Research Symposium

BIO

Lauren Lauzon is a second-year undergraduate student majoring in Accounting from Tallahassee, Florida. She is focused on building a strong foundation in financial reporting, data analysis, and professional communication while gaining experience through academic and research opportunities. As part of her involvement in undergraduate research, Lauren is conducting a career survey project that explores student perspectives on career development and professional goals.

In addition to her academic work, Lauren is actively involved in campus organizations, including Beta Alpha Psi, Women in Accounting, and Tri Delta. Through these organizations, she continues to develop leadership, teamwork, and professional networking skills. She was also selected to participate in the Expedition EY program, where she is gaining exposure to real-world accounting practices and learning from industry professionals.

Lauren is motivated to continue strengthening her technical and interpersonal skills as she prepares for a career in accounting. She is particularly interested in pursuing opportunities in public accounting and is committed to taking on experiences that support her long-term professional growth.

Finding the Fit: Undergraduate Identity and Career Pathways

Abstract

This study examines how identity shapes undergraduate students' major choice, career development, and post-graduate pathways. While professions are working to diversify, they still lack a clear understanding of bow social and cultural identity influence economic outcomes such as major choice, access to opportunities, and carver trajectories. Findings aim to inform educators, students, and employers secking to strengthen career development support and improve transitions into the workforce. With our data, we can pursue avenues so help diversify different professions and destroy the barriers bolding undergraduate students back.
Using survey data, our research explores patterns in major choice,
career preparation experiences, and perotived support to better understand incquities in professional pathways. The survey questions are not based on a particular hypothesis but rather meant to reveal patterns that can explain why undergraduates do or do not make choices in their carvers. To garner data, our team built a survey using Qualtrics. based on a foundational survey geared toward professionals in established career paths, created by our research mentor, De Zimmerman, and her team. Survey responses were analyzed using descriptive and comparative methods to identify patterns, inequities. and differences between groups. Thus far, we were able to have 180 complete responses to our survey from undergraduate students at different institutions across the US. Results revealed patterns in major choice related to social identity.

Keywords: Career Survey, Career Development, Undergraduate Research