Summer Psychology Research Initiative (SPRINT) at UofT

I am one of the co-founders of the Summer Psychology Research Initiative (SPRINT) at the University of Toronto. SPRINT was created in the 2020/2021 academic year and is a free, 2-week summer program for upper-year high school students to learn about a broad range of psychological topics and gain research experience. Students work directly with graduate student mentors who provide feedback on research proposals and offer insight into the various fields of psychology research. SPRINT prioritized applicants who identify as  Indigenous, Black, and racialized minorities and first-generation students.

SPRINT has been generously funded by the University of Toronto Department of Psychology, SGS Graduate Education Innovation Fund (GEIF), the Pedagogical Innovation and Experimentation (PIE) Fund, & the Access Programs University Fund (APUF). I continue to serve on the executive team helping with logistics leading up to the program start date. My main role is collecting, managing, and analyzing qualitative data from the SPRINT participants (see below). During the program, I serve as a graduate mentor and lecturer. 

To assess the long-lasting impact of programs aimed at increasing diversity in psychology, we invited the 2023 & 2024 cohorts to participate in a one-year longitudinal study. Students reported their knowledge across various areas in psychology, research methods, and related careers. Though data collection and analysis are still underway, our findings suggest that even six months post-participation, high school students significantly reported increased knowledge across all areas. 

See the preliminary results from our 2023 poster here & our 2024 talk slides here