Story and photos by Logan Jackson
- Jane Ray – junior psychological sciences and interdisciplinary studies (women’s and gender studies) double major
- Mentor: Lisa Flores, professor of psychological sciences
As a freshman at Mizzou, Jane Ray got involved in the Undergraduate Research Scholars Program offered through the Department of Psychological Sciences. The program allows students to rotate through different psychology labs and engage in research, a weekly seminar and various workshops.
For Ray, the opportunity connected her with Lisa Flores, a professor of psychological sciences. Ray got heavily involved in Flores’ lab early on and even presented some research toward the end of her freshman year. Ray has continued to conduct research with Flores and is leading her own project this summer through the Cherng Summer Scholars program.
“Getting involved in Dr. Flores’ lab has been one of the best things that has happened to me at Mizzou,” said Ray, a junior psychological sciences and interdisciplinary studies (women’s and gender studies) double major. “Dr. Flores is so supportive of her students and does such a good job of guiding us through the research process. It’s been incredibly rewarding, and I absolutely love being part of her lab.”
A nine-week research or creative scholarship program for Mizzou students who are pursuing the Honors Certificate, the Cherng Summer Scholars program allows students to participate in individually designed projects under the mentorship of a Mizzou faculty member. The program is supported by a gift from Peggy and Andrew Cherng and the Panda Charitable Foundation.
“The Cherng Summer Scholars program has allowed me to see how broad research on the Mizzou campus really is,” Ray said. “It’s also really showcases how beneficial it is to have so much unique research across so many different fields. I’ve enjoyed having the opportunity to meet with the cohort and gain a wider view of what it means to do research.”
Ray’s project is tied to previous research that Flores conducted focused on broadening the participation of women and Latinx individuals in engineering. That project had Flores collecting data from numerous students at engineering colleges across the country. There were several phases of the data collection process, and communication lasted throughout the students’ collegiate careers and into their first year of employment. Flores published a conference paper in 2020 highlighting her findings.
Ray is building on that work.
“For the individuals who Dr. Flores and her team interviewed, I’m looking at whether their future family considerations in their last year of college were later changed or influenced by their work and life satisfaction after finding employment,” Ray said. “At the moment, my project is primarily focused on sorting through the data that Dr. Flores and others have collected.”
Ray said she is also running her own analysis based on the collected data. She will be writing a research manuscript this summer and is planning on presenting her work at the National Latinx Psychological Association Summit this fall. It’s a project that Ray is hoping to continue into the academic year as well.
“I really enjoy sharing my research and presenting it to others because it gives me a chance to explain what I’m studying in a palatable way,” Ray said. “It’s so important to make research more accessible, so I’ve been happy to share my work with others. I also like to learn from other presenters at these conferences and gain more insight into the field of psychology.”