Tess: An Agent of Change

An ambitious and assertive young woman, Tess began to think about her Edge work during the summer.  She was beginning her senior year, after all, and she told us that her work had to "matter," that she had to find a route that would prepare her for college.

A board detailing various psychological trials and assigned experimenters. 
Graphic from "Research Fraud Case Raises Concerns Over Ethics
of Psychology Research" at researchethicsblog.com.

Through intense self-reflection, she found just the right path.  Upon arriving back at Kildonan, she submitted an unconventional proposal to The Edge Team.  Within, she detailed her desire to embark on an internship at The New School for Social Research in New York City, NY during her second semester.  More specifically, she would work under The Center for Attachment Research, a division within the institute "engaged in the application of attachment theory to clinical and developmental research questions concerning child, parent, and family development" (per the Center's "Who We Are" page).  Tess went on to detail the particular skills she would perform as part of a research team.  She also addressed logistical matters, explaining how she would satisfy Kidonan's credit scheme by studying literature, history, science, and mathematics.  The opportunity sounded exciting, and the document proved a strong working draft.  To better understand the internship, however, the Edge Team needed answers:  "What is attachment theory, anyway? And how will this opportunity relate to the work you will accomplish within the program during the first semester?"

So the revision process began.

Over the next three weeks, Tess met with The Edge Team on a biweekly basis to discuss suggestions for editing.  During these meetings, she admitted that she did not understand attachment theory.  She therefore updated her proposal, stressing within that she would direct her Edge work toward the study of the model in addition to self-psychoanalysis, the history of psychology, and other topics.  We also examined (and The Edge Team modeled) the nuances of APA citation as well as the difference between in-text citations and paraphrasing.  Finally, spurred to remain accountable to Kildonan during her semester abroad, Tess devised a video log and began to seek out a mentor.  In the log, she proposed, she could answer set questions (while maintaining confidentiality procedures, of course) and thereby demonstrate the evolution of her understanding.  With a mentor to supervise her, too, she could better understand the data she recorded and have a point person who would facilitate communication between The New School and Kildonan.

Image taken from Kelly Scott's "Why Should I Do an Internship?"
via www.northeastern.edu.  Linked through http://byuinternships.org/.

The editing process was not short.  Because of the nature of her request, she put her piece through six to seven rounds of revision.  Last week, however, she submitted a draft that proved thoughtful of all the topics we had discussed across our meetings.  It possessed proper APA citations, a copy of the form for her video log, and a more comprehensive union of her work within Edge, Kildonan's credit scheme, and her research duties.  This draft, Tess concluded, was ready for the Academic Dean.  We agreed, so the piece is now on its way to formal review.

Tess should be proud of her document.  Yes, she will likely need to engage another few rounds of revision following her meeting with Dr. Taft, so the process is not quite complete.  Nevertheless, celebration is in order due to the effort that she exerted to revamp her draft so thoroughly.

At several moments, Tess felt discouraged.  She occasionally resisted our suggestions, stressing that they missed the larger picture of her internship.  However, these periods were always short-lived.  Tess overcame them every time, buoyed not only by her individual request but also by a simple fact:  never before in the school's history has a student submitted a proposal for an internship that would bear academic credit.  In this sense, then, Tess is a revolutionary, an agent of change.  She endures...not only for herself but also for all the students (with varied requests) who will come after her.