{"id":880,"date":"2022-08-26T06:08:55","date_gmt":"2022-08-26T06:08:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/cerse\/?page_id=880"},"modified":"2023-07-27T00:10:45","modified_gmt":"2023-07-27T00:10:45","slug":"student-testimonials","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/cerse\/about\/jobs\/student-testimonials\/","title":{"rendered":"Student Testimonials"},"content":{"rendered":"

Student Staff Testimonials\u00a0<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Testimonials from Undergraduate Student Assistants<\/strong><\/h3>\n

“As an undergraduate research assistant I learned everything I know about program evaluation at\u00a0CERSE. Evaluation work is very important to support the improvement of program practices that\u00a0in turn promote more equity and representation in STEM fields. I enjoy working on many different\u00a0projects and learning about various programs focused on improving equity in STEM. I also really\u00a0enjoy the work environment fostered at CERSE. While our work is generally independent of one\u00a0another, there are many opportunities to connect with fellow CERSE staff through weekly staff\u00a0meetings, living our values of equity (LOVE) meetings, co-working sessions and more. I also\u00a0appreciate how accommodating the director is to the busy schedule of college students! I have\u00a0learned great skills such as writing evaluation reports, analyzing survey data, updating databases, data\u00a0visualization and more. I believe if you have a passion for equity, willingness to learn new skills and\u00a0ask questions, and a baseline understanding of Microsoft Office you can surely succeed in this\u00a0position.”<\/p>\n

\u2013 Naomi Yuen-Schat, Undergraduate Student Assistant, 2021-2022<\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

“Working at CERSE was one of the most educational, fun, and worthwhile experiences I had\u00a0throughout college. I got to learn so many useful skills, such as quantitative coding, during work\u00a0hours. The atmosphere at CERSE is so welcoming and supportive. You get to contribute to\u00a0meaningful projects while working with a tight knit community of dedicated professionals.”<\/p>\n

–Cordelia\u00a0Ilton, Undergraduate Student Assistant, 2018-2019<\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

“Working at CERSE prepared me for other research environments after graduation. At CERSE, I\u00a0practiced managing and communicating how my new projects compete with my workload and\u00a0priorities, asked clarifying or follow-up questions, requested input from peers\/graduate RAs,\u00a0documented decisions in my work to help answer potential questions, and incorporated feedback\u00a0from my supervisor to finalize the project. I now work as a data analyst at the UW\u00a0Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME),\u00a0a global health research institute. I work on research visualizations frequently and I attribute a lot\u00a0of\u00a0my relevant skills to working with my supervisor at CERSE.\u00a0I enjoyed my 1:1s with my supervisor because I saw the level of detail that good researchers\u00a0put into conveying research findings. For example, I aggregated evaluation survey data, created\u00a0percentage bar graphs, and wrote the short description for a PowerPoint presentation. My\u00a0supervisor and I went through multiple drafts to ensure the colors and fonts were legible and\u00a0readable, and the description was insightful and conveyed the significance\/impact of the\u00a0evaluated\u00a0activity.\u00a0My supervisor was also available and was willing to help whenever needed.”<\/p>\n

–Johnathan Hsu, Undergraduate Student Assistant, 2017-2018<\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Testimonials from Graduate Research Assistants<\/strong><\/h3>\n

“As someone who is currently an assistant professor involved in research and educational activities to\u00a0create a more equitable society, I can confidently say that at CERSE, I was able to acquire concrete\u00a0skills (e.g., translating academic jargon into terms that anyone can understand), analytical techniques\u00a0(e.g., utilizing a greater variety of research methods than is generally required in academic research),\u00a0and above all, a basic stance or fundamental way of thinking that is indispensable for those working\u00a0on diversity, equity, and inclusion.”<\/p>\n

\u2013Daiki Hiramori, Graduate Research Assistant, 2017-2022<\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

“This is my fourth quarter of working at CERSE. I’ve had a chance to get my hands on a variety of\u00a0research and applied work opportunities, and I\u2019ve enjoyed trying out different things. It’s also been\u00a0nice to have regular check-ins with a supervisor, as grad school can often feel isolating. The office\u00a0space is nice, and each desk has a computer. Not having to carry my laptop around has been\u00a0convenient.<\/p>\n

My sense is that the CERSE RA experience varies considerably based on the project(s).\u00a0Some positions entail more program evaluation, while others offer hands-on research opportunities.\u00a0So, make sure you pay attention to the job description to figure out what to expect. The bulk of my\u00a0time is dedicated to research, but I also spend time on evaluation projects. I found evaluation to be\u00a0surprisingly fulfilling because it lets me use my skills to impact real-world projects. I find it nicely\u00a0counterbalances typical grad school research, where you don’t get to share your work with people as\u00a0much and as often. I’ve also been fortunate on the research side; it overlaps with my own interests\u00a0but it doesn\u2019t get overwhelming \u00e0 la dissertation work (the work is measured by the number of\u00a0hours you put in rather than a particular outcome that might seem out of reach). Overall, logging\u00a0hours has made me more cognizant of my working hours and has led to a healthier work\/life\u00a0boundary.”<\/p>\n

–Selen G\u00fcler, Graduate Research Assistant, 2021-present<\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

“Working at CERSE was a great experience and it\u00a0supported me in\u00a0my\u00a0path to pursuing a PhD.\u00a0Through working at CERSE, I gained research and evaluation skills – both qualitative and\u00a0quantitative – as well as practical skills such as data visualization. Most importantly, I appreciate\u00a0CERSE’s mission of providing equity-focused evaluation and its commitment to racial justice. As\u00a0someone interested in evaluation long-term, this RA-ship provided me with several experiences that\u00a0have prepared me to pursue a career\u00a0in this field.”<\/p>\n

-Mary Padden, Graduate Research Assistant, 2021-2022<\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

“Working at CERSE\u00a0under my supervisor\u2019s guidance\u00a0was one of the most\u00a0fulfilling workplace\u00a0experiences I’ve had, both personally and professionally.”<\/p>\n

-Theresa Henry, Graduate Research\u00a0Assistant, 2019-2021<\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

“Working as a Research Assistant for CERSE provided me with invaluable research and evaluation\u00a0experience, from project development and planning through dissemination, including presenting\u00a0project results at national conferences, conducting workshops with clients and publishing articles in\u00a0peer-reviewed journals. Additionally, I received outstanding mentorship throughout my time at\u00a0CERSE, and I developed longstanding relationships with supportive colleagues, some of whom I\u00a0continue to collaborate with today in my work as an equity-focused evaluation and research\u00a0consultant.”<\/p>\n

-Cate Samuelson, Graduate Research Assistant, 2013-2014<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Student Staff Testimonials\u00a0 Testimonials from Undergraduate Student Assistants “As an undergraduate research assistant I learned everything I know about program evaluation at\u00a0CERSE. Evaluation work is very important to support the improvement of program practices that\u00a0in turn promote more equity and representation in STEM fields. I enjoy working on many different\u00a0projects and learning about various programs…<\/p>\n

Read full news post<\/a><\/div>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"parent":930,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-880","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/cerse\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/880","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/cerse\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/cerse\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/cerse\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/cerse\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=880"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/cerse\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/880\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":887,"href":"https:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/cerse\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/880\/revisions\/887"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/cerse\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/930"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/depts.washington.edu\/cerse\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=880"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}