cox international center

Undergraduate research assistant

From 1997 to 2014, the Annual Surveys of Journalism & Mass Communication (a proprietary project of ASJMC) were conducted at the Cox International Center. Graduate and undergraduate students were responsible for conducting most of the field work involved; they coordinated mailings and managed data collection for annuals surveys of more than 20,000 participants. 

I was hired as an Undergraduate Research Assistant at the Cox International Center because of my persistence. What that means is that I had emailed the Associate Director so many times he felt had no other choice. It wasn't a glamorous job by any means, but I knew it was an office with the best view on campus and I knew I wanted to do it. 

So, I came to the Cox International Center every day after class and stapled surveys, stuffed envelopes, and hauled hundreds of bins downstairs to the mailroom. I spent an entire summer buried in Excel spreadsheets. 

Data entry can feel a lot like mindless work, but it was work that I learned to love. I learned to be methodical about my work: how to work quietly and independently, how to create efficiency, how to find and fix my own mistakes. When summer turned to fall in 2014, I would be the last undergraduate research assistant standing. There would be no more annual surveys, and I would compile the last report all by myself.