ISERP Internship Students Conduct Research, Build Databases
Maeve Kerr, a high school student on Manhattan’s Upper East Side, spent part of the summer helping a Columbia researcher measure how patients respond to advice from health care providers.
Along with Janelle Codling, a student at St. Francis Preparatory in Queens, the high school seniors spent three days a week at Farrell Community Health Center on 158th Street, administering nine-page surveys to volunteers—primarily patients with diabetes—in the waiting room.
“I’m interested in health and health care and wanted to know more about the research side—everyone knows what doctors and nurses do,” said Kerr.
The girls, both of whom are interested in public health, were two of seven students chosen from a highly competitive field for a high school internship program run by Columbia’s Institute for Social and Economic Research Policy (ISERP).
ISERP’s internship, which pairs students with faculty mentors, began 10 years ago as a way to engage students in research in the social sciences before they started college. It has evolved into a six-week mentorship in which students also receive college counseling.
ISERP hosts a comparable eight-week program for college students bound for graduate school. Both internships serve students in the greater New York City area.
Kerr and Codling worked with Stacey R. Finkelstein, an assistant professor in the Mailman School of Public Health’s health and policy management department.
“I was happy to have two women I could expose to college and research,” said Finkelstein. “Not a lot of women really know about careers in science and managing a balanced life. I am glad to offer that perspective.”
After the surveys were completed, the girls entered the results in a database. Finkelstein met with them twice a week to review their work and offer guidance where needed.
“Professor Finkelstein has been an amazing mentor to me because she tries to go as in-depth as possible while explaining why we are working on a certain project or why we have to do things a certain way,” said Codling.
On the days spent away from the clinic, Kerr and Codling met with the other ISERP high school interns around the University. They went on campus tours, attended college application information sessions with Columbia admissions counselors, and had a weekly seminar class on subjects such as data analysis and other areas relevant to their placements. Each week, one participating faculty mentor presented his or her research to the group of interns.
“Faculty are so appreciative of the interns’ assistance and are eager to promote a passion for the social sciences,” said Caitlin Deighan, who coordinates the ISERP internship program. “They explain how the interns’ piece in the research contributes to the greater whole so they have something tangible to take away at the end of the summer.”
Other research projects high school interns have supported this summer include studies of water security in India and whether New York City neighborhoods are walkable. The interns have constructed databases, done data coding, combed library archives and conducted online research.
Before the summer came to a close, Finkelstein asked Kerr and Codling to help with a new survey she’s writing on what motivates people to choose exotic food items on a menu, an assignment that was met with enthusiasm by her interns. “It’s a pleasure to work with such engaged students,” said Finkelstein. “The internship program is useful for everyone involved.”
As a result of the internship, both Kerr and Codling are open to pursuing advanced research in college.
“I am extremely happy to have gotten the chance to intern at ISERP this summer because now I have a better understanding of the ways that we can use research to make our society better,” said Codling.
For Kerr, the task of soliciting volunteers in the waiting room of the health center to fill out the surveys was initially a challenge. “I was nervous about doing this at first, but have gotten much more confident in this role,” she said.