UROP Research Mentor Project Submission Portal: Submission #1191 | Center for Undergraduate Research and Academic Engagement

Submission information

Submission Number: 1191

Submission ID: 20551

Submission UUID: aa992f3e-86cf-4087-a247-600b72ae0eb0

Submission URI: /urop-research-mentor-project-submission-portal

Submission Update: /urop-research-mentor-project-submission-portal?token=fI10E7euPPnMe2qpP9ySEdgVqutJK8zOt2VgKv7wdLE

Created: Sun, 08/17/2025 - 03:36 AM

Completed: Sun, 08/17/2025 - 03:55 AM

Changed: Tue, 09/09/2025 - 09:11 AM

Remote IP address: 46.183.108.120

Submitted by: Anonymous

Language: English

Is draft: No

Webform: UROP Project Proposal Portal

Submitted to: UROP Research Mentor Project Submission Portal

Research Mentor Information

Primary Research Mentor Name Karina Donald

Research Mentor Preferred Pronouns She, her

When potential research assistants are reaching out via email, what is your preferred honorific? Dr

Contact Email (FSU Email if affiliated) kdonald@fsu.edu

Position Title Faculty

FSU College (if applicable) Fine Arts

FSU Department or Non-FSU Organization Affiliation Florida State University

Headshot (optional) Headshot 091923_2b.jpg

Additional Research Mentor(s)

Research Assistant Supervisor (if different from above) {Empty}

Research Assistant Supervisor Preferred Pronouns {Empty}

Research Assistant Supervisor Preferred Honorific? {Empty}

Contact Email (FSU Email if affiliated) {Empty}

Name of Other Faculty/Collaborator(s) (if applicable) {Empty}

Other Faculty/Collaborator(s) Preferred Pronouns {Empty}

Other Faculty/Collaborator(s) Preferred Honorific? {Empty}

Contact Email (FSU Email if affiliated) {Empty}

Overall Project Details

Title of the Project Effects of Community Art Therapy on Caribbean Youth

Project Keywords International, teens, community-based, art therapy, self-esteem, spirituality

Are you currently looking for research assistants? Yes

Number of Research Assistants Needed 4

Relevant Research Assistant Major(s) Open to all majors

Project Location: On FSU Main Campus

If the project location is off campus, does the research assistant(s) need to provide their own transportation? {Empty}

Please select the choice that most accurately describes your expectations for the research assistant(s): Partially Remote

Approximately how many hours a week would the research assistant(s) need to work? 5-7

Roughly what time frame do you expect research assistant(s) to work? Flexible schedule (Combination of business and outside of business. TBD between student and research mentor.)

Overall Research Project Description Community engagement is considered helpful among Caribbean people who are navigating challenges. In particular, research indicates the protective nature of social support on adolescent self-esteem and spiritual well-being. It is believed that community art therapy plays a pivotal role in strengthening and enhancing communities and participatory research approach could assist in assessing and addressing community needs. However, it is unclear what are the measurable effects of community art therapy on self-esteem and spirituality among Caribbean youth. Therefore, this project explores the impact of community art therapy on the well-being of Caribbean youth, specifically focusing on self-esteem, religiosity, and spirituality.

Research Tasks Literature review; visual art data analysis; statistical analysis; manuscript preparation

Skills that research assistant(s) may need: The research assistant(s) will be working with graduate students and I to analyze visual and statistical arts data, manuscript preparation and possibly present at the research conference at conferences in 2026. Therefore, it is required for research assistant(s) to be curious about the research process, work with a team, learn from team work for ongoing collaboration. Skills that will be recommended are: literature review, academic writing, data analysis, and preparation of a manuscript. Writing skills are important because we will be preparing at least one (1) manuscript. There will be opportunities to learn new skills; therefore, I recommend that research assistant(s) be open to share their triumphs, mistakes, and questions throughout our research relationship and will the team.

Mentoring Philosophy Over the past 2 years of being a UROP mentor, I have enjoyed the process of collaborating with students and also seeing them grow in knowledge about themselves and about research. Therefore, I believe that a developmental approach is necessary because mentees learn through having a variety of experiences. I believe that there are phases that mentees work in reaching their professional goals. Each phase is built upon previous knowledge, skills, and experiences. Through disclosing my research and professional experiences that are applicable to mentees’ tasks, I hope that mentees can process how they are gaining new insights and skills to increase openness to talk about successes, challenges, and mistakes in their work. I prefer open communication about mentees’ needs and goals to support accomplishment of research projects.
Ultimately, my mentorship model is experiential. Hands-on learning is beneficial to mentees’ development. I do not believe in talking at mentees; talking with mentees creates stronger relationships and teams. Change occurs in teams through mutual encouragement of growth and being flexible. When one team member changes through authentic communication, the entire team shifts and benefits. My collaborative way of processing options in research helps mentees develop skills that are applicable yet unique to their professional goals and personality. By mentees willing to integrate their personality in our collaborative work, their confidence and skills in research blossoms.

Please provide a link to your publications, a video clip, or a website for your research project (if applicable): https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/16094069251350313

Please add any additional information here (if applicable): I hope we can complete a draft manuscript by the end of spring. Each UROP RA who contributes meaningfully to the draft will be included as a coauthor. To guide you in your decision to be part of the project, please review this recent publication that I coauthored with last year’s UROP RAs: https://www.tandfonline.com/eprint/V3W5GV7I3VXPJZZMWZSU/full?target=10.1080/17454832.2025.2548222

Are you interested in participating in the UROP Research Mentor Roundtable? Yes

Roundtable times and Zoom links Here is the link for a recorded roundtable: https://fsu.zoom.us/rec/share/hN9o3U28UlVWEXIIJwcOo0jTKrNR_sQhfdu8vN-3ZAt3eLIy1JYh8tTxfJR8sEav.vDc9DCjrKeGQXWfH

Roundtable Info

Day: Tuesday, September 2
Start Time: 2:00
End Time: 2:30
Zoom Link: https://fsu.zoom.us/j/6607204460
Day: Wednesday, September 3
Start Time: 3:00
End Time: 3:30
Zoom Link: https://fsu.zoom.us/j/6607204460
Day: Thursday, September 4
Start Time: 6:00
End Time: 6:30
Zoom Link: https://fsu.zoom.us/j/6607204460

UROP Program Elements

Mentor Handbook, FAQs, and Communication Yes

UROP Performance Evaluation Yes

Materials Grant Yes

UROP Poster Presentation Yes

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Year 2025

update url https://cre.fsu.edu/urop-research-mentor-project-submission-portal?element_parents=elements/research_mentor_information/headshot_optional_&ajax_form=1&_wrapper_format=drupal_ajax&token=fI10E7euPPnMe2qpP9ySEdgVqutJK8zOt2VgKv7wdLE