Project HAPPIEST 2024 Cohort

Aaliyah Henderson

My name is Aaliyah Henderson and I’m double majoring in Health, Society, and Policy (HSP) and Political Science with an expected graduation year of 2026. Over the summer, I had a great opportunity to work with my graduate mentor Sasha Mader, M.S., and Jeff Rose, PhD. One thing I’ve learned working alongside both mentors was that it’s not easy to create a research design, and at the end of the day, research won't always be perfect. There will always be ups and downs to research but it’s important to find key things within your project that keep you motivated. Reflecting on the summer I would say my favorite memories made this summer were every Tuesday when the HAPPIEST cohort would get together for class or just in general be together. We shared endless laughs and created great memories, not only with ourselves, but with the mentors as well. 

Natalia Lopez

My name is Natalia Lopez and I am currently an undeclared student. I am expected to graduate in the Spring 2027. My mentors were Sara Grineski and Austin Clark. My favorite memory from this summer was a week-long camping trip to Southern Utah’s national parks with my best friends. The most surprising thing I learned this summer was how complicated and important the IRB is.

Isabella Marquez

I am double majoring in geography and anthropology with an emphasis in archaeology. I am a third-year student and I will be graduating in Spring 2026. My faculty mentor was Dr. Sara Grineski and my graduate mentor was Austin Clark. My favorite memory from this summer is when the HAPPIEST team went on a field trip to the Natural History Museum of Utah, it was fun to talk to the other members outside of an office setting. What most surprised me was how difficult it can be to get people to take a survey.

Francisca Moreira

 My name is Francisca Moreira. I am an international freshman student, born and raised in Argentina, majoring in Honors Health & Kinesiology. I am expected to graduate in Spring of 2027. During the summer of 2024, I worked on a project within HAPPIEST under the guidance of Dr. Jeff Rose (Ph.D.) and Sasha Mader (M.S.). My favorite memory of this experience was how much I learned. I regularly work with quantitative data and methods, but for our project I got my first insight into qualitative research methods, something truly new to me, and something I may be interested in considering for my future as a professional researcher. Additionally, my mentors were wonderful. They always celebrated my accomplishments and encouraged me to see past mistakes. One of the biggest learnings I take with me from this experience is how long IRB approval takes!

Justin Plascencia-Maciel

My name is Justin Plascencia-Maciel. I am a third-year undergraduate majoring in Applied Mathematics. I am expected to graduate in the fall of 2025. My mentors are Ricardo Rubio and Timothy Collins. My favorite memory of this summer was going to the mines. It was a great opportunity to get to know the cohort of my peers. The most surprising thing I have learned is how exhaustive the IRB is. It took many hours to complete and showed me how regulated research involving people is, which I had not previously considered.

Valeria Rico

I am an undergraduate student at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, majoring in Public Policy and Economics with a minor in Environmental Science and Studies, and I expect to graduate in the Spring of 2026. This summer, I had the privilege of working with Dr. Tabitha Benney as my faculty mentor and Reid Taylor as my graduate student training coordinator. My favorite memory from this summer was leading the development of one of the curricular modules, where I guided the team and saw my ideas and vision come to life. I was surprised by the various ways social science research can be conducted. Our project's qualitative approach gave me a new perspective on research. I learned about different education standards and teaching methods while creating content for students, which was a valuable and eye-opening experience.

Bibiana Rodriguez

I am a biology major with an emphasis in Neurobiology. I have minors in Psychology, Chemistry, and an Honors Integrated minor in Health. I am expected to graduate Spring 2026. My Summer 2024 faculty mentor was David S. Curtis, my graduate student mentor was Susan Walker, and my postdoctoral mentor was Ethan Cheung.  My favorite memory was playing D&D with some of the other undergraduate students in HAPPIEST (Mari, Valeria, Meikayah, Justin, and Natalia) and graduate students (Reid and Susan). I had a fun time, but I did get a headache from being overstimulated. It was worth it. The most surprising thing I learned while conducting research this summer was that I didn't like it. It was a good experience and I think it's necessary to experience it!

Mari Okubo

My name is Mari Okubo. I am an undergraduate student at the University of Utah, I am double-majoring in Psychology and Anthropology, while also getting a TESOL certificate, and I will be graduating in Fall 2024. My Summer 2024 faculty mentor was Dr. David Curtis, my graduate student coordinator was Susan Lee Walker, and I also had a lot of support from a post-doc, Dr. Ethan Cheung, all amazing people from the Department of Family and Consumer Studies. My favorite memories from Summer 2024 were the HAPPIEST fields trips and social events, in which the HAPPIEST cohort was able to interact and get to know each other outside of work. The most surprising thing I learned about conducting research during Summer 2024 is that it is an intense and long process, and there are people who do that as their full-time job, which is just crazy to me. I really admire researchers, academics, professors, and everyone who put that effort into conducting research.