Abigail Gentry ’20 is an undergraduate student pursuing a degree in Materials Engineering with a minor in Women Studies. She recently attended the American Educational Research Association (AERA) conference in Toronto, Canada with her research advisor Dr. Kerrie Douglas. Abigail presented a research poster on Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs) learners’ and their likes and dislikes.
Her research looked at how learners have different expectations depending on the course subject. Abigail suggests, when attending a conference, you should do some pre-planning like knowing where your hotel is in relationship to the conference, planning your outfits if the conference is more than one day, and to always be overdressed rather than underdressed. She also suggests bringing business cards, a notebook, and a plan on what sessions you would like to attend. In addition, Abigail also suggests asking yourself what you want to get out of the conference and reflecting afterward on your experience.
While at this conference, Abigail attended a workshop for undergraduates pursuing upper-level degrees in education. She experienced a few paper sessions that impressed her. One of Abigail’s favorite sessions was on campus diversity and STEM education. This session focused on how campus culture affects how underrepresented students feel and grow during their education. She learned about the lack of inclusion of students with disabilities pursuing STEM educations and how Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) have different campus culture around supporting their students.
“Doing research and taking senior courses together was very stressful because I had to read many scientific articles to develop my thoughts about my research while maintaining my academic performance,” says Zhan.
Abigail appreciated these discussions since they focused on improving the learning experience for those who were not considered during the creation of higher education institutions.
“Attending these sessions have pushed me closer towards understanding how I want to help improve higher education for underrepresented minorities,” says Abigail.
When asked about her current plans after graduation Abigail said, “I want to pursue a PhD in Engineering Education. I am passionate about this program since it allows me to help give back to the engineering programs that I was a part of, and I can further help improve those programs. I want to be involved in the push to make engineering more friendly for underrepresented minorities.”
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