Prema had been a junior at Rutgers College, double majoring in Psychology and Sociology at the time of her internship. She believes that one of the interesting things about her is that she is African-American/Italian Hindu, a background she believes "baffles" most people. She is very close with her sixteen-year-old brother, and her grandmother "has been a powerful influence in [her] life."
Prema has been a member of the crew team at Rutgers, and has done extensive volunteering over the years. She has mentored children who were emotionally and mentally disturbed, and at the time, had aspired to attain a Psy.D. in clinical psychology and become a child psychologist for children from this group. Prema feels that Project L/EARN gave her “a solid grasp of some of the statistics needed to do research in the health field. The statistical background and basic research skills that this program offers is hard to come by.”
Prema spent a summer on a qualitative research project analyzing the media’s portrayal of AD/HD under the guidance of faculty mentor Mark Schmitz. She had performed an extensive literature review of this subject, and had learned how to conduct content analysis. After having completed Project L/EARN training, Prema exclaims that, “Project L/EARN has set me on the right path.”
