It’s not always particularly clear how to start your research, so I thought this was a good opportunity for getting into these research areas. It’s this underlying theme of what motivates people that really interests me.

[Professor Ann Brewster] is very encouraging and makes everyone feel like they can and should contribute. She really wants to teach us and for us to learn how to do this research so we can then do it later on.

Psychology plays a large role in this project. My psychology background helps me put myself in [the students’] shoes and understand their behavior. Economics helps, of course, with gathering data and trying to fit the data into a larger framework.