Senior psychology major Olivia Rice received the E. Ted Bunn Student Excellence Award for Best Poster at the recent Association for University Regional Campuses of Ohio (AURCO) annual conference at the Ohio University Chillicothe Campus. Her poster showcased her research project titled “Undergraduate Student Benefits: Research Within Community Outreach.”
Rice explained that her research focused on determining if undergraduate students find it beneficial to participate in community outreach research. She began her research with other Kent students through a class project led by Rachael Blasiman, Ph.D., associate professor of psychology at Kent State Salem
“We completed a series of five, one-hour workshops at the Salem Public Library that were tailored toward teaching children in grades four through seven about various topics in psychology,” Rice explained. “The goal was to collect surveys from the college participants right before and after each workshop to look at their stress, competence, and confidence levels, as well as identify misconceptions the kids might have had about psychology and any limitations to the workshop.”
Additionally, Rice and her classmates conducted an extended response survey after the fifth workshop that examined the significance of undergraduate research, stress levels, personal growth in the individual and the challenging aspects of leading a workshop.
“Our qualitative data found that participants considered this experience to be valuable; that it enhanced their skills; and they found psychology to be a diverse career,” she noted. “Our quantitative data results found that the college participants' confidence in teaching and comfort levels increased over time, and stress levels decreased over time, thus supporting our hypothesis that undergraduate students would find participating in community outreach research to be beneficial.”
Rice said that findings from this study could help encourage other college students who have never participated in research to see how rewarding and fun it can be.
“This is a great topic to explore because it can diversify into many avenues that can focus on anything from the benefits for college students to benefiting kids and encouraging them to pursue science, specifically psychology, as a career,” she shared. “It is also a great opportunity to talk about the importance of research and how impactful it can be. I love that this topic has helped to produce a light on how important research is, not just for the researchers, but also for the participants involved.”
While Rice received honors for her research at the AURCO conference, she also received awards at the Kent State Salem Undergraduate Research Conference at the end of the fall semester last December. There, she received second-place honors for her poster presentation on this same topic, as well as a first-place award for her oral presentation on her research titled “Central Auditory Processing Disorder.”
“Presenting at AURCO was a great experience,” Rice said. “I had the opportunity to listen to other amazing presentations, both from professors and students. It was great to see such interesting and crucial topics being discussed. I loved talking with other student presenters about their research and faculty who were interested in the expansion of my research and the current topics they were interested in. This was a wonderful event where I got to meet so many devoted individuals who care immensely about spotlighting the importance of their findings.
“I thank Dr. Blasiman for all of her guidance and support as I have started my journey into research,” she continued. “Showcasing this data would never have been possible without her, and I am so thankful to have a mentor who is passionate about supporting and preparing her students to be successful and confident in their research endeavors.”
Aside from her research projects, Rice is quite active as a mentor with the Rising Scholars program. She meets weekly with 13 scholars from grades seven through 12 to provide them with one-on-one support and guidance. Additionally, she helps with the year-long workshops, activities and field trips involving the scholars. The Rising Scholars program provides access opportunities for junior high and high school students from all Columbiana County school districts.
Rice graduates in May with a bachelor’s degree in psychology, but she intends to stay focused on research for the short-term. “I plan to get a research job for a couple of years to gain more experience before applying to graduate school. By then, I hope to attend a program for clinical or school psychology,” she said.
Cutline A: Olivia Rice
Cutline B: Olivia Rice discussing her research with David Larwin, lecturer of psychology during the Undergraduate Research Conference at Kent State Salem in December 2024.
Cutline C: Olivia Rice with her poster at the AURCO Conference.