Jessica Spensieri ’17 received a Verrazano Research Grant in the Summer of 2015, and used it to conduct research in the CSI Speech Lab.

My name is Jessica Spensieri and I am a Verrazano student of the 2017 graduating class.  I am also a linguistics major and recipient of the Verrazano Research Study Grant for my work with Dr. Jason Bishop.  I have been working in the CSI Speech Laboratory alongside Dr. Bishop on a study about executive function and personality traits, and boundaries in speech.  Basically what this means is we are examining people’s speech and seeing where they pause, and determining if there is a connection with their personality traits and working memory.  We are still in the process of collecting data, so we don’t yet have results.  If you’re a native English speaker, you can actually help out by coming to the speech lab in 2S-216a to participate.  The study doesn’t take long, and you’ll even get paid for your participation, so everybody wins!

Even though I don’t have results to share, I would like to share my experience.  Working with a professor as an undergraduate and having the ability to present your findings at conferences is an amazing opportunity.  I am so fortunate that Professor Bishop took me under his wing and has given me this chance.  I am enjoying working with him in the lab and discovering new things, and am looking forward to what next semester and next year hold.  Not only have I gained this wonderful experience, but I have made friends along the way!  I have met girls that have the same dreams and aspirations as me, and I am so happy that I was able to meet them through this.  I encourage people to take part in research as undergraduates, because it makes you stand out from the rest and is an exciting way to learn new things and meet new people.  I am eager to narrow down our findings for this study and present them at the Undergraduate Research Conference in the spring!

To read more about exciting exploration, visit The Verrazano Voyager homepage.