Integrated Summer Psychology Research and Practice Internship Program, Sarah Lawrence College, Bronxville, NY
Going in to this project, I wasn’t really sure to expect. I had done research before, but most of it had been centered on books and online databases. The prospect of interviewing real, live people was completely foreign to me, and I was afraid that I wouldn’t be able to rise to the occasion, especially dealing with participants from disadvantaged backgrounds. However, I also knew that I’d be receiving thorough training beforehand, which made things seem a little less intimidating.
When I first arrived at Sarah Lawrence for the training, it was more than a little different than what I had come to expect from Williams classes. Either that, or I just wasn’t fully aware that I was walking into the middle of a project (and other projects) that had been in the works for months, if not years. The team of researchers I was a part of was not only working on the project I had signed up for, but on another as well (more on that later.) As if this wasn’t enough to make me feel like a fish out of water, my fellow research assistants were also working on other projects for the three other professors who were part of the summer psychology team, who in turn had their own researchers enlisted to help with their projects. This turned out to be my first lesson; when you’re in school and in jobs that cater to people who are in school, you usually get to start on the same level as your colleagues. There’s no confusion because everyone begins their work on an even playing field. However, in the real world (at least, the real world of psychology research), you are often expected to “get with the program” independently, even though people you are working with are oftentimes much more familiar with tasks at hand. Although they were certainly willing to help me out, a lot of the effort needed to catch up had to come from my own efforts. There were times that I felt completely incompetent standing next to the research projects that other students were conducting (and even presenting results for), but it helped me understand what I could anticipate when I graduate Williams (and also gave me some experience dealing with the fast-paced environment of the workplace.)
The project I had signed on for was called the RAD study, or Rental Assistance Demonstration. The City of Yonkers recently switched its public housing into the Section 8 system, a move which generated hundreds of millions of dollars for the city to apply to the massive maintenance backlog that has plagued the public housing system of the greater New York area for decades. With the RAD program being implemented by the government, my RADs research team sought to gauge residents’ life satisfaction both before and after extensive renovations were done to the buildings. These renovations, which were provided at no extra cost to residents, were predicted to increase residents’ physical comfort, as well as allowing them to take pride in their homes. The renovations and the study are slated to be finished around 2020, but if this summer was any indication, it might take longer due to logistical hurdles of working with government contracts.
The Housing Department of Yonkers was extremely late with their handing down of the contracts for the work we were going to do, and even when we received them, the Psychology Department still didn’t receive the payment necessary to conduct the work (and as of right now still has not.) This meant that we were unable to complete as many interviews as we would have liked to while I was with the project. However, I was able to get some interview experience through attending a monthly tenants meeting, as well as speaking to several residents on the phone. What I found personally was that, while some people were optimistic about the changes, many others felt that this would just be another instance of lofty promises made to them by politicians and contractors that wouldn’t pan out in the way that they had expected. One woman in her 90s spoke of her need to constantly make arrangements to stay with family members as the work on her home made slow, uncertain progress. Another man, who appeared to be just over the age of retirement, was excited not only for the renovations, but for the chance to speak to young, motivated college students who had taken an interest in his life (so much so that he had to be thoroughly convinced to receive payment for his time.) I think my experience with the RAD study participants (at least the ones we managed to contact) was indicative of a trend I’ve noticed personally that exists in the lives of the poor New Yorkers: while there is a hopefulness that things will one day get better, many have grown cynical because of the fact that the poor are always the ones with the least-considered voice.
Because of the bureaucratic difficulties that plagued the RAD project, I also lent my hand to its sister study (BBZ), which was aimed at learning about poor Yonkers women’s experience of pregnancy, childbirth, and postpartum living, and comparing that with the experiences of women from wealthier zip codes in the area. From an organizational standpoint, this study was far less convoluted—we were working for the Lower Hudson Valley Perinatal Network, which is an established independent organization that doesn’t have to deal with governmental red tape. However, interviews were also difficult to come by in this study due to the population we were working with. In order to be eligible for participation, a woman had to have recently had a child and have lived in Yonkers or Mount Vernon for a significant amount of time. While we offered childcare, it is clear to see why this might be an issue: of the women we interviewed, many had had very little or no maternity leave, and were juggling the responsibility of several children, a job, and whatever other problems that might’ve came up in their personal lives. A 90-minute interview, even a compensated one, might’ve not been possible on a Saturday afternoon. One woman I interviewed not only had to deal with her own three children, but for her brother’s child as well, as he was unreliable. For some perspective, this woman was only a few years older than me, and still had to deal with discovering her own identity as a young adult while dedicating significant time to the development of her family. The amount of no-shows with no explanation was disheartening, and I was honestly quite angry at the participants whenever it happened. However, coming from a privileged background, I have to remind myself that the struggles of the working poor are something I must be grateful to have not experienced firsthand, and that the missed appointments were most likely due to difficult life circumstances, not lacking moral character.
When I wasn’t working on either of those projects, I did independent research on sexual consent, which I presented to the entire summer psychology team at the end of the summer. I also underwent sensitivity and research training to help hone my skills, as well as taking an NIH certification exam so that I was clear to conduct human research. All things considered, I’d say that this summer was not only an excellent introduction to what a life of professional research would be like, but also a more humanizing look into the lives of other black and brown people who have not been able to access the advantages that I take for granted. The challenging part moving forward is thinking of ways to continue being helpful.