Campus Celebrity Status: Carolyn is the definition of a superstar OSU student—she runs marathons, is completing her Honors Research Thesis a year early, and is a major organizer of Buckeyethon.
Year: Junior
Major: B.S. in Psychology and Criminology, Spanish minor
Hometown: Chicago, IL
What exactly is Buckeyethon, and when did you first become involved?
Buckeyethon is an Ohio State philanthropy group that raises money to end childhood cancer for Nationwide Childrens Hospital. Its main event is a 17-hour dancing marathon. I first got involved in Buckeyethon freshman year—I danced in it!
What was your role this year with Buckeyethon?
This year I was the High School Liaison, which means I worked with schools in the area to help them organize their own dance marathons. Starting in October, I went to Metro High School every Tuesday and Thursday morning to help with the planning of their second marathon. They raised $14,000, and it was only their second year! I also worked with Licking Heights High School to help them organize a more community-oriented event.
Why are you involved in Buckeyethon?
It is an amazing and fun way to help out for a good cause! I’m already excited for next year.
Moving on to your Honors Thesis—when did you begin this project?
I started sophomore year, in a program called the Honors Psychology Research Mentorship Program. It’s more of an accelerated program, so as a sophomore you learn all about different faculty members and their research, and it’s up to you to contact those professors about getting involved. So winter quarter that year I got involved in research with my advisor, and that following spring quarter I started my first thesis class.
What is the focus of your Honors Thesis?
My Honors Thesis is in the Psych department, and it is about identity taking while reading a narrative. Identity taking is when you have a deep connection with the protagonist in a book, and you start to feel and think what the character feels and thinks. Research shows, for example, that if the protagonist in a book participates in community service, then the reader is more inclined to get involved too. For my thesis, I am interested in finding out what happens if the character does more of a negative and moral action.
What kind of research did you have to do?
I did a study to see if people took on cheating when they read about the character in my story who cheats on an extra credit assignment.
What inspired your project’s focus on identity taking?
My advisor did a first person versus third person study that I found really fascinating, and one of her graduate students was working with narratives. These both contributed to the inspiration for the topic of my study.
What has your research revealed so far?
We are still analyzing the data from the study, so I can’t say much. But so far, the results are showing that the cheating character is definitely not well liked.
When do you expect to complete your thesis?
The thesis class is actually a three quarter class, and I’m finishing up the last one now. Traditionally you defend [students “defend” their thesis by presenting it to a board of faculty] your senior year in the spring, but because I started a year earlier, I’m doing it this spring [as a junior].
Do you plan on continuing your research next year?
Yes. Next year I’d like to do some follow-up studies, and maybe even try to get published. But it depends on what type of study gets designed in the fall.
What activities do you do outside of school?
I do sprint triathlons and I’ve done three so far. I’m planning to do an Olympic one this summer. I also do a couple of 5K runs throughout the year.
What is your favorite thing about Ohio State?
Too many things! The campus is beautiful and has lots of green space, and I like that the school is big. I love the welcome feeling you get from the moment you walk in the door, especially in the Psych department. I really like Dr Gee—he’s the president of 50,000 students, and yet he’ll still make an appearance to 21st birthday parties (like my friends’). He’ll talk to you and ask you about your major and about yourself, and he’ll seem genuinely interested in what you have to say.
What are your post-graduation plans?
Right now I am looking at graduate programs in forensic psychology, which will gear me up to be the kind of expert psychologist that is used in court cases. I’m interested in the links between law and psychology, and in psychology research applied to law and to the way the court system works.
What is one thing you’d like to do—that you haven’t already done—before you graduate?
I really want to walk across Mirror Lake when it’s frozen! I don’t always walk past Mirror Lake, and I never remember until it’s thawed out and it’s too late! I have to do that next year!