The Research Experience @ Bridgewater

Dear Supporters of The Research Experience @ Bridgewater,

I am a senior at Bridgewater College majoring in Professional Writing with a minor in Art. I am also a tutor in the Writing Center, as well as the Social Media Manager. I have also held various student life positions around campus and remain extremely connected to Bridgewater despite being a commuter student. Before committing to Bridgewater, I was struggling with what I wanted to do with my life. I didn’t know what I had to give the world, so, I thought about when in my life I was the happiest. I soon realized that I had never been happier than when I was reading my favorite fantasy novels and writing my own little stories. It wasn’t long before I was declaring myself a Professional Writing major and dedicating my life to learning about creative writing. And, after three years at Bridgewater, I can confidently say that no class or experience has ever meant as much to me as this research experience did.

This project answered so many questions for me about the creative writing process. As I read more and more and critically dissected and inspected novels and other built worlds, I was able to see patterns and formulas that I never considered before. I am already seeing a difference in my writing with my ability to create fuller, more believable worlds. This worldbuilding taxonomy that we created has also aided every project I have started since, and I anticipate every project for the rest of my career. It gives me the perfect starting point and keeps me from becoming overwhelmed and abandoning projects. I don’t know how I ever worldbuilt without it. It is my intention to continue my studies in graduate school next fall. I am applying to both MFA and PhD programs specializing in Creative Writing and it is all because of the TREB.

This project gave me the opportunity to showcase how seriously I take my creative endeavors, as well as work one-on-one with a like-minded professor who shares my enthusiasm for fantasy. If I am accepted into a graduate program it will be because of the incredible research opportunity that you gave me.

I can never thank you enough for this. To be able to spend an entire summer turning a passion into a research project was a true gift. I learned so much that I didn’t know I didn’t know and became a stronger fantasy and science fiction writer, researcher, and lifelong learner. This was an opportunity that could only be possible at an institution that cares about its students as much as Bridgewater College does and it was only possible because of you. You have my heartfelt gratitude.

Sincerely,
Elizabeth Burzumato

Dear Supporters of The Research Experience @ Bridgewater,

This summer I completed a review of literature under the supervision of Dr. Jenny Martin. My research focused on the impact of summer literacy interventions on student attitudes towards reading. In doing so, I gained an understanding of the role of positive vs. negative student attitudes towards their education, which has informed my own practices as I place higher priority on student enjoyment of the learning process.

The findings of this study will continue to help inform how teachers and reading specialists can promote literacy most effectively. The culmination of my project was in the full preparation for data collection, including a review of literature, procedure, and selection of pre and post assessment tools. The future of this research will include Dr. Martin and myself collecting data at the Camp Curious summer literacy intervention in the upcoming summer.

I am a senior and am majoring in Liberal Studies (Elementary Education) and minoring in Psychology. I am also a writing center and psychology tutor, along with being a 4 year member and captain of the Bridgewater College swim team. After my time at Bridgewater College, I plan to attend graduate school to study educational psychology with the hopes of eventually becoming a professor of the subject.

This research experience has been of great value to me for several reasons. Given that I want to continue my study of educational psychology, this research allowed me to explore the effectiveness of academic interventions through a lens which is often overlooked. In addition to what I have learned, the experience of preparing for research as a principal researcher will prepare me for the research I will be doing in graduate school.

I greatly appreciate your support on my academic journey. This opportunity meant a great deal to me both academically and personally. Thank you for funding this experience for me.

Best,
Rory Cantwell (she/her)

Dear Supporters of the Research Experience at Bridgewater,

I am writing to express my deepest gratitude for your donations, which allowed me to conduct my research this summer. I am a senior at Bridgewater College majoring in history with a minor in communications, and I am a member of the men’s swim team on campus. This summer, my project was studying the British colonial administration in Iraq during and after the First World War and examining how the administration caused the Iraqi Revolt of 1920.

While in the United Kingdom, I went to London and visited the national archives collecting and analyzing government records and letters from the administrators running Iraq during the time using this as the primary source of knowledge to base my paper. Along with this, I used a plethora of secondary sources along with a visit to the Georgetown University archives as supplemental knowledge to write out my thesis, explaining that the British administration failed to administer Iraq due to three reasons with those being “breaking long-standing promises to the Arab rulers in the region causing tension, ruling with an unpopular government that had no concerns about the Iraqi people themselves, and prioritizing the logistics and crises of the global British Empire over Iraq.” In the future, I will be presenting this research at upcoming history conferences and the upcoming ASPIRE conference along with presenting it at the end of the year for the history honors society on campus.

This experience was incredibly valuable to me as it allowed me to do archival research and a thorough study of a topic that I would most likely have been unable to do in a classroom at Bridgewater College. It allowed me to perfect my research skills and the ability to write on a topic that I was very interested in, creating an original argument supported by primary and secondary sources. This experience was greatly beneficial for me in working on skills I will need when I pursue my master’s degree in Western Asia history next year, and I will forever be grateful for the opportunities this experience gave me.

I would like to thank all the donors and express my utmost gratitude for the ability to complete this research experience, it was the greatest thing to happen to me this summer and I will forever appreciate and cherish it.

Sincerely,
Eric Wilbur