Eva Supa, an English and psychology major, is helping to train a custom artificial intelligence model with European literature from the 1700s. Eventually, she and her research team will use the AI to analyze how Italian, Spanish and French societies viewed each other during the Enlightenment and how ideas flowed across borders.
Tunazzina Roza, an English and sociology major, is analyzing the TikTok videos of a Black Lives Matter activist to better understand how the activist challenged racist stereotypes.
Francesca Marzo, an international relations major, is building trust in immigrant communities on Long Island with an eye to recording and sharing their stories, in their own words.
Janai Giles, an English major, is helping lead a team of students as they explore grassroots efforts to combat climate change, with the long-term aim of supporting an international network.
All in their first year at Stony Brook University, these students are working closely with faculty on unique projects in the humanities and social sciences and getting their first taste of original research and scholarship. All of them are also being paid for their work.
“Our undergraduates are always advocating for more research opportunities, and I’m pleased that we’ve been able to fund their dreams to experience research and scholarship at a flagship university,” said Carl W. Lejuez, executive vice president and provost. “Many of our students have to work to fund their studies. Rather than allowing circumstances to limit their potential, these funds empower them to follow their curiosity wherever it leads.”
These students are among about a dozen who this spring received funding to participate in undergraduate research and scholarship in humanities, arts and social sciences fields through Stony Brook’s Undergraduate Research and Creative Activities (URECA) program. Historically, URECA has provided funding for students to conduct research with faculty over the summer. This was the first time undergraduates were funded during the spring semester.
The additional funding was provided by URECA with support from the Division of Undergraduate Education and the Provost’s Office.
“It was important that we be able to support the exciting ongoing work in the humanities and social sciences at SBU and have opportunities early on for students to apply their knowledge,” said Marina Fandaros, assistant director for undergraduate research engagement. “We are excited to offer this program that expands student’s perspectives on what it is like to be involved in research. It can facilitate the start of mentoring relationships for students to expand their creativity and problem solving skills.”
Faculty from the Departments of English, Art, History, Linguistics, Languages and Cultural Studies, and Asian and Asian American Studies along with the Program in Writing and Rhetoric and the Center for Multilingual and Intercultural Communication spent the semester working with students. In some cases, the work will continue beyond this spring.
“I’m really grateful to have this opportunity so early; when I was looking for internships, I thought I would need more experience first and I didn’t know there were these kinds of opportunities within humanities and English,” said Roza, who is working with Assistant English Professor Neisha Terry Young in her VOICE Lab. “I chose the English major because it’s more about storytelling and one person’s story can have a really strong impact. I’m drawn to the storytelling in this project and the focus on telling immigrants’ stories from their perspective.”
The URECA program aims to make Stony Brook’s stature as a leading research university accessible to undergraduates.
It is designed to connect students to faculty mentors and help them engage in undergraduate research, scholarship and creativity in all fields. In addition to the summer research support, URECA also offers travel and mini grants to help students present at national conferences, and organizes a campus-wide spring poster symposium for students to share their work with the campus community. URECA researchers are featured every month on the program’s website and in emails.
“I see my role as an opportunity broker. In the same way I want to ask immigrants, who are you and what is your story, I want to give my students the same chances and ask them, what are your goals and how can I facilitate that?” said Young, who welcomed three freshman students to work with her this spring. “The research is many voiced; we’re all in this together. This is an opportunity for my students to find their voices.”
For the spring pilot, URECA staff, with support from the Division of Undergraduate Education identified, more than 100 high-achieving freshman students and invited them to apply. After an application and interview process, a dozen students were accepted into the program and offered a stipend to perform faculty-mentored research.
“In high school, I took French and Italian all four years but I don’t have time to continue it here and I regret it. So when I saw this opportunity with Dr. Gazzola, I decided I wanted to get more involved and learn about the history of these cultures and their literature,” said Supa, who is on the pre-law track and a member of the University Honors Programs. “This is something I never thought I’d be able to do. It’s been really helpful in gaining confidence to ask questions and say my opinion. I always felt like other people understand AI or technology better than me, but now I’m a bit more able to say what I think.”
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