Alex Brockdorf is an ambitious sophomore at Florida State University. Her passion for research has prompted her to take advantage of the variety of research options offered at FSU. There is something inspiring in her willingness to learn and explore other people and environments. She reflects on her time in Ghana and the impact it has made on her.
Name: Alex Brockdorf
Year: Sophomore
Major: Psychology
Hometown: Jacksonville, FL
Photo By: Nicholas Kielbasa
Her Campus (HC): What are you involved with on campus?
Alex Brockdorf (AB): I’m really involved with research here at Florida state. I’ve been doing research every semester that I’ve been here. I started out with UROP: a program that recruits freshmen and sophomores who are inexperienced with research and gives them the chance to work one on one with a professor.
HC: What was your first experience with working one on one with a professor?
AB: I was extremely fortunate to work with Dr. Megan MacPherson in the College of Communication Sciences and Disorders, doing data coding and analysis. She was doing research on elderly adults to see how speech production changes. Her goal was to talk with people with Parkinson’s because they also experience declines in their ability to produce speech. It was really cool and it really motivated me to continue doing research. Since then I’ve been fortunate to work along side Dr. Pamela Keel and Melissa Shepherd.
Courtesy: Alex Brockdorf
HC: That’s really interesting! You mentioned you’ve continued doing research. Are there any specific projects that you really enjoyed?
AB: Outside of Tallahassee, I was lucky enough to do some community research in Ghana, Africa this past summer. I was able to take this trip through an organization on campus called Global Scholars. They were the ones who connected me with HCDP.
HC: What did this community research consist of?
AB: It was a two-part internship. The first half, I shadowed doctors in hospital. I also assisted the nurses with tasks such as taking patients’ blood pressure. The second half we looked for ways to address their lack of clean water.
HC: What was it like working in the hospital?
AB: It was actually really interesting because there was a lot of things I didn’t expect. I think when people think of Africa, probably one of the things they think of first, is the Ebola epidemic. But there is actually a lot of common ailments, for example diabetes. They aren’t getting great nutrition, exercise, or the ability to engage in a healthy lifestyle. A lot of people had diabetes and it gets to the point where they have to amputate limbs because of the swelling in their feet. It was interesting to see what we were experiencing in the villages with a lack of sanitization and then see those effects in the hospitals.
HC: Were there any challenges you faced working in their hospital?
AB: In the hospital, you had this status that you didn’t work for. They see you as a white person and automatically assume you’re knowledgeable or that you’re a doctor. They would come to me and the other students I was working with and ask us for advice and answers. And we weren’t qualified to provide them with advice and answers. That was difficult to get past.
HC: That must have been rather hard to deal with. What about the water project you worked on during the second half of your trip?
AB: We went into a rural community called Kpatove. I stayed in a city called Ho. The villagers had to walk 20+ minutes to reach their only water source that was very unclean. Students had to spend precious class time bringing water back to the village rather than learning in the classroom.
HC: What steps did you take to complete your water project?
AB: We interviewed over 20 community members about how they used water. We were curious if they were using it safely and what they used it for. We also asked what they would ideally like in a water supply. By doing this we could identify what they were lacking and what we could provide. We were able to implement a water tank.
Courtesy: Alex Brockdorf
HC: It sounds like your team put in a lot of hard work creating this source of clean water. What would you say was the most rewarding part of your trip?
AB: The most rewarding part of my trip was being able to actually provide the elementary school in Kpatove with a filtered tank for rain water. I couldn’t have done it without my friends and family back home who helped me fundraise and supported me all throughout this journey. I’m very grateful that together we were able to implement something that is truly making an impact, even now that we’re back home.
Courtesy: Alex Brockdorf
HC: Many of us have no idea what it’s like to immerse ourselves into another culture. What was it like in Africa?
AB: Something I noticed that was prevalent was how unequal the population is. Living in America we don’t realize we actually experience similarities in our inequality between classes of people. We also just take a lot for granted. Everyone is pretty much within easy access to a hospital here. But in a rural village, people can’t get there and get the resources they need. They have busses that drive to the hospital twice a day and they can try to catch on. Most times they miss the bus and if they do make it on, it goes back to whether they can afford the treatment they need.
HC: Would you ever go back?
AB: Yes, definitely. My friend, Rafaela Sousa, and I plan to go back and continue helping the village we lived in. We hope to go back during the summer before we graduate. Our NGO director, Anku Richard, was amazing. He really made the trip easy and comfortable. I would recommend this trip to anyone. You won’t get this experience really anywhere else. It really opens your eyes.
HC: Do you have any advice for students at FSU that are interested in getting involved with research?
AB: I think a lot of people don’t realize how easy it is to get involved. There are so many amazing professors here at Florida State who are truly experts in their fields. I would recommend just sending an email expressing your interest in their research. They are more than happy to discuss it further in detail with you. There are research opportunities in every field. Find what interest you and find a professor and begin.
Want to get the details of Alex’s trip, from the struggle to the laughs, check out her blog. For a more in-depth exploration of her trip, check out her capstone.
If you’re interested in getting involved with research here are some helpful links: