About My ARIA Internship
As a part of my ARIA internship, I assisted Dr. Régine Débrosse from the School of Social Work on one of her studies. This study examined whether, for black students, the affirmation of Afrocentric values led to positive psychological and academic outcomes. More precisely we wanted to know if a more culturally focused self-affirmation would be effective to increase well-being and motivation for black students especially in a context in which they may feel like their racial and ethnic identities are disconnected from their future plans (Debrosse et al., 2018,2020).
Previous studies examined the affirmation of personal values on academic outcomes for stigmatized students. This study differs because there is a focus on the use of Afrocentric values to increase the afrocentric of a particular group(Black students). Additionally the study focuses on promotive factors such as increasing happiness and self-esteem rather than on protective factors (e.g resilience).
My involvement as a research assistant under the supervision of Dr. Débrosse provided me with some very valuable skills. Indeed, during the 11 weeks I spent on the study I have learned how to clean and code quantitative data through SPSS, conduct and interpret ANOVAs, and contextualize findings with the existing literature ANOVAs.
My weekly schedule as an ARIA intern
During my internship, I was mostly responsible for my schedule and for the time attributed to each task. Since a good level of autonomy was required from me, I started writing a detailed schedule for my weekly tasks.
After a week, I was able to adjust to my new routine. I worked 30 hours per week , Monday-Thursday. This pre-established schedule with my supervisor allowed me to have longer weekends and to arrive every Monday motivated and ready to learn.
The beginning of the week was very important for me this summer. Indeed, it was every Monday that I met with my supervisor in order to discuss the tasks I would be tackling for the week and learned some important concepts about research methodology and psychology.
My go-to spots
One of the highlights of my internship involved completing some tasks such as literature reviews, and reading about statistics in small local cafés. This habit helped me create a routine during the summer and allowed me to meet new people. Such social interactions were very impactful and contributed to a healthy life/work balance.
Final thoughts
Finally, my experience as an ARIA intern did not only provide me with my first research experience but also granted me with confidence in my intellectual capacities. Knowing that I was capable of conducting a research study and receiving positive feedback from my supervisor made me believe in myself and my abilities. My first weeks as a research assistant made me feel like I belonged to one of the world's best educational institutions, McGill University. Besides feeling like I belong, I have developed a strong desire to represent my university well.
References
Debrosse, R., Destin, M., Rossignac, M., Taylor, D., & Rogers, L. O. (2020). Immigrant adolescents’ roots and dreams: Perceived mismatches between ethnic identities and career aspirations predict school engagement. Self & Identity, 19, 1–15.
Debrosse, R., Rossignac, M., Taylor, D., & Destin, M. (2018). Can identity conflicts impede the success of ethnic minority students? Consequences of discrepancies between ethnic and ideal selves. Personality & Social Psychology Bulletin, 44, 1725–1738.