One of the less-traveled routes I took as an advertising student at UT was research. This interesting opportunity actually arose for me a couple of times, in various fields.
Beyond the relevant coursework and projects, I was approached by advertising Professor Pounders, who sought student help with her research on the effect of plus-size models in magazines on children. My job, with a few others, was to gather popular youth magazines, create tests to show to focus groups and on a larger survey, and code the results from respondents. Her final project can be viewed in video presentations and in trade journals.
After taking two geology courses, I was a huge fan. While it wouldn’t be prudent to pursue a second major when I already had three minors, I did take the opportunity to assist with research at the Vertebrate Paleontology Lab on the Pickle Research Campus north of central UT. In that quiet, dusty section of the city is housed one of the premier paleontology facilities and collections in the country, visited year-round by esteemed professionals in the field. While the historically-significant prized specimens were incredible to take a closer look at, my role was in sifting through bags of dirt for tiny animal bones (snake teeth, mouse skulls, etc) to label and sort. If my schedule had permitted me to stay a little longer, I would have worked on restoration and mold-casting.
Most recently, I created an academic research poster to show for my Bridging Disciplines Connecting Experience. See the associated post here for more information on that.
Clearly, there is a reason I choose the research department whenever in an advertising agency! I used to claim it was from my start as an Electrical Engineering and Computer Science major, but now I’m starting to think my interest was nurtured through the many completely different opportunities I was able to take part in as an undergraduate student.