In spring 2020, Cummings completed field research with Rosanna Breaux’s CALMER (Coping Skills and Learning to Manage Emotions Readily) Lab, learning how to give IQ and academic achievement testing, administer psychodiagnostic questionnaires, and measure heart rate variability using a BioLog system. (The COVID-19 pandemic put a temporary halt to this. She later returned to the work.)
During summer 2020, while still in remote-learning mode, Cummings completed a virtual Undergraduate Summer Research Internship through Virginia Tech’s Multicultural Academic Opportunities Program. Here, she worked on two projects as recruiter and data collector. In one, she studied the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on children, adolescents, and their families; with the second study, she examined the professional and personal experiences of parents of youth with emotional, behavioral, or academic difficulties who were teleworking during the pandemic.
She combined these efforts for an independent research project focusing on the remote learning experiences of at-risk children and adolescents during the COVID-19 pandemic in rural Southwest Virginia. The work, co-authored by Breaux and others, was published in the Journal of Rural Mental Health in April 2021.
“Seeing my name in a journal was very rewarding for me,” said Cummings. “I am happy to share my findings with others interested in learning about the impact of COVID-19 on academic success.”
More recently, Cummings has been working in the Virginia Tech Child Study Center, also directed by Breaux, an assistant professor of psychology. Her latest research topic: The effect of peer relationships on the aggression levels of adolescents with social anxiety.
She’s also a member of the Virginia Tech Honors College; a member of Psi Chi, the international honor society in psychology; a member of Phi Kappa Phi’s Honor Society; and has served three terms as vice president of the Psychology Club.
“Kameron has been a delight to work with over the past two years at the Child Study Center, my CALMER Lab, and in class,” Breaux said. “She impressed me with her motivation and maturity as a sophomore and has only continued to grow and excel across all areas — academically, in research, professionally, and clinically. Kameron is certain to have a very bright future and will make us Hokies proud.”
Tyler McFayden, a Ph.D. candidate in psychology and a co-author on the Journal of …….
Source: https://vtx.vt.edu/articles/2022/05/science_senior_of_year_kameron_cummings.html