In the Summer of 2023, Julia Davis (2024) was awarded a URS Deans' Summer Research Fellowship award to explore parental engagement in families under the mentorship of Dr. Kenneth Dodge.
Throughout the summer, Julia lead an evaluation of a pilot prenatal navigation program for 300 moms in eastern North Carolina using a survey of her own design. Julia also analyzed initial data from the pilot program.
When asked how the DSRF experience shaped her view of her research, Julia emphasized the relationships she built upon: "Being in the lab full time allowed me to build relationships, not only with my direct mentors, but also with some of the other researchers in the lab, such as the post-bacc students. This was meaningful to learn more about their experiences through research. This summer also gave me further insight into what the schedule of doing research full-time looks like."
In her next steps, Julia will put together a report providing an overview of the key information learned from the survey about what participants liked and changes that can be made to the program for the next cohort.
Are you a rising junior or a senior and interested in doing research over the summer? Check out our URS Deans' Summer Research Fellowship to see if you are eligible to apply for 2025 funding.
