Student Spotlight: Isabella Stuart

Isabella Stuart is a Psychology major in the Emma Eccles College of Education and Human Services. Stuart was really curious about the opportunities they had at USU because she knew it was a research university. “I got the fellowship, which promotes research,” she said, “so I went to Scott and told him my interests and he pointed me to a few professors.”  

Stuart talked to the professors and found one who’s research really interested her and so she started working with her in a behavioral analysis lab. The lab deals with impulsivity research and they are looking into how time devalues a reward in relation to nicotine and alcohol.  

“It makes learning in a class a lot more applicable,” Stuart said. “It makes psychology seem real instead of abstract. It’s interesting to see all the possibilities you can do with it. People think of psychology as clinicians but that’s not all you can do with it. I think it’s cool to see the possibilities of your research.” 

Stuart is a part of the URF program and has met a lot of people through it. She’s met and become friends with her cohort. “It’s cool to talk to other people that are doing research and learn from other people’s interests and see what you can do in different fields,” she said.  

“Be prepared to spend a lot of hours on research! I spend a lot of time doing data analysis, rewriting stuff, re-conceptualizing the procedural stuff. It’s a lot of going back and refining what you’re doing which takes a lot of time but is a necessary part of it.”