2022-2023 SISRM AMBASSADORS
The Summer Institute in Social Research Methods welcomes our 2022-2023 ambassadors! These are students that have participated in our program and who will serve as liaisons between us and our wider community for the academic year. We wanted to introduce and welcome all five of our incredible ambassadors who have done so much already for SISRM, and we want you to get to know them a little better.
Rachel L.
Class of 2025 | Cognitive & Computer Science
Rachel came into the College as an English major and decided to apply to SISRM to get a well-rounded, quantitative experience. As a SISRM fellow coming from the Humanities, Rachel challenged herself and decided to take Computing for the Social Sciences, and ended up loving it. She said that her favorite part of the program was “how enriching, challenging, and fulfilling it was to be pushed to my intellectual limits and to learn new programming skills!”
As a first year, Rachel noticed that many of her friends had difficulties finding internship opportunities. Thus, as a SISRM alumna, she chose to become an ambassador, not only because she is passionate about advocating for SISRM, but also because she believes it is a great opportunity for undergraduates at UChicago.
Favorite season in Chicago: Spring! Love it when the sun starts coming out and everyone starts sitting out on the Quad.
Giuseppe D.
Class of 2024 | Economics & Molecular Engineering Minor
As an Economics major, Giuseppe decided to apply to SISRM to get experience in economic research with a faculty member at UChicago. His favorite part of the program was learning to code in R and translating those skills into a research project with Professor Tomas Philipson, with whom he has now published nationally-cited papers.
Giuseppe chose to become an ambassador because he believes that SISRM has given him countless opportunities, and now he wants to share his experience to ensure that as many UChicago students can learn about the program and get involved. Giuseppe said that “SISRM was truly one of the best experiences I’ve had as a student at UChicago.”
Favorite season in Chicago: Spring.
Gabriella S.
Class of 2024 | Psychology & Comparative Human Development
Gabriella applied to SISRM because she is interested in a career in research. She said that SISRM offered her a comprehensive and informative summer work experience that taught her the skills she needed. She decided to join our ambassador program because she thoroughly enjoyed her experience as a fellow, both professionally and socially, and she wanted to become involved with our ever growing community.
Favorite season in Chicago: Fall.
Navid M.
Class of 2024 | History & Anthropology
As a rising third year in the College, Navid applied to the Summer Institute in Social Research Methods because he was interested in conducting research to explore whether he wanted to pursue an academic career. His favorite part of the program was the classroom experience in Archival Methods and Historical Thinking with Alex Hofmann. As a history student, Navid was part of the first cohort of students to take this new SISRM course, and he thoroughly enjoyed it. This year he joined our ambassador program to keep spreading the word about SISRM to UChicago’s undergraduate community.
Favorite season in Chicago: Summer.
Zander A.
Class of 2023 | Public Policy & International Relations (MA).
Zander applied to the Summer Institute in Social Research Methods at the end of his second year in the College because he wanted to gain experience in academic research. Reflecting about the program, Zander said that his favorite part was “how much confidence I gained as a scholar by working with my faculty mentor. He was extremely supportive and taught me so much about the process of research and collaborative research.”
Zander joined our ambassador program because he believes that every undergraduate should do research at least once during their time in university. After his summer as a SISRM fellow, he saw getting research experience as empowering to create knowledge and to see it accepted by experts. He now hopes to encourage other students at UChicago to do the same.
Bonus advice: DO SISRM. That is all:)
Favorite season in Chicago: Fall! Love how colorful campus gets when the leaves turn.