We had another successful summer with the ASPIRE program! Now in its fourth year, ASPIRE (Applied Social Policy Internship and Research Experience) is an eight-week summer internship program for rising college juniors and seniors from Spelman and Morehouse Colleges that want to advance their quantitative social science research skills, gain a greater understanding about careers that involve public policy research, and establish connections to the University of Michigan.
This year's cohort included six impressive students: Donovan Correll, Toni Flemming, Joasia Jacobs, Olivia Liddie, Chavous Langhorn, and Vincent Patterson. Through workshops and one-on-one support, they advanced their understanding of statistics, data analysis, and data visualization, and applied their knowledge to address research questions on matters related to youth. Their research projects focused on: the impact of parental death and adverse childhood experiences on student outcomes, student well-being, trust in authority, use of mental health supports, and peer to peer relationships and their relationship to bystander intervention.
In addition to their research projects, the students met in small-group speaker sessions with people from various sectors as a means of exposing them to different post-college career paths. This summer's speakers talked about public service, philanthropy, academia, law, advocacy, public health, corporate social responsibility, and community leadership. One student shared that the speaker sessions "opened my eyes to so many career fields, ways of life, and exposed me to endless possibilities. I was touched by each and every speaker who took the time to speak to us and feel such gratitude for them."
Each student also had someone on their side all summer long, a PhD-level mentor that they met with regularly and served as a trusted ear and guide to help them learn the ins and outs of the University of Michigan. One student said that she was glad to have her mentor "there to answer questions that I may have had, whether it was future career aspirations, STATA, feedback or just check ins."
Finally, the students had opportunities to visit and explore Ann Arbor and Detroit, to spend time with other undergrads participating in U-M summer programs, to learn about graduate school at U-M, and to give back through a new community service component. It was a busy summer!
Be sure to check out the ASPIRE homepage to see the video of the students' presentations, to view photos from the summer, and to read the bios of both the students and their mentors. You may also want to learn about a day in the life of a student in the program through these short videos: Olivia Liddie and Joasia Jacobs.
This summer would not have been possible without the backing of the University of Michigan Ford School of Public Policy, Institute for Social Research, and Survey Research Center and a generous contribution from Ronda Stryker. Ms. Stryker is a member of the board of trustees of Spelman College and her philanthropic interests have included a focus on the empowerment of women and support of non-traditional student enhancement programs at colleges and universities.