The Faculty of Education is very pleased to announce this year's Undergraduate Student Summer Research Fellowships recipients.
Congratulations to Talia, Amelia, and Catherine.
Recipient Bios:
Talia Economakis
My name is Talia Economakis and I am a student in my final year of the Concurrent Education program. I am completing my USSRF under the supervision of Dr. Benjamin Kutsyuruba and we are conducting research on the topic of leadership. Our research targets focus specifically on bad leadership in various industries, including destructive and toxic leadership, and its effect on the organization’s performance. The goal of this research is to call attention to such shortfalls in leadership and devise solutions to mitigate organizational downfall. In addition, we will be focusing our efforts on investigating how hope can be mobilized in teacher education programs to foster positive well-being for teacher candidates. By making hope a foundational guiding tool in the practice of teacher candidates, they will gain agency in their work and create a reality that reflects their goal of positively shaping the future of their students, instead of becoming derailed by circumstances beyond their control. Our hope is that our research will benefit teacher education programs in Canada as they could use the findings of our research to alter their pedagogical approaches in an effort to better equip teachers in their career path. I am delighted to have the opportunity to engage in such meaningful research and I look forward to continuing to investigate the multifaceted nature of leadership in the fall in my Master’s of Education degree, in which I will be specializing in Educational Leadership.
Amelia Nicholas
Amelia is a fourth-year student completing her bachelor’s in Sociology and Philosophy at Queen’s. Amelia’s interests lie in Critical Disability Studies with a focus on accessibility. She is excited to be working with Dr. Patty Douglas at the Faculty of Education, Centre for Community Engagement and Social Change on Neuro-Affirming Research. This initiative focuses on promoting neurodiversity affirming, accessible research and practice through community-engaged research. Some of the research activities she is working on include assisting with a systematic review of research centre partnerships and public reports to inform neurodiversity affirming best practices in community-engagement, helping conduct qualitative and quantitative analyses of surveys and interviews from Neuro-Vibes events, and creating access protocols for Neuro-Vibes and Centre events, and digital environments and print outputs that meet and exceed AODA checklists. In her spare time Amelia can be found cooking in her kitchen or reading in the sun with her dog, Willie Nelson, and her cat, Axel Rose.
Catherine Park
Catherine Park is an undergraduate student in the Concurrent Education program at Queen’s University, pursuing a BEd – Primary Junior stream alongside a Biopsychology degree. Her academic interests center around inclusive education, and student development. Catherine is especially passionate about communication accessibility and is exploring a future career in speech-language pathology, where she hopes to support children with developmental and language challenges in both educational and clinical settings. As part of the Queen’s University Undergraduate Student Summer Research Fellowship (USSRF), Catherine is working under the supervision of Dr. Nenad Radakovic on the project titled “Envisioning Inclusive and Sustainable Makerspaces in Education: A Scoping Review and Stakeholder Engagement.” This research aims to deepen understanding of what inclusive and sustainable makerspaces look like in the future of STEM education. Through systematic analysis of existing practices and active engagement with educators and community members, the project will generate actionable insights that promote equitable, hands-on learning. Beyond academia, her goal is to apply these findings in future classrooms and educational settings in educational and inclusive methods, contributing to long-term, systemic improvements of how STEAM+ education is delivered. Catherine is beyond excited to contribute to the project and make a meaningful difference through inclusive, research-driven innovation in education.