Sabrina Shajeen Alam was pregnant with her second child while submitting her thesis as a PhD candidate in McGill’s Department of Educational & Counselling Psychology. Two months after giving birth, she successfully defended it.
“It was an amazing experience, and overwhelming as well… I was so proud that I could do it.”
Speaking with Sabrina just a few months into her maternity leave, it’s clear that her eagerness to learn from new experiences, and to teach others in the process, is a driving force in her career.
How do we learn?
From the early days of her undergraduate degree, a simple question drove Sabrina’s research: “How do we learn?”
Focusing on neurodevelopmental issues in children during her masters, Sabrina moved on to testing new learning models during her doctoral studies. At McGill, she explored whether the use of digital tools at home, like educational apps and YouTube, could predict a child’s understanding of math concepts.
While numeracy has been studied extensively in the past, Sabrina’s research draws on these new digital models in order to create a cutting-edge app to improve math skills, setting it apart from previous empirical studies.
Learning how to guide others, at home and in academia
As an aspiring professor and researcher, Sabrina recognizes that her desire to teach others extends beyond the lab: “Every researcher, every teacher — they are a guide. I want to pursue my career in academia, so I have to mentor students.”
To develop her mentorship skills, Sabrina chose a cause close to her heart: helping Psychology students from underrepresented backgrounds, including fellow Bangladeshi students, apply to prestigious North American institutions.
“[Bangladesh is] a developing country. Even though Psychology has been established for more than 50 years over there, very few people can pursue their studies in North America. That's why I want to use my potential and skills to help future applicants.”
Sabrina’s aptitude for guidance is clear, both personally and professionally. As a student-parent she draws on many of the same skills to raise her children as she does to lead fellow students and conduct ground-breaking research: “As a researcher, I have to be patient, persistent, and dedicated. And as a mom, I have to be patient with my family, persistent in my role as a mother, and dedicated to my kids.”
A rewarding career in sight
“My PhD studies have given me, I would say, a very strong vision for my future career in academia.”
Now applying for post-doctoral positions at other universities — an exceptional feat with an infant and a toddler under 3 years old at home — Sabrina recognizes “the more experience I'm going to get from other universities, the more of an expert I'll become.”
Optimistic about her future, Sabrina sees herself in her own lab, helping other students carve their paths in academia.