Maria Falcone

Isn’t it amazing how as one gets older, time seems to fly faster than ever? It seems like it was just yesterday when Meg called me into her office and told me I had been chosen to be a Partnership Scholar. Now I can’t believe this is my fourth year at Cal. State Long Beach and that in just a year and a half, I will be in graduate school. Wow!

I would like to inform you of my recent endeavors. As you know, I spent the summer at CSULB training for the COR Program. This was a fun and stimulating experience for me, one which reinforced my desire to become a researcher. As part of my training, I was given the opportunity to perform a secondary data analysis from the Pew Internet and Hispanic Center. Although it seemed confusing to me at first, I quickly learned the ropes and actually finished the project faster than anyone had anticipated. As a result, I was able to present this research project at the COR Colloquium in Atlanta, Georgia in November. I felt so proud of myself! Here I was- a girl from Lennox, presenting findings on “Attitudinal Differences in Buying Prescription Drugs Over the Internet.” In addition, I was able to meet and talk to many people my age who were interested in social psychology and had similar backgrounds to mine. I have attached a few pictures of me presenting my poster.

This semester, I have been paired up with a mentor at CSULB. His name is Dr. James Amirkhan and I consider him to be one of the most intelligent professors at my school. He is a personality psychologist who studies stress and coping mechanisms and has been using a measure of stress for the past twelve years. A group of students and I have been working with Dr. Amirkhan as research assistants for two months. We have been examining which of three coping mechanisms work the best (avoidance, seeking social support, or problem solving). In addition to working as a research assistant, I am in the process of completing a literature review for my own independent research project. By using Dr. Amirkhan’s stress measure and an additional survey, I will be studying food as a coping mechanism. From this, I will hypothesize sex and racial differences in coping styles and how they relate to food. My proposal will be turned in to the IRB in mid-December for review and approval- let’s keep our fingers crossed!

Also, I have been researching universities that offer summer research internships on the east coast. The COR Program requires that we work as research assistants at a university that we would like to apply for graduate study. In this way, I will be able to receive a decent letter of recommendation from a faculty member affiliated with that school. Although I am not exactly sure which schools I will be applying to, I am certain that it will be an east coast school- perhaps NYU, Harvard, or Purdue University. The possibilities are endless! What’s more, I have someone like John who supports me a great deal and values education as much as I do. Things couldn’t be working out better than they are now.

As you can see, I have been a pretty busy person lately. I feel embarrassed because I have not done much with the scholars I mentor. However, I have planned a San Francisco trip for us in December. I thought this would be a great way to show the scholars a piece of the world outside of Lennox by visiting some colleges and historical sites. I will be sure to take lots of pictures for you!

To close, I have to once again thank you and your wife for all the wonderful support you have provided for me. I know I say this every time I write to you- but it’s the truth. I really do not know where I would be without your generosity. For one, I would not have met many of the people in my life who mean so much to me. Included are Jerry Rodman, Meg Sanchez, and John. Any time I feel like giving up, I think about the hope and faith you and these people have in me. Let me tell you- it makes a world of difference to me!

From the bottom of my heart, thank you.

Maria Falcone

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