60 Reflection on Undergraduate Research Experience – Lauren Christian

Faculty Mentor: Sara Grineski (Sociology, University of Utah)

Of all of my college experiences, my undergraduate research experience had the greatest impact in informing my future academic and career aspirations. I served as an undergraduate on an air quality study during the 2021-22 academic year, and used the findings from that study to craft my honors thesis this semester. My research gave me a sense of direction and purpose, and made it clear to me that I wanted to work at the intersection of environmental justice and air quality issues. I have now secured an internship with NASA projecting the impact of dust from the Great Salt Lake on Utah’s air pollution, and I have managed air quality projects as the Community Engaged Learning Coordinator for the SPARC Environmental Justice lab on campus. Neither of these positions would have been possible without my research background in air quality.