subjects ranging from people’s generosity in the public vs the private eye to the promotability of jobs often assigned to specific genders. Here, I learned about the organizational and administrative side of research as well as bias and how to avoid it in the data collection process. I’ve also been able to learn about all the preparation that goes into creating a final project. I’ve been tasked with scanning several research papers for specific information where I not only was exposed to the behavioral economics research that’s out there, but I learned a skill that I’ve found in job descriptions and have been able to add to my resume. I’ve been given large sets of data to classify as a reader where I was able to see data collected directly from human subjects and see an example of how a study can be received by its subjects. I’ve also been asked to complete and give feedback on a survey where I was able to practice finding possible errors in data collection.
Overall, I’ve been able to learn about not only how research is conceived and conducted, but about an experience that I myself am considering. Being able to meet current graduate students, I not only observe, but ask about their experiences and how and why they got to where they are now. It’s a valuable, up close look at something most people don’t get to experience. I’ve already gained valuable experience in a fairly short amount of time that has helped me academically as well as professionally.