SESW Elementary and Special Education Student Researcher Spotlight: Caitlin Corbett ’21

Meet Caitlin Corbett, a senior elementary and special education major, who has been conducting research with Dr. Rob Hasson, of the social work department, this summer. Learn more about her experiences through our interview below.

What made you decide to be an ESE major?

I initially came into Providence College undeclared but in October, of first semester, I declared ESE. I always knew I wanted to work with children wherever my career led me. I was taking a variety of courses, but I was also in Introduction to Characteristics of Individuals with Special Needs taught by Dr. Anthony Rodriguez. Within that first month of our class, Dr. Rodriguez was able to show his students how impactful teaching can be. He showed us how teaching is not an individual profession but more like a team sport, where each teacher needs to learn and listen to their peers, students, and administrators to cohesively continue to be better educators. From there on out I knew that ESE was for me. Dr. Rodriguez has been an amazing mentor throughout the past three years, and I am looking forward to my senior year student teaching with him as my advisor!

Dr. Hasson is a professor in the SWK field, what drew you to decide to work with him on his research this summer?

I was abroad in the fall of 2019 and contacted my advisor that I was interested in research and she told me to contact the Social Work and Psychology Departments. The Social Work chair returned my email and asked what kind of research I was interested in, and with my response, he directed me to reach out to Dr. Hasson. Once hearing about the project and learning what it would entail, I was extremely eager to start. When I returned in January, we started the research, however then the pandemic hit limiting what we could do. After a couple of weeks, we were met with the good news that we could continue our research remotely over the summer! This is when Dr. Hasson reached out to me again and asked if I was interested. I was extremely excited to continue the research! Dr. Hasson has been amazing to work with. He is extremely knowledgeable and always willing to help me when I have a question. It has been such a wonderful experience working with him this summer and I look forward to the future of this project!

Tell us about the research you are doing.

While conducting our research this summer the primary focus was to analyze, interpret, and gather data to form a technical report based on the primary needs for unaccompanied children receiving post-release services in the United States. Initially, my tasks were to gather resources to create a literature review to use in the technical report. Once this was finished, and another colleague analyzed the data, I was tasked to write the introduction of the technical report which entails many drafts and editing. Now, I am creating tables and charts of the analyzed data. The goal is to have the final technical report finished and ready to present the findings to colleagues. As an ESE major, I am drawn toward aspects of life that affect children. When hearing about Dr. Hasson’s research I was drawn to the needs that unaccompanied children have and how we can meet them. 

What are your aspirations for the future after leaving PC?

As much as I hate to admit it, life after Providence College happens. Looking toward the future the short-term goal is to finish and present this technical report! Long-term I am looking toward graduate school for my master’s in child psychology. I hope that I will be able to be a child psychologist in the school system in order to help students as best I can!

Anything else you want to share?

If I have any advice for an underclassman who is interested in research or a specific topic, I HIGHLY encourage them to reach out to different professors and administrators. I have seen first-hand how incredible Providence College staff are and their willingness to help. For me, this research has helped me navigate what career path I specifically want to take and has taught me more than I could ever imagine!

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