The 2024 NAEP Doctoral Student Internship Program is now in its final weeks, so interns are hard at work applying all the technical skills and knowledge they’ve gained since the beginning of June to their collaborative projects. Get some insight on the program before it ends by checking out our interview with the remaining three 2024 cohort interns: Adalin Ni, Maggie Perkoff, and Winnie Wilberforce.
- Where are you joining the internship from?
Adalin: I am joining the internship from Nashville, TN, known for its music scene and famous music bars—oh, and hot chicken.
Maggie: I am joining the internship from Boulder, Colorado.
Winnie: I am joining the internship from Columbus, Ohio.
- What is your educational background?
Adalin: I am currently a fourth-year Ph.D. student in computer science at Vanderbilt University, and I plan to graduate in 2025.
Maggie: I studied computer science and linguistics at Haverford College. Currently, I am pursuing a dual Ph.D. in computer science and cognitive science at the University of Colorado Boulder; I got my master's along the way in 2023 and hope to graduate with my Ph.D. in 2025.
Winnie: I have a Bachelor of Education degree with a major in economics and minor in geography from the University of Cape Coast in Ghana. I also have a Master of Public Policy degree with a focus on program evaluation and international education from George Washington University in D.C. I'm currently a Ph.D. candidate in the Quantitative Research, Evaluation, and Measurement program at Ohio State University and I am projected to defend my dissertation in May 2025.
- What are your research topics of interest?
Adalin: My research interests include natural language processing (NLP) and machine learning (ML) applications in public health and personal well-being. I am particularly focused on social-science-related topics, such as Alzheimer's disease and related dementias (ADRD) caregiving, and I have a broader interest in personal and humanity-related issues.
Maggie: I'm interested in using generative AI for good—there's a lot of potential to leverage this type of technology to aid in the context of education as well as in assistive communication devices.
Winnie: I'm interested in education measurement, policy, program evaluation, early childhood education and teacher professional development.
- What current projects are you working on outside of the internship that you’re excited about?
Adalin: I am currently working on a project exploring social network peer support for Alzheimer's caregivers. This research looks at the emotional, informational, and other forms of support provided to informal caregivers. By applying NLP and ML techniques to data from online community posts and surveys from healthcare facilities, I aim to understand the concerns, support needs, and obstacles faced by these caregivers.
Maggie: My dissertation is focused on using conversational AI to support collaborative learning in the classroom. For the past three years, I've been conducting research with the National Science Foundation AI Institute for Student-AI Teaming. This institute allows researchers to design and build classroom technology alongside students, teachers, and experts across multiple disciplines.
Winnie: My advisor, a team of local stakeholders, and I have an ongoing research methods capacity building project in Ethiopia and (more recently) Ghana. The goal is to provide training and workshops on advanced statistical methods and software for graduate students in education studies.
- What drew you to the internship?
Adalin: I was drawn to this internship because I am eager to work with real-world social impact data and collaborate with other researchers to make meaningful contributions to society. The opportunity to work on topics such as student education experiences was particularly appealing.
Maggie: I was excited that the AIR NAEP internship was an opportunity to work with real data that reflects student progress across the entirety of the United States. The American Institutes for Research (AIR) is pursuing research avenues that can highlight disparities in the education system in the hopes of reducing them, which feels very aligned with my career goals.
Winnie: I had a number of informational interviews with past NAEP doctoral interns, and they all recommended this internship program as a way to get real-world experience outside academia.
- How do you hope to use what you learn in the internship?
Adalin: I hope to leverage the experience and knowledge gained during this internship to secure a full-time position at AIR upon graduation. I am excited to continue working with the excellent team here and contribute to impactful research projects.
Maggie: Moving forward, I hope to pursue a research career that allows me to build technology that has a positive impact on the greater education system—I think that this internship is an amazing place to learn the skills to design technical solutions that are informed by real world data.
Winnie: I'm hoping this experience will help sharpen my skillset in psychometrics and quantitative methods, which will be make me a strong candidate in the job market in the coming months.
- What hobbies/special interests/fun facts would you like to share?
Adalin: I am a passionate cat lover and always enjoy sharing stories about my kittens. They are the cutest companions. I also do some drawing and playing guitar, and I have been writing a novel.
Maggie: My favorite way to study is to do "bread timers," inspired by the Pomodoro method (25 minutes of work/5 minutes of break), where I start a loaf of sourdough in the morning, work for 25 minutes, go knead the bread, and then start again.
Winnie: I enjoy reading, going for long prayer walks and trying new recipes.
- What was your favorite part of the orientation week in Crystal City?
Adalin: My favorite part of the orientation week was the lunch talks with my colleagues. They are incredibly friendly, and our conversations covered a wide range of topics beyond just work. We discussed everything from finding nice restaurants to great parks for jogging, which was super fun. I love the people here and the sense of community.
Maggie: I enjoyed starting to explore the NAEP data and learning how to work with such a wide set of values; for the social aspect, I had fun at the bowling outing with the other NAEP interns and mentors.
Winnie: I enjoyed the NAEP training—it was interactive, and I learned a great deal about large scale assessments. I also enjoyed the bowling activity.
Keep an eye out for great things coming from all our interns in the future! The NAEP Doctoral Internship Program will be back next year with another cohort of interns. To be the first to know when applications for this and other opportunities open, or just to stay informed on the latest in NAEP research, sign up for our mailing list.