09 Nov Lessons from College: How Education Has Shaped Our Team’s Careers
Education shapes our work and how we view the world. In this blog, Fluent Research team members share some important lessons from their school experiences and offer advice for today’s students. Their reflections highlight the power of curiosity, resilience, and embracing new opportunities. Read below to discover how their academic journeys continue to inspire their professional lives.
Charlotte Beatty – User Experience Researcher
• Boston University – B.A. Social Anthropology
• Johns Hopkins University – M.B.A. Business Administration
• Maryland Institute College of Art – M.A. Design
What are some lessons or experiences from your time in school that have shaped who you are and how you work today?
Studying anthropology was one of the best decisions I ever made as an undergraduate student. The contemporary school of anthropology exists at the intersection of many other disciplines, namely environmentalism, history, psychology and sociology, and provides useful frameworks for understanding and interpreting the world and culture around us. One of my favorite things about the field is how it both honors and builds off of established theory and frameworks, and also embraces the importance of considering new perspectives, iterating, and creating new frameworks in the world of social science.
These days, I am most excited and inspired by the emerging school of ecological anthropology, led by legends like Anna Tsing, Marisol de la Cadena, and other grassroots environmental activists and researchers. Anthropology inherently questions how and why we build the structures that we build, and embraces critique, plurality, and empathetic investigation as essential tools. Anthropology also deeply centers humans and human experiences by using first person experiences, a wide array of narrative analysis, artistic expressions, design, and plural histories to holistically understand experiences and cultural phenomenon. The field’s ability to embrace the range of human experiences and employ multiple ways of looking at a phenomena are essential in my everyday work as a researcher, and remind m to stay open minded, flexible, and curious in my work.
If you could give one piece of advice to students today, what would it be?
Take as many social science classes as you can, and look for ways you can learn outside of the classroom, whether that is through podcasts, movies, activism, community involvement, or artistic practice. Everything is connected!
Allison Caplovitz – Director of Content Research and Evaluation
• Cornell University – B.S. in Human Development and Family Sciences
• A semester in Bath, England under the tutelage of Oxford University
• The University of Texas at Austin – M.A, Ph.D. in Human Development and Family Sciences
What are some lessons or experiences from your time in school that have shaped who you are and how you work today?
In order to gain the most out of work, be organized and strategic so that you don’t get overwhelmed and can retain the most out of the knowledge you are gaining,
If you could give one piece of advice to students today, what would it be?
Find something you are passionate about because when you like something it doesn’t feel like work!
Stefanie Cousins – Vice President of Marketing and Communications
• Middlebury College, Middlebury, VT – B.A. in English and Italian, minor in Art History
• Middlebury College, Florence, Italy – Junior Year Abroad
• UNC-Chapel Hill Gillings School of Global Public Health – MPH in Program Development and Leadership
What are some lessons or experiences from your time in school that have shaped who you are and how you work today?
In undergrad, I studied English literature, nonfiction creative writing, and Italian. Beyond my classroom experiences on campus, however, I took advantage of so many opportunities to augment the typical four-year college experience. To build upon my interest in writing and film, I spent the month of January in my sophomore year working for a film company in New York City and I attended the Breadloaf Writers Conference for nonfiction writing the summer after my senior year. To improve my proficiency in speaking and writing in Italian, I attended an intensive summer language program at Middlebury and studied in Florence, Italy through Middlebury’s program during my junior year. These experiences expanded my world and transformed my perspective.
If you could give one piece of advice to students today, what would it be?
Keep an open mind, try new things, and don’t worry so much about grades as much as what you get out of your courses and the relationships you have with professors mentors, and friends.
Mary Meyn – Research Director and Chief of Staff
• Binghamton University – B.A. in Philosophy, Politics, and Law
• Rutgers University, Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy – M.A. in Public Affairs and Politics
What are some lessons or experiences from your time in school that have shaped who you are and how you work today?
We have so much to learn from one another. Students and professors in both my undergraduate and graduate programs had a wide range of perspectives. While I was in school, I loved discussing topics with my classmates and looked forward to hearing what they had to say. Now, my work provides me the opportunity to hear the voices and opinions of people around the world on a wide range of topics, whether it’s qualitative or quantitative insights, and I never lose sight of what a gift it is that people share their thoughts and ideas with me.
If you could give one piece of advice to students today, what would it be?
Take a variety of classes and look for the value in them even when they don’t seem directly relevant to your career.
Kelly Sheehan – Senior User Experience Researcher
• Providence College – B.A. in Psychology
• Northwestern University – M.S., Ph.D. in Cognitive Psychology
What are some lessons or experiences from your time in school that have shaped who you are and how you work today?
In undergrad, I was considering taking a year off before applying to grad school. My undergraduate advisor told me, “If you’re not going to apply this year because you don’t think you’ll get in, then you’re wrong.” She taught me to not doubt myself and to go after what I really want. In graduate school, my advisor would always share this quote with first-year PhD students, “A flower does not think of competing with the flower next to it, it just blooms.” It’s so easy to look at others and feel bad that you’re not doing as well or have not accomplished as much, but we’re all on our own journeys, and success now does not ensure success down the line (or vice versa). All you can do is do your best work and trust in the process!
If you could give one piece of advice to students today, what would it be?
When considering a career or learning area of focus, find something that you not only love but also feel motivated to get better at. You never stop learning, so finding something that you’re inherently interested in will allow continued growth and success down the line!