Young Scholars Present at Annual Psychology Conference

College of Arts and Sciences students and alumni gathered with Assistant Professor of Psychology and Counseling Nicole Calma-Roddin, Ph.D., to present their scholarly research at the 96th Annual Meeting of the Eastern Psychological Association (EPA) in New York City.

Held March 6–8, this year’s meeting bore the theme, Making Positive Changes in People’s Lives and in the World, and featured more than 1,000 papers, posters, keynotes, symposia, and events showcasing the ways that psychology students, faculty, and professionals are using research, teaching, and service to strengthen communities and promote well-being.

Four posters and one paper accepted for presentation displayed the combined research of Calma-Roddin, six students, and four alumni, representing New York Tech across four sessions—Undergraduate, Cognitive Psychology, Psi Chi (International Honor Society in Psychology), and Teaching of Psychology Papers: Pedagogical Practices.

Featured work included:

• “Depressive Symptoms, Familial Support, and Social Involvement in Healthcare Students” (poster): William Dacosta, Monique Williams, Joseph Cerda (B.S. ’24), Keyana Williams, Calma-Roddin
• “The Influence of Racial Name Bias on Decision Making” (poster): Mariam Goher (B.S. ’24), Davey Mendoza (B.S. ’25), Yusra Ahmed, Calma-Roddin
• “Enhancing Long-Term Memory Retention Through Interactive Narrative Games” (poster): Gianna Salib, Calma-Roddin, Thomas Bozzo (B.S. ’20)
• “Comparing Audio and Visual Stimuli with a Deese-Roediger-McDermott Task” (poster): Kylee Crain, Calma-Roddin
• “Learning Outcomes and Empathy When using a Narrative Game Vs. Textbook-Style Presentation” (paper): Calma-Roddin, Bozzo

For nearly all the young scholars, the conference was a rite of passage as it was their first time presenting at an academic conference outside of New York Tech. After showing off their psychology capstone projects and independent research studies, the students reflect that while nerve-wracking, the experience instilled in them an exceptional sense of pride.

“It felt good to see our research study being presented at a big conference,” says Cerda, who is wrapping up his first year of graduate psychology studies at Southern New Hampshire University. “This was a big setting for me, and I feel good knowing the work we did was recognized and well-received by many at the conference.”

As the presenters prepped their data and abstracts for poster submission—some research projects a year or more in the making—and practiced their formal communication skills, Calma-Roddin notes that conferences through professional organizations, like the EPA, are invaluable in giving students opportunities to discuss their research with experts in the field and practice their presentation skills in a more applied setting.

“But,” she says, “what’s more important to me is that my students see themselves presenting their work at a professional conference and start to understand themselves as belonging in these kinds of spaces and realizing that their work contributes to the field.”

Crain and Monique Williams concur that sharing their work in this forum was inspiring and helped build their confidence, teaching them not only more about their field of study but also about themselves—that they are capable of a lot more than they initially believed.

Salib adds, “I gained valuable insight into how research is shared and discussed in a professional setting through effective communication and body language. My biggest takeaway was being able to refine my ability to communicate complex ideas clearly and effectively, and it reinforced the importance of adaptability.”

Goher, currently in her gap year pursuing medical school, says she was surprised at how many people wanted to take pictures of her poster. “To know that my research is now a topic of discussion and a reference point for future conversations is still profoundly humbling. I had the pleasure of engaging with professors who provided invaluable insights and suggestions on how to further develop my study.”