This year’s Princeton Correspondents on Undergraduate Research team has been working hard to share their research experiences and to highlight the incredible discoveries that are being made in labs and groups across campus. We’ve covered topics from summer internships, to independent work, to navigating research and life during the pandemic. As the end of the school year quickly approaches, we’re looking for new correspondents to apply and join our team! Curious to learn about what it takes to be a member of PCUR? Keep reading to find out!
1) You’re interested and have (any!) experience in research
The fact that you’re reading this blog already shows that research is on your mind! Whether you’ve engaged in research by writing a final paper in a class, working in a lab, searching through library archives, or writing a policy proposal to present to Congress, we’re interested in hearing about your experiences and the lessons you’ve learned, as is the rest of the Princeton community!
2) You enjoy writing and giving advice
The PCUR blog is the perfect opportunity for researchers who love writing to share their work! Correspondents write one post every two weeks and on the week that they aren’t writing, they’re reading their partner correspondent’s post to give feedback! Not only do correspondents get and give advice about their writing, they also are reflective on their research experience and want to share any wisdom they gained and advice they have with other students to help guide them through the research process, which can often be challenging! We’re not looking for people to be the perfect researcher (if such people do exist!) – we’re instead seeking out those who are willing to openly and honestly share their stories about their research successes and failures (and everything in between)!
3) You want to work with an incredible team and meet people who do amazing things
The PCUR Correspondents work closely with each other and the Office of Undergraduate Research to produce engaging content. We have correspondents in the natural sciences, social sciences, engineering, and humanities, and we love highlighting the wide range of interesting work being done in different fields. In addition to meeting with and learning from each other, Correspondents also have the opportunity to engage with and interview other students as well as faculty members about their exciting work.
If the above descriptors sound like you, we would love to have you join our team! If you are interested in becoming a Correspondent, please send the following components to Dr. Poussart, Director of the Office of Undergraduate Research, at poussart@princeton.edu before midnight on Sunday, April 24th:
- a short cover letter reflecting on your research path to date (if this just means reflecting on your R2, that’s perfectly fine at this stage!) and explaining how you would contribute to the PCUR Blog
- a sample post (between 400-700 words; see the PCUR Blog for examples)
- a copy of your resume.
We’re looking forward to hearing from you!
— Cecilia Kim, Chief Correspondent
