As many students begin packing the contents of dorms and apartments to leave Elon for the summer — or forever — there are some sticking around campus in the off-season. Whether to work or complete undergraduate research, some students find an empty campus to be a more productive environment.
Junior Michelle Reissig is using the campus resources to complete research for her honors fellow thesis and as a final project as a 2015 Lumen scholar. Reissig, a Public Health Studies major, is excited to complete her project, entitled “Childbirth Self-efficacy and Birth Experiences of Primiparous African-American Women: The Influence of Birth Stories Heard during Pregnancy.”
“This summer I will be conducting interviews with pregnant African-American women and analyzing data from these interviews,” Reissig said. “I am recruiting participants from and working in partnership with Central Carolina OB/GYN in Greensboro.”
Reissig is participating in the Summer Undergraduate Research Experience program this summer. The SURE program provides researchers and faculty mentors with a stipend for the eight weeks research is being conducted. A 3.0 GPA is required, and researchers are also required to submit their work to be presented at the Spring Undergraduate Research Forum (SURF) the following spring.
“Undergraduate research has been my favorite part of my Elon experience,” Reissig said. “I plan to attend graduate school after leaving Elon and continue researching issues related to this research project, so the opportunity to work on my research full-time while being compensated will prepare me for my future.”
Other students simply feel the opportunities for work are better in Burlington than at home.
“I am starting an art therapy internship in local Burlington a few days after my last exam,” said sophomore Maddie Hines, a human service studies major. “This is one of the few art therapy internships available on the east coast. So while I would have liked to go home this experience to learn and grow is what influenced me to stay. I’ll basically be helping an adult day program build their art therapy program from the ground up. Its really an amazing opportunity to help the community and gain experience in the field.”
Thanks to university housing policies for her apartment in the Oaks complex, she will be able to continue living in her apartment and not move out or sublet. Although her friends will be going home for the break, Hines is optimistic about the summer.
“I expect it will be odd having the campus so empty at first,” she said. “But after a while I’m hoping to meet some new people also stay on campus over the summer to hang out with.”