Four Jackson State University students from the College of Education and the College of Human Development headed to the University of California (UCI), Irvine, on June 19 to participate in the Summer Education Research Internship (SERI) program. The research internships play an integral role in their educational development.
The students, who are currently in week four of their eight-week trek, have been paired with UCI’s faculty mentors who have been guiding their research project throughout the summer.
Participating in the SERI program at UCI’s School of Education is Kayla Ballard, a senior social science major who is currently working with UCI assistant professor Rachel Baker. Together, they will study the evolution of diversity inside the parameters of the UCI and the State of California’s institutions of higher learning.
Graduate student Sheila Malone is also working with Baker to determine changes to racial segregation in education over a 25-year time span in addition to the study of how and why majors impact students.
Leonard Ealy, elementary education major, and assistant professor Constance Iloh are researching the theory of college selection as it relates to single parenting. Before the start of the program, Ealy said, “When I chose Elementary Education as a major, I never thought that I’d have the opportunity to do something like travel to California to participate in a research program. For me, this summer research gives me the opportunity to broaden my horizon in the field of education.”
Under the guidance of UCI professor Gilbert Conchas, JSU senior Brittany Foreman is probing the impact of the “school to prison pipeline” in relation to students of color and students with disabilities.
The Summer Education Research Internship (SERI) program is designed to mentor undergraduate students in education research and the graduate application process. SERI has three goals: 1) foster student interns’ research interests and skills; 2) strengthen the undergraduate to graduate studies pipeline; and 3) build institutional capacity to serve underrepresented students.
The most promising summer interns will be encouraged to continue graduate-level studies, including at UC, where graduate fellowships for UCI-HBCU summer program alumni are available.
For more information on the JSU interns, visit the SERI website: https://education.uci.edu/news/2016/seri_summer16_1.php or contact Dr. Jie Ke at jie.ke@jsums.edu or Dr. Deidre L. Wheaton at deidre.l.wheaton@jsums.edu.
Participants include Leonard Ealy, left, junior, Jackson State University; Tamara Spikes, senior, Spelman College; Kayla Ballard, senior, Jackson State University; Dean Richard Arum, University of California, Irvine; Brittany Foreman, senior, Jackson State University; Dr. Connie Kang, University of California, Irvine (Photo submitted by UCI)