This month’s Wisdom Student Researcher highlight is Gustavo E. Delgado! Gustavo became a student researcher at the Center for Practical Wisdom through the University of Chicago’s Summer Institute in Social Research Methods (SISRM). He was matched with Dr. Anne Henly’s lab alongside taking summer courses such as Survey Data Analysis.
Gustavo’s work at the Center for Practical Wisdom focused on Anne Henly’s and Howard Nusbaum’s existing projects in the development of civic-mindedness and civic attitudes through experiences like study abroad and recognized student organization (RSO) involvement. He remarked “This was truly one of the first psychology-oriented studies I had worked on and had the unique opportunity to develop my skills in programming and data analysis. I think this summer internship -which fell right between my undergraduate and graduate studies- cemented my interest in psychology, particularly clinical psychology, and engaging with research.”
At the time, Gustavo was preparing to graduate at the end of the summer and took the opportunity to fill out his undergraduate years with hands-on lab experience. As a neuroscience and psychology major in The College, Odyssey Scholar, and Senior News Reporter for the Chicago Maroon, this was his first opportunity to engage with the psychology of character development. He notes “I had very few preconceived notions about how humans develop the aspects of their character. I had plenty of discussions on the nature versus nurture debate in my undergraduate courses. Still, it was exciting to finally drill down into what makes people engage more with their community or their peers. Having had the opportunity to travel to Paris for the Neuroscience study abroad, I can testify firsthand how powerful the effects of these experiences can be on shaping people and making them more world-minded”
Gustavo is currently a graduate student at the University of Chicago in the burgeoning Master of Science in Precision Health Program in the clinical research track. He hopes to use his wisdom lab experience alongside his training is precision health to expand participant engagement in clinical research and pursue a PhD in psychology.
We think our student researchers are phenomenal and want to let the world know there are some amazing students doing groundbreaking research in the field of wisdom, character development, and human flourishing! Do you have an outstanding student researcher helping you understand the underpinnings in the science of wisdom, character development, and human flourishing? Send your recommendation for a wisdom student researcher highlight to us at wisdom@uchicago.edu to have them highlighted in an upcoming newsletter!
