One of the best decisions I’ve made during my college career, thus far, is getting involved in research with one of my professors.  My major, social work, as well as basically all other majors (especially psychology) have many research opportunities for student. I highly recommend getting involved in research if it’s something that interests you.  There are many ways to go about this.  You can either contact a professor directly if their area of research interests you, or even apply for a research fellowship.  Loyola has a ton of research fellowships, most of which even provide you with a stipend.

I got involved in research by simply asking my social work professor if she had any opportunities available to work with her, as her fields of study (mentorship, adoption, and child welfare) were all of interest to me.

I work on research with my professor, other research assistants, other professors and a Chicago agency for youth.  We meet bi-weekly, but other than that I dedicate 6-8 hours to research per week.  We are currently working on the Transitions Initiative. This is an ongoing project that deals with children in Ethiopia aging out of foster care.  We analyze data and try to figure out what youth are most worried about/how we can help them to better age out of foster care and begin their own, independent life.

Conducting research with faculty is very beneficial for many reasons. Obviously, it is great to put on your resume and usually the faculty you work with will write a great letter of recommendation. I personally like how I’m learning so much more about youth in foster care, as I may want to work with that population post graduation.

Research is a great thing to get involved with at Loyola– It has definitely been a great experience, and I can’t wait to continue the project for the rest of the year!