UROP Research Mentor Project Submission Portal: Submission #1329

Research Mentor Information
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Primary Research Mentor Name: Latika Young
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Contact Email (FSU Email if affiliated): llyoung@fsu.edu
Position Title: Faculty
FSU College (if applicable): Undergraduate Studies
FSU Department or Non-FSU Organization Affiliation: Center for Undergraduate Research and Academic Engagement
Headshot (optional): https://cre.fsu.edu/system/files/webform/urop_project_proposal_portal/21241/Screenshot%202025-08-22%20at%203.44.29%E2%80%AFPM.png

Additional Research Mentor(s)
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Overall Project Details
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Title of the Project: "The fear you’ll be the same person when you go home and the fear you won’t": A narrative inquiry of first generation in college student recipients of the Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship
Project Keywords: First Generation in College Students (FGCSs); study abroad; transformative learning theory
Are you currently looking for research assistants?: Yes
Number of Research Assistants Needed : 2
Relevant Research Assistant Major(s):
Open to all majors

Project Location:: On FSU Main Campus
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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:
The purpose of this qualitative narrative inquiry is to better understand the experiences of first generation in college students (FGCSs) who have received the Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship. This study will help explain how the FGCS participants themselves understand their experiences with the Gilman Scholarship and the role they feel the program played in their post-graduation lives. Underrepresentation within education abroad for FCGSs remains a federal and higher education institutional concern, especially since the literature suggests these students experience amplified benefit from engaging internationally. The Gilman Scholarship, then, provides a crucial tool for addressing this underrepresentation, since 50% of the Gilman Scholarship awardees identify as first generation in college students (Gilman Scholarship, n.d.). Currently, there is limited investigation of the outcomes of the Gilman Scholarship program (Stedman, 2017; Valuy & Shao, 2021) and minimal scholarship that explores the specific experiences of FGCSs within the Gilman Scholarship program as disaggregated from other underrepresented students (Garner, 2018; Thompson-Jones, 2012). It is not known how FGCSs understand their experiences with the Gilman Scholarship, particularly in terms of how they perceive the impacts of their participation in the program on their longer-term personal, social, academic, and professional trajectories. As a narrative inquiry, this project will utilize focus group, creative reflection/data elicitation (i.e. "Cabinet of Curiosities" and narrative timeline), and individual interviews for data collection.

Research Tasks:
Minimal literature review to become familiar with the theory supporting this project. CITI training to understand IRB process, as well as training in Qualtrics (survey managment), Zotero (citation management), and coding. Assistants will be helping with various components of this qualitative project, from initial survey outreach, to focus groups, to transcription and coding, possibly extending into the Cabinet of Curiosities and narrative timeline/individual interviews, depending on pace of overall project. 

Skills that research assistant(s) may need::
No specific skills are required! An interest in qualitative research/narrative inquiry would be valuable as well as an interest in study abroad, high impact practices/transformative learning, and/or the experiences of first generation in college students.

Mentoring Philosophy:
The goal of this project is to include UROP students deeply in the process of a narrative inquiry, providing access to and understanding of the various components of the research design, IRB approval, data collection, analysis, and dissemination processes, as time allows. My goal as a mentor is to provide a safe environment based on mutual respect in which mentor and mentees feel comfortable bringing their whole selves, in which constructive feedback and support is provided at all stages, and in which mentees can share their goals and plans, both within and beyond their research interests and the UROP project itself. I look forward to the unique perspectives, experiences, and knowledge the UROP students will contribute to this project, forging a stronger research product with these contributions in the end. Finally, I look forward to moments of levity and laughter, as I believe the research process and our collaboration should also be fun. 

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Are you interested in participating in the UROP Research Mentor Roundtable?: Yes
Roundtable times and Zoom links:
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Roundtable Info:
- Day: Wednesday, September 3
  Start Time: 3:30
  End Time: 4:00
  Zoom Link: https://fsu.zoom.us/j/97030297898

UROP Program Elements
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Mentor Handbook, FAQs, and Communication: Yes
UROP Performance Evaluation: Yes
Materials Grant: Yes
UROP Poster Presentation: Yes

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Year: 2025
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