Federal Work-Study student Jenniffer Andino Cruz Works on A Pediatric Obesity Group Treatment for Latino Youth

My name is Jenniffer Andino Cruz, I am a freshman double-majoring in Criminology and Spanish. I am currently an undergraduate Research Assistant at the Department of Nutrition & Food Studies at George Mason University. During this semester, I have had the honor of working with Dr. Sina Gallo RD, PhD and other scholars on a pediatric obesity group treatment for Latino youth. The purpose of this study is to test whether a 3-month intervention program for Latino children between 4 to 9 years of age, who are overweight or obese, can help improve their nutrition and activity habits.

Before we started recruitment, I worked a lot on translating the documents needed for the study. Since we are working with the Latino population, we need to have Spanish versions of all the documents we will be using during the study. I have currently been attending the Manassas Park Community Center MAP’s clinic on a weekly basis to conduct recruitment.  My job entails checking if the patients are eligible for the study, going over consent forms, and administering the survey. During recruitment, I interpret a lot for the parents that do not speak English or for those that would rather get the information in Spanish. Once we get all the participants and start the study, I will be helping with the lessons and with the interpretation for the parents.

I aspire to be become a certified court interpreter for the state of Virginia in the future so being able to assist with this research study will help me improve my skills as I interact with the Latino population. This project is not only helping me to learn new ways of conducting research but it is also helping me at a personal level. By teaching young children to eliminate bad habits and instill healthy behavior, will be able to eradicate numerous diseases and allow them to have healthy lifestyles.

Federal Work-Study student Ha Nguyen Studies the Health of Nail Salon Workers

Since the summer of 2016 I have been working with Dr. Anna Pollack from the Department of Community and Global Health on her pilot research on the Health of Nail Salon Workers. As her research assistant in this project, I have been involved in translating the drafted questions of the survey to capture the information we needed into Vietnamese and learning how to navigate Qualtrics to enable the process of online data collection to be more user-friendly. Additionally, I also participate in finding prospective participants and interviewing them for our projects.

On one hand, I continuously practice my interpersonal communication skills when approaching prospects, bilingually in both English and Vietnamese. I learn to connect with people and introduce them to our study. Essentially, I compare my experience to cold networking where the prospects are extremely skeptical and as a result I learned a great deal on the arts of persuasion.

On the other hand, I have the chance to look more closely into the methodology of our recruitment. As the project moves onward, our research team finds that referrals from recruited participants have played a major significance in the data collection process. Therefore, Dr. Pollack introduced me to the academic methods of studying hidden populations such as snowball sampling and other forms of chain referral samples, and respondent-driven sampling. “Hidden populations” are considered to have two characteristics: no sampling frame exists and there exist strong privacy concerns; and our population target of nail salon workers indeed falls into this category.

It is so interesting and fascinating for me to learn about these methodologies and at the same time see how it is applied to our research. Since I will be conducting my own research about the rise of private tutoring industry in Vietnam and its responding government policies in this upcoming Spring Semester for a research class, these experiences have provided me extremely valuable insights.

Federal Work-Study student Daniel Howe Develops a Set of Simulations Using the MatLab Simscape Multibody Software Package

Hello! My name is Daniel Howe, and I am a senior in Mechanical Engineering performing research into computer modelling of dynamics problems. Currently, myself and my mentor, Dr. Oscar Barton, are developing a set of simulations for use in instruction in the actual ME 231 Dynamic Course this coming spring using the MatLab Simscape Multibody software package. Every week, I continue to develop my own skills using the software and to build a catalog of modelled problems based on problems found in the dynamics textbook, as well as carefully document my work so that it can be used for teaching other students.

This current project is an extension of the project I’ve been working on since Spring 2015. Initially, Dr. Barton and I developed software in MATHEMATICA that can model mass-spring-damper systems, and we decided to evolve the project in this direction after realizing its potential as a teaching and learning aid. I got interested in the original project because I am interested in simulation and modeling, and I have maintained my interest because of my great interest in improving the tools available for students learning dynamics.

Long term, my work on this project has provided an excellent training ground for crucial skills in modelling. Even more importantly, Dr. Barton’s mentorship has provided for the opportunity to actually present results to other engineers outside of George Mason at ASEE Annual Conference this last summer, which is an absolutely crucial career skill for engineers. Although a research position and not a professional one, it has nonetheless provided me the opportunity for developing important professional skills which will be of immense importance in my career.

Federal Work-Study student Tony Wang Assesses the Impact of the Newly Created Mason Innovation Exchange

I'm Tony Wang, currently a sophomore majoring in Mechanical Engineering with a minor in Computer Science here at George Mason University. My current OSCAR project focuses on assessing the impact of the newly created Mason Innovation Exchange with Dr. Patrick Vora and Dr. Colin Reagle. The Mason Innovation Exchange, better known as The MIX, is a place where students can work together on projects spanning science, engineering, art, and entrepreneurship. Staff members help guide students in their projects and work to gain access to resources, equipment, and space.

I work with the MIX staff members (mostly undergraduates) to coordinate the best ways to make the MIX achieve its full potential. My research focuses on data-driven assessment of current demand for the MIX, the types of projects students work on here, operational areas that could be improved, and the overall impact on the GMU student body. Using this data, I hope to quantify the positive impact the MIX has had thus far and emphasize that establishing additional facilities similar to the MIX is very important for helping students realize what they can achieve with their own creativity and hard work.

Each week I collect relevant data regarding the operations of the MIX and also help with some staff work. Usually before staff meetings or towards the end of each week, I will sift through the collected data and analyze it, finding issues and making remarks on how the MIX is doing. During the weekdays, I help staff the mix and work on improving our data collection. On the weekends, I will take the data collected and analyze it. If there are any issues that need to be addressed I bring them up at the next staff meeting.

Working with Dr. Vora on the MIX has allowed me to expand my horizons. It has allowed me to work towards bringing STEAM to the general public and also hone my personal skill so that I can be better prepared for the professional world and future research opportunities. From learning how to 3D print to figuring out how to organize and analyze varying types of data sets, to getting first hand experience on how difficult it is to start a new program and keep it running. The MIX is a great opportunity for all students to expand their horizons and this OSCAR research position has allowed me to be a part of this amazing opportunity to help make that happen.

Federal Work-Study student Jesse Glendon Raises awareness of Environmental Issues in the Mason Community

I became interested in the EcoScience + Art project after speaking with my mentor Dr. Changwoo Ahn. Dr. Ahn discussed with me his vision for creating a multi-disciplinary organization tasked with raising awareness of environmental issues in the mason community. I saw the vision that he had in mind, and immediately said I wanted to be a part of the project. Over the course of a year we grew our student group into a large and active part of the mason community. Also, during that time created projects such as a floating wetland which was even featured on the local news. Every semester The EcoScience + Art student group hosts a speaker series to involve the on and off campus community, and to share the experiences they’ve made. Keynote speakers include eco-artists, scientist, water resource engineers, and local organizations. 

I believe that the management of this student group has helped me to better understand how to work with people from many different backgrounds. This project has shown me how to plan complex projects, meet deadlines, deal with issues, and organize a large group of people.

On a weekly basis, as the president and student group leader I work with student group members and our mentor to accomplish the initiative at the time. At this time we are in-between projects so we are actively looking for initiatives that student group members would like to be a part of. I also edit our website, sending out updates for the progress of our initiative, and help increase over all awareness of the project in the mason community. I maintain a line of connection between the students and Dr. Ahn and I handle essential communications to the group. Additionally, I setup the event rooms and get all the necessary technology ready. My work keeps our student group organized, on track, constantly working, and fully informed and connected to each other.