Maria Munoz Yepez '19
Psychology (and Urban Ed and Ethnic Studies) major Maria Munoz Yepez ('19) started working closely with the faculty of our Child Development Research Group this summer in a newly created position as a Research and Outreach Assistant. Maria will be working throughout the year on recruiting families from all over the South Bay to participate in developmental psychology research at SCU. Along with recruiting families and family-centered organizations to partner with us, Maria is spreading the word about the importance of kids and their parents getting involved with science. Whether they are 3-year-olds learning from storybooks in the Read Lab, 5-year-old bilingual kids expanding their social cognition in the Bhagwat lab, or 9-year-olds learning about ways to improve their attention in the Whitfield Lab, Maria is helping kids and their parents see the value of contributing to and benefitting from childhood cognitive science. But, that is not all! Maria is also helping to develop community “give backs” based on the research of our SCU faculty. She’s working on designing bilingual children’s books, creating educational materials and workshops, and even hosting local library storytimes for parents and toddlers. Maria is building connections with the local community that both make our research possible and help families learn what Santa Clara can give back to them.
If you want to learn more about what Maria is doing, or how you can also participate in research with SCU’s Child Development Research Group, check out our blog or email us.