Month: January 2016

CMC is for Life

by LillyBelle Deer ’15

Last year, I worked at the Berger Institute with the Work-Life team. Then, I graduated.

When I thought about my post-­graduation plans, the ideal involved being a part of a research lab so that I could get experience for graduate school. I also wanted to be near Southern California so that I could be close to my brother, who is a sophomore at CMC. I told Professor Kanaya about my plans and she offered to hire me in the coming year to keep on top of the Work-Life project we had been working on together. It was an opportunity I couldn’t pass up: I would be able to gain more research experience while working with people I like, researching a topic I enjoy, and staying in Claremont.

Working at Berger post­-graduation has been a great experience. I’ve learned so much about how things really work in academia, and this has strengthened my passion for pursuing it. I’ve learned a lot about how research labs such as ours function, which makes me feel more prepared for graduate school.

One of the best part of my experience in my extra year with Berger has been developing a closer relationship with Professor Kanaya. She has been a resource for me this year for everything from grad school applications to life advice in general. I don’t think I would be where I am in my career path without her.

Throughout my time at CMC, I heard many times about how CMC is for life. Nothing has driven home this notion more than working for the Berger Institute. I now have the skills and experience necessary for me to be successful in graduate school and I have the Berger  Institute to thank for it!

On Consistency

by Adrienne Johnson ’16

I knew I wanted to become more involved with extracurricular activities at CMC but I didn’t know through what outlet. I hoped to find an on-campus job that would let me pursue my interests while developing my skills. The Berger Institute’s emphasis on gender and work-­life balance issues immediately jumped out at me as something I wanted to become involved in, leading me to apply and join the team.

Since my sophomore year (I’m now a senior), working as a research assistant at Berger has provided continuity for me throughout my time at CMC. While I have dabbled in other on­campus activities, at Berger I’ve worked consistently with a group of people and seen multiple projects through from start to finish. I’ve developed personal relationships with my team, and we’ve developed a strong group dynamic over the past three years.

Each of us brings a different element to the team. As an international relations major, I bring a unique perspective to the table, as most of our team looks at our work through a psychology lens. All together, we are able to bounce ideas off of each other and generate strong results.

In addition to continuity with this project and my peers, I have also developed a strong relationship with Professor Kanaya. She consistently asks the tough questions about my goals, summer internship (and now job) plans, pushing me to think critically about my future and offering feedback along the way. This is one of those quintessential student-professor relationships people talk about when you tour a small liberal arts college.

My college career has had many ups and downs, but Berger has always been a great point of stability for me.

It’s Who You Know

-by Kelsey Gohn ’16

I didn’t expect to find my junior year internship so easily given what I had observed from the experiences of my peers, but one of Berger’s partner summer internship programs turned out to be the perfect experience for me. During CMC’s Silicon Valley Program, I was able to connect with a Berger board member in the Bay Area and hear about her experiences both at CMC and with her work in healthcare. She also connected me to her network at Kaiser Permanente; it was great to have Berger in common.

When next summer rolled around, I knew I was going to apply to the Berger Institute’s internship at Kaiser because I had already met several members of the team. It was a great way for me to secure an internship at a company that I wanted to work at, while having the comfort of knowing that it had been vetted by CMC. Midway through the summer, Professor Kanaya met with our supervisor to ensure that we were getting a fantastic experience, and we were able to make a few tweaks so that the second half was even better.

At KP, I was able to work on innovation projects and their annual Bring Your Child to Work Day. I met so many wonderful people who made time to talk with me so I could see the range of full-time opportunities available. So far, this has helped make the transition into the senior year job search go much more smoothly.

When “They” Became “We”

by Lauren Livingston ’18

As a first-semester sophomore and the newest, youngest member of the Work-Life team, I had various concerns about transitioning and adding value to the team. At the beginning of the year, walking into the first team meeting was a daunting experience. How was I going to fit in? What was I going to do?

The team was already relatively established, consisting of two seniors and one alum, all of them with years of experience. Over the years, they had worked together and developed a strong team dynamic through their long nights and their successes. I joined the institute without any prior experience or knowledge about their current project and their members. However, to my delightful surprise, the minute I walked into the first meeting they spent the first hour explaining the project in­ depth to me and then updating me on their newest idea. In addition, I was immediately given an assignment to help the project by coding free response survey data.

Since the first meeting, the team has kept me continuously involved in everyone’s project and asked for my feedback. From my experiences and interactions with the members, I have learned that the authenticity of the Berger Institute is reflected by individual members’ internal drive to research their passions. I have also been given the opportunity to perceive the Berger Institute as an inclusive, ambitious, and academic community.

Working at FWI

-by Kelsey Gohn ’16

Like everyone else at CMC, by January I felt very behind in my internship search. Luckily, as a research assistant at Berger, I had already connected with one of their summer internship partners, Families and Work Institute, and it was the clear choice for my sophomore summer.

At FWI, I was able to spend the summer in NYC working on projects that continued my research CMC research while developing professional skills. The FWI team lives their research about effective workplaces, which has been a huge asset for my professional development, especially since it was one of my first real office experiences.

My main project involved working on their massive annual national award program, “When Work Works,” with a mostly remote team reviewing surveys from thousands of employees from across the nation’s best companies. While in the trenches of data entry from the paper surveys, I learned a lot about data validity and survey management, but also how to effectively communicate with a remote teammate. It was a challenge to communicate expectations over email, but it allowed me to grow and learn what I need to ask for my supervisor to gain clarity on a project.  It was a big jump for me as a student to enter the real work world, but I enjoyed learning with a supportive staff and I had a blast with them both in and outside of the workplace.

I ultimately decided that I didn’t see myself working as research psychologist, but the knowledge I gained from the research and from my experiences really helped guide me through the rest of my time at CMC.

 

Completing 3 Years at Berger

-by Adrienne Johnson ’16

“Have you ever worked with numbers?” “Give an example of an experience you’ve had with analytical work.” “Have you ever worked on a team?”

These are questions I’ve recently had fired my way, since I’m a senior wrapping up my job search. Fortunately, I was able to immediately respond to all of these by thinking back on my past three years as a research assistant at the Berger Institute. While my international relations coursework provides me the opportunity to explore topics I find stimulating and strengthen my writing skills, my numbers-based analytical skills were lacking throughout my academic career at CMC. Working at Berger has helped fill this gap in my skillset. For example, while working on the Work-Life project, we performed statistical analyses observing the correlations between people of different college majors and their long­term goals. Gaining a basic knowledge of statistical analysis has thoroughly benefitted me in my career search, as my major is less applicable to my career goals.

Likewise, in interviews I spoke to my experiences working on a team at the Berger Institute. I know I can be a strong team player because I have been one for almost three years. We’ve conducted three-hour brainstorming sessions, planned our survey questions and bounced ideas off of each other. My Berger experience has allowed me to develop transferrable skills for my professional life, which I look forward to starting soon.

 

Summer 2016 Internships!

Each year, the Berger Institute partners with various organizations to offer exciting summer internships that aim to provide students with valuable, real-world experience. Applications for internships at, among other places, Kaiser Permanente (Oakland) and Families and Work Institute (NYC) will be available in the coming weeks. For a list of the organizations we are currently working with, or to download an application, please click here.

Student Research Projects

Currently, the Berger Institute is leading two independent research projects. The first project (dubbed the “Work-Life” project) investigates the work-life goals and values of Millennials. The second project (dubbed the “Family-Children” project) investigates the family-child dynamics of Latino families.

These projects are particularly relevant because they address not only the largest demographics entering the labor force (Millennials and Latinos), but also require the use of various research methodologies and populations such that we are able to offer valuable research experience to students with a wide array of interests, skill levels and motivations.

Both are also underexplored in the research literature and allow for many publication and professional conference presentation experiences. Indeed, three Berger research assistants received “Best Student Presentation” awards at the Western Psychological Association conference in 2010, 2014, and 2015, based on data from the family-child project.

To meet our current research assistants, please click here.

Faculty Research

The Berger Institute supports a select number of faculty in their research by funding research assistants of their choice. Students are employed in meaningful and valuable roles in a research agenda that relates to work, family, and children (broadly defined). For a list of faculty that we are currently working with and descriptions of their respective projects, please click here.