Theresa is Project L/EARN's second non-Rutgers student, coming from Chaminade University of Honolulu. She had just begun her junior year majoring in Criminal Justice, and at the time, with plans to gain experience working in legal clinics, preparing for the LSAT’s and attending law school. Her experience in Project L/EARN changed her goals slightly in drawing her attention to health care policy. Thus, after her experience as an intern, she had decided to incorporate this into her future studies.
Theresa has had a broad and extensive background of interests and experiences. She has interned with the Office of Affirmative Action in Hawaii and volunteered at the Homeless Shelter Tax Clinics filing taxes. Moreover, she has been a mentor to students interested in business and business law, a contributing writer of the Criminal Justice Newsletter and vice president of the Criminal Justice Club at her university. Presently, she is a member of Delta Epsilon Sigma National Honor Society as well as the Criminal Justice Honor Society, Alpha Phi Sigma.
Her summer research project had explored the factors that affect whether a patient will execute a health care proxy. This had been a new area of study for Theresa that she now believes exposed her to the importance of researching and understanding health care policy. According to Theresa, the Project L/EARN experience had been a unique blend of research methods and statistical analyses with a dedicated group of mentoring faculty that had given her the opportunity to conduct research as an undergraduate while getting paid for it. Lastly, she emphasizes her sincere appreciation for all the help she has received from her mentor, Dr. Cantor, Dr. Peter Guarnaccia, Diane Davis, the program directors, Dorothy Goldsborough, and of course, her fellow interns.
