This week's spotlight is Kimberly Collamore, an experimental psychology doctoral student!
What interested you to pursue a career in STEM?
I don't know that any specific event comes to mind when I think about pursuing a career in STEM. I've been involved in STEM from a young age-I just knew that I loved science and math, so it made sense to continue to study that. My mom is a woman in STEM who I always looked up to, which helped me to see that it would be possible for me to pursue whatever career I wanted.
How would you describe your work to the public?
My work focuses on justice-involved juveniles with substance use issues. I conduct research that assesses perceived barriers to probation activities on the part of juveniles and their caregivers in an attempt to decrease the burden felt by these families. Our goal is to gather information about the shortcomings of the juvenile justice system so that we might propose mechanisms by which to improve it for the families who are involved.
Outside of the lab, what do you enjoy doing?
Outside of the lab, I enjoy doing projects/DIY around the house, spending time with friends, and cooking. Is there something during your research career that you have really enjoyed or want to share?
Research has allowed me to connect with amazing people that I wouldn't have met otherwise, which was an unexpected thing for me. I never would've thought that something I view as a career would bring wonderful people into my life, but academia is rich with great people that I didn't expect.
If you can give a piece of advice to the younger generation, what would it be?
My advice to the younger generation is to say yes. I gained so much experiences and had such great opportunities when I stopped being scared of trying new things and started saying yes to things outside of my comfort zone. Obviously you shouldn't say yes to things you truly don't want to do or things that require you to spread yourself too thin, but push the boundaries of what you think you're capable of.
Is there a female scientist that particularly inspires you?
Brené Brown inspired me to get into research. I think the work that she does is so inspiring to so many people and changes the world, and I want to do that too. I was also inspired by Dr. Jennifer Robinson at Auburn University. She is an incredible scientist who does such important work and is so passionate about what she does. She inspired my interest in psychology while I was in undergraduate, so without her, I would probably not be where I am now.