Reflections from Rose Pikman

Out of curiosity and the desire for something adventurous in my somewhat bland quarantined yet thankfully healthy life; out of the longing to be closer to the University of Chicago, the student body and the faculty though physically so distant; and out of the need to challenge my brain positively in the summer, I decided to do something about my dissatisfaction. In mid-July, I reached out to Professor Hong who taught CHDV Research Design class the Spring before and told her that I am looking to assist in research, particularly by composing literature reviews.

Professor Hong emailed me back and to my joy, she was leading a study on “Coping with COVID-19”. She took me in with her arms wide open. She appointed a zoom call with me and Eos, and in an instant, I started researching, reading, summarizing, and filling out an Excel Sheet.

 Here came the challenge—to learn how to organize the articles and their information using an Excel Sheet so that others could understand the system and benefit from it. It took me some time to outline the table in such a way that it could be readable to others and feasible for me. With the guidance of Eos and my team, I crafted a comprehensive organization. As you may also see, I added two fields (my personal touch) into the downloadable Excel Sheet: the “significance” and “question” column entail both my stand on why I think that particular article is significant and pose some questions that came to me while reading.

 The whole team turned out to be most friendly though I came in way later than everyone else. What fascinates me is that though I have not met any of them in-person except in zoom meetings, I made some good friendships. So much about community and virtual space (you can read more about it in the related reading section)!

 This research opportunity was the answer to my dissatisfaction—I gained a sense of reconnection to the college and my peers, new motivation and a goal before my eyes, and my mind was pleased with a healthy challenge.