Adding Professional Research Experience To Your Resume

STU student Elizabeth Dreise is adding professional research in Psychology to her resume during her third-year thanks to the university’s JOBS Program and professor Dr. Michelle Lafrance.
 
Lafrance’s research focuses on aging and place: informal caregivers of seniors living in New Brunswick communities, and she credits her Research Assistant, Elizabeth Dreise, with the timely progression of her work.
 
“I wouldn’t be able to be as far in my research, by any stretch of the imagination, if not for Beth,” Lafrance said. “She’s the scaffolding that holds me up so I can just run.”
 
Lafrance said the JOBS Program—in addition to providing students with meaningful oppportunities to contribute to professional research—can be immensely helpful to professors whose programs allow for it.
 
“If you have an active program of research that could benefit from assistance, and you find a strong, excellent student, it’s extraordinary,” Lafrance said. “It’s like having an external hard drive. She’s whirring around in the background and getting things done. Even if I’m focusing on teaching, I know my research is happening.”
 
Planning to honour in Psychology and minor in Criminology and Spanish, Dreise said the experience has helped her develop skills in time management, organization, communication, and accuracy in research. She recommends the JOBS Program to students looking for an added challenge during their undergraduate degree.
 
“Being able to work close with faculty gives a different experience than just going to class,” Dreise said. “It’s a really good opportunity to learn what research entails and see what it looks like; it’s helping me figure out what I like.”