I am a graduate student in Dr. Sarah Brosnan’s CEBUS lab at Georgia State University where I primarily work with Tufted capuchin monkeys (Sapajus apella). My current research focus is divided across three distinct topics: 1) the relation between inequity/proximity and cooperation during a bar-pull task, 2) the relationship between feature masking and facial recognition, and 3) the similarities and differences between human and capuchin sequence order preferences. I am also more broadly interested in understanding the role of hormones as predictors for cooperative and competitive situations. Previously I’ve also worked alongside Dr. Erin Hecht for the Canine Brains Project where I focused on exploring the connections between social interactions (E.g., food sharing) and human-dog relationships.
I also have extensive experience in STEM-related community outreach with Hispanic organizations, local undergraduate populations, K-12, and book clubs through social media, classroom/conference presentations, event planning, and as a pen pal. My focus here is to highlight the different opportunities that academia offers to traditionally underrepresented groups but also involved speaking more broadly about my research with humans and other animals, the pros/cons of participating in research, and applying to graduate programs.
Additionally, as a Southern Regional Educational Board scholar, I have continuously attended their yearly Teaching and Mentoring conference where we discuss a wide range of topics from being a minority in a STEM field to how to help mentor underrepresented groups of undergraduates to help them become invested in academia. These meetings not only focus on developing our skills as current graduate students but also provide many opportunities to learn how to provide more inclusive classrooms should we choose to pursue roles as faculty members. The wide variety of speakers present at the Teaching and Mentoring conference have provided invaluable knowledge that I hope to bring to all future classrooms,
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