Name: Rose Sunderland-McKay
Class Year: 2027
Major: Anthropology
Minor: Dance
Internship Organization: Bryn Mawr College Social Science/Humanities Summer Research Program
Internship Title: Student Research Assistant
Location: Bryn Mawr, PA
What’s happening at your internship? We would love to hear what kind of work you are doing!
I am assisting Professor Melissa Pashigian with her pre-fieldwork research through the department of Anthropology at Bryn Mawr. Professor Pashigian’s research is centered around the topics of migraine and dizziness, exploring the lived experiences of various different populations with these conditions through an anthropological lens. At this point in the evolution of her project, my contribution to this work consists primarily of gathering informational materials for her to use as informants for her research process. Through performing searches in various scientific databases, social science journals, and social media platforms, my co-worker and I provide relevant articles and information to her, as well as document important patterns in the literature by observing the quantity and content of our search results. We do this work both individually and collaboratively, having daily meetings to discuss each of our findings and progress, and guide the independent work we do for the rest of our day.
Why did you apply for this internship?
Going into this summer, I was very motivated to engage in an opportunity that gave me experience that I could apply to my future academic and personal goals – this position seemed to align wonderfully with my motivations. As an anthropology major, I am grateful to take lots of coursework that greatly interests me. However, I have yet to be able to engage in the development of an anthropological research project out in the world. I hoped that this experience would give me valuable experience in this area, and increase my skillset and preparedness for doing my own research in the future. Alongside this, I also hoped that it would give me insight into how much I enjoy doing anthropological research! I knew that I was interested in the topic, and thought it would be a great opportunity to explore both cultural and medical anthropology in a tangible way, and acquire more information about myself and what I want my future career goals to look like.
Was there anything special about how you found this internship?
At the time that the application for this internship opened, I happened to be taking an Anthropology of Global Public Health with Professor Pashigian at the time. My Professor informed our class about the internship. I also saw the internship posted on Handshake, because I had been avidly looking on the site for potential summer opportunities at that time.
What has been your favorite part of this internship?
I have so enjoyed my time working with my co-worker and Professor! Most mornings, the three of us have a meeting to discuss what we did the day before; findings, progress we made, questions, what we’ll do today, etc. During this time, I have learned that I can develop professional relationships that are also very fulfilling. In other words, I’ve learned that a professional relationship doesn’t have to be boring, but rather it can be about sharing ideas that each of us are passionate about and having fruitful discussions about the material we are working with, and how it connects to the world. I have also learned, through working in this consistent, smaller group of people, that I can share my ideas – even if I am not sure about them – and have them be valid. I am more capable of intellectual collaboration than I thought I was!
What is something you have learned from your internship that you didn’t expect?
Throughout the process of discussing my independent work on the project with my professor and co-worker, I have learned that I am more capable of engaging in scientific research than I thought I was. Although I knew from the time that I applied that I was interested in the topic of the research, I was somewhat unsure about what it would be like to engage in the more tedious tasks of documenting searches, and reporting on my specific findings. I remember the first time that my Professor told us to “come ready to discuss what we had found” I was quite intimidated – what if I didn’t find anything? What if the information I did find wasn’t helpful? However, through being encouraged every day to converse about what I had found while researching, I learned that I was not only making valuable contributions, but also able to talk about them! This increased my academic confidence, and taught me that my brain actually enjoys thinking critically about issues in both cultural and medical anthropology.
What has been the biggest challenge you have faced at your internship?
A challenging part of my research has been the lack of available scholarship on certain important aspects of the project. This means that oftentimes, when performing searches, it’s hard to get relevant results – or sometimes any results at all – to come up. This is challenging because it requires me to get very creative about the specific combinations and types of search terms I am using, and also because at times, it has been difficult for me not to view these “unsuccessful searches” as personal failures. As time has gone on, however, my Professor has helped me understand that a search that returns no results is just as “successful” as one that returns a lot of results, because it’s still telling us something important about the literature. Sometimes, for example, about a gap in the literature that could exist because of relevant systemic and structural circumstances. Asking yourself “why?” when a search doesn’t produce results can lead to important realizations about the very reason why the research is important in the first place!
Can you talk about the skills you are learning and why they are important to you?
As an Anthropology major, the research experience I’m gaining through this internship is sure to be extremely helpful for me as I continue to pursue my coursework – whether it be for essays, projects, or presentations in Anthropology, or even in other subjects as well. I have received training not only from my Professor, but also from Bryn Mawr’s research librarians. Through this, I have gained many tangible research skills, such as navigating databases like Proquest, Web of Science, Pub Med, Tripod and Google Scholar. I am also improving in my ability to read quickly and scan articles for relevance, as this is something that my supervisor is challenging my co-worker and I to do. Alongside this, I completed the CITI (Collaborative Institutional Training Initiative) Training about ethical research, and received hands-on instruction in transcript coding from my professor. All of these skills – as well as the fundamental experience of actively contributing to an anthropological research project and its development – will aid and inform the upcoming planning of my thesis on logistical and conceptual levels. Engaging in this process has taught me not only about how research can be developed, but also that I enjoy doing this type of research! In this, I am so grateful for the insight that this experience has given me, and will be sure to carry my new skills and knowledge with me in my near and distant academic endeavors.
What is most rewarding about your internship?
The collaborative relationship between my professor, my co-worker and myself has been especially rewarding because we truly all benefit from each other’s contributions, and learn from each other every day. This is because we all have unique strengths that we bring to the project, and unique perspectives that we are able to provide when discussing relevant concepts. With this, my professor has made a point of embracing our unique qualities, which has allowed us to explore in ways that most interest and suit us. In this way, there is some gratifying freedom within the structure of our contributions to the project. For instance, as a double major in dance and anthropology, I have a long-term passion for the body, and interest in somatic research. Although this project is not directly related to somatics, my professor was interested in the connections between the scholarship on migraines and dizziness, and more somatic, artistic scholarship about the body. Upon hearing about my curiosity in these areas, she encouraged me to perform some searches that might help bridge the gap between these different research areas, or contribute applicable – even if not directly related – information.
Can you give us three adjectives and three nouns that describe your internship experience?
Adjectives: Creative, consistent, collaborative
Nouns: Expansion, Confidence, Transformation