Congratulations to the 55 students who will present their research at the 2012 National Conference on Undergraduate Research (NCUR)! That's a record high for BSU! NCUR will be hosted by Weber State University in Ogden, Utah, March 29-31.

Diana DeMont, a senior Social Work major from West Springfield, MA, has effectively brought together her academic discipline, community service, career plans, and commitment to social justice in an inspiring undergraduate research project, "Overcoming Educational Disadvantage: Shelter Initiatives for Homeless Children." Her research focuses on homeless children in Massachusetts and the academic disadvantages they encounter when their families lack secure housing. Her work as a volunteer in homeless shelter tutoring programs lit the spark for an academic research study of the needs of school-age children living in shelters. She received an ATP research grant and spent ten weeks last summer interviewing shelter staff members and gathering information about several family shelters across the state. Her data show the educational obstacles that homeless children encounter and make clear the need for academic services at the family shelters.  Diana says, "I greatly enjoyed interacting with the staff who exuded great passion and care for their work with homeless children." She hopes that the results of her research will support funding for shelter services and staff and raise awareness about the need for shelter volunteers.

Diana's mentor, Dr. Lucinda King-Frode, an Associate Professor of Social Work who has been on the BSU faculty for 18 years, notes that Diana's research is connected in significant ways to her commitments to social justice and a career in social work: "Diana has an abiding interest in the homeless and in services needed to support children therein. Knowledge of how shelters support the learning needs of these disadvantaged children, beyond what the school does, can help providers strengthen services and thereby support these kids." Dr. King-Frode has mentored three other ATP summer grant students and considers the program "a wonderful opportunity for students." The success of ATP students has prompted Dr. King-Frode and her colleagues in the School of Social Work to identify and encourage Social Work majors early in their academic careers to pursue research opportunities at BSU.

 Diana says her summer research was "a wonderful experience!" and is grateful to BSU for the opportunity: "I am incredibly fortunate to attend a university that is so dedicated to the academic success of its students and that is supportive of my interests in research and social justice."  Diana is interning this semester at a middle school in Brockton, continuing her learning about social work in educational settings.

Click here to read archived 2011 Dynamic Duo Feature Stories.