Research Assistant, AugmentED, an Advanced Education Research and Development Fund (AERDF) Program
In Fall 2025, I became a Research Assistant with AugmentED, a new program in the Advanced Education Research and Development Fund (AERDF) with the goal of supporting teaching and learning using artificial intelligence (AI). In this role, I have been able to engage in collaborative co-design processes, apply learning sciences theories in classroom contexts, and research complex and dynamic durable skills that are essential for students in today's world.
As a Research Assistant, I have planned and implemented study design and logistics for AugmentED Cohort 1’s research study investigating the experiences and impact of co-designing educational technology solutions. I have also supported research and development processes for a co-design team (with teachers, a researcher, an engineer, and a product designer) as a Program Manager.
Learn more about AugmentED at https://aerdf.org/programs/.
Intern, Tucker Center for Research on Girls & Women in Sport
As a former NCAA Division III athlete and avid women’s sports fan, I was beyond excited for the opportunity to be a Gender Equity Intern at the Tucker Center during Summer 2025. I learned about being a public scholar on women and girls in sports – how to lead rigorous research projects, share work with relevant audiences, and communicate findings in understandable ways.
Publication: Over the summer, I contributed to a project (primarily through qualitative analysis and writing) focused on gender bias experienced by women tennis coaches. Our paper titled "Experiences of gender bias of US women tennis coaches" was recently published (March 2026) in Sports Coaching Review (https://doi.org/10.1080/21640629.2026.2640302).
Learn more about the Tucker Center at https://tuckercenter.umn.edu.
Graduate Assistant, Community Outreach, Retention, & Engagement (CORE) Program
When I entered graduate school, my co-advisor, Dr. Keisha Varma, connected me to the Community Outreach, Retention, and Engagement (CORE) Program – a holistic, culturally relevant program that connects middle and high school students and their families to the University of Minnesota Twin Cities (UMN-TC) science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) ecosystem. After engaging with CORE for an academic year, I officially became a Graduate Assistant in May 2022 and remained in this role for three years (until May 2025). During this time, I supported the design and implementation of our four programs. My primary responsibility was developing relationships with STEM departments, programs, and faculty across the university, who provided hands-on STEM activities at CORE events. I also managed and organized data, evaluated feedback, and created summaries and reports to share with partners. Working for CORE deeply shaped my research interest in STEM identity and passion for creating equitable informal learning experiences.
Publication: In June 2023, we shared about our work at the International Conference of the Learning Sciences (ICLS) in a practice-oriented paper and presentation titled "Becoming CORE: The story of a community-based informal STEM program." See our paper in the proceedings: https://repository.isls.org/handle/1/10248.
Learn more about CORE at https://core.umn.edu/.