Name: Meghan Ceribo
Internship, Co-op, or Research Site: Dr. Mirela Cengher's Applied Behavior Analysis Lab
Position Title: Undergraduate Research Assistant
Major or Program: Psychology B.A
Current Class Level: Senior
Work Term: Spring 2021
Tell us about your internship, co-op, or research opportunity, including your day-to-day responsibilities.
I have been working with Dr. Cengher and colleagues since Summer 2020, and most of my responsibilities and expertise include literature reviews, data analyses, data collection and manuscript writing. Some of the main topics of interest include skill acquisition, teaching children how to ask informative questions, learning languages, addressing errors made while learning, and more. We are working on several literature reviews on these topics as well as planning for when we are able to experimentally utilize ethical procedures to understand the ways that children with disabilities learn.
Describe the process of obtaining your position. When did you hear of the position and submit your application?
As a junior, I felt really behind because of my lack of research experience. I went through the faculty page to see who had undergraduate research positions available and sent emails to the professors I was interested in working with. I also read some of their works, and was genuinely intrigued by what they have accomplished and produced. Most of the labs I interviewed already had an application I had to fill out inquiring about the classes I have taken and what I know about the overarching topic of research that each lab focuses on. And now I'm here!
What have you enjoyed the most about your position or organization?
I really enjoy learning new things and sharing that knowledge with the rest of the lab. My lab colleagues and mentor are genuine friends and I have learned so much from them as well! Through this lab, not only have I gained some friends, I have also garnered more opportunities, such as the opportunity to co-found a student club and build a community for students interested in Applied Behavior Analysis, present at conferences even during online instruction, assist in publishing peer-reviewed articles, professionally grow with my colleagues, and work on my honors thesis, which is to understand potential barriers that minorities face when pursuing higher education and addressing that using Applied Behavior Analysis modalities.
How do you believe you have made an impact through your work?
I think that being a good consumer of research (and still learning how to improve) has helped me share what I know about the literature, as well as develop critiques for it. In some of the projects that we are doing in the lab, we use what we already know not to reinvent the wheel, but to improve what has already been introduced by other researchers. A lot of our work is geared towards clinicians, teachers and researchers to help children with disabilities learn and develop skills and as we transition back to in-person learning, I know that we can help make an impact through our research.
What advice would you give to another student who is seeking an internship or similar experience?
Don't be shy - reach out to faculty! Most of the time, they are excited to share their works with you outside of the classroom setting. They are also a good resource for more resources, as they are always ready to share other other contacts, help you network, and find a lab or position that is the best fit for you.
Please provide a short reflection or quote about what you liked most about your position / earning internship credit / working with the Career Center.
"If they can't learn the way we teach, we teach the way they learn" is a quote from one of the pioneers of ABA (Ole Ivan Lovaas) that I've heard repeatedly from mentors and the more I garner knowledge about the ABA field, the more it resonates with me. Since a lot of my work has to do with how we learn things, I've come to understand and embrace the idiosyncrasies learning.
Check out this post on our social media platforms!
Like the Career Center on Facebook
#UMBCintern
Want to be the next Intern of the Week? Make sure to fill out this form and stay tuned. New interns are announced every Monday!