Research Spotlights

Where are you from and what did you do prior to your PhD program?
I have lived in West Lafayette for twelve years. I was a stay at home mom for many years. My son required early intervention and special education services from infancy. This introduced me to a world of education advocacy and social justice issues that I needed to be a part of.

Why did you choose Purdue and your area of concentration?
I chose Purdue because I knew I could get the mentoring that I need to become an effective researcher. I was interested in the Higher Education program, and the opportunity to apply my interests to issues at the postsecondary level.

What are your areas of research interests?
I am studying undocumented students in higher education institutions. My advisor Dr. Snodgrass initially introduced me to this area, and it became my own passion.

What have been the highlights of your research experience so far?
I just submitted my first manuscript as a first author to the Journal of Diversity in Higher Education. It is a metasynthesis of literature that studies ways that undocumented students access and leverage social capitol to overcome the systemic barriers to higher education.

Where do you hope to be in 5 years?
I hope to be a tenure track professor at Purdue.

What advice do you have for your fellow graduate student researchers?
Write every day. This has been my greatest defense against imposter syndrome.

Where are you from and what did you do prior to your PhD program?
I am originally from Korea and worked as an elementary and preschool teacher before joining the Ph.D. program at Purdue.

Why did you choose Purdue and your area of concentration?
I believe every child has their own potential and talents, and Purdue is one of the best leading institutions with its Gifted and Talented Education program in the U.S.

What are your areas of research interests?
Talent development and serving underrepresented populations. When working as an elementary school teacher, I had many students from low-income families in my class. Although they had high potential in diverse talent domains, they did not have a sufficient chance to develop their strength areas and I wanted to support them.

What have been the highlights of your research experience so far?
I had chances to research how to support students’ diverse talent domains in terms of university-based enrichment programs. I also collected teacher-rating scale data from Korea to support the low-income or multicultural students to be identified for the gifted program.

Where do you hope to be in 5 years?
I would like to teach pre-service teachers and continue conducting research in the college. I hope my work in the field of gifted education will contribute to supporting students both in Korea and the U.S.

What advice do you have for your fellow graduate student researchers?
Try to take plenty of method courses and be open to collaborate and learn from other colleagues and the faculty!

Where are you from and what did you do prior to your PhD program?
I am from the greater Washington DC area. Prior to pursuing my PhD, I taught high school English for six years in Utah and Northern Virginia.

Why did you choose Purdue and your area of concentration?
Purdue provided the opportunities and experiences I hoped for in a PhD program while being mentored by accomplished teacher educators in English Education. I owe a lot to the mentorship of both Dr. Janet Alsup and Dr. Tara Johnson.

What are your areas of research interests?
I am focusing on writer teacher education with a specific emphasis on preservice teacher writer identity. My research interests meet at the intersections of my own interests–writer teacher education–and that of Dr. Alsup’s interests in teacher faculty.

What have been the highlights of your research experience so far?
I really enjoy finding the unexpected in my research. The literature I read leading to my dissertation prepared me to think a certain way, but I found gaps that the literature did not prepare me for once I dug into my own research. I think there is quite a bit of potential with preservice teacher writer identity now and beyond my current research.

Where do you hope to be in 5 years?
I hope to be on the tenure track preparing future English teachers while continuing with my growth as a teacher educator and researcher. Specifically, I’d like to teach methods courses that prepare preservice English teachers to be effective writers and writing instructors. Similarly, my goal is to teach, mentor, and supervise preservice English teachers in the necessary aspects of their education.

What advice do you have for your fellow graduate student researchers?
I think it’s important to develop meaningful relationships with many people. I’ve had wonderful opportunities to write, research, and present at conferences with scholars who have influenced me simply because I introduced myself either at a conference or via email and asked if it were possible to meet or talk at a future time. I think it’s also important to become involved in leadership opportunities as a graduate student, too. These opportunities have led me to meet and work with many talented people.