URCA Assistant & Faculty Awards
Congratulations to the winners of the Spring 2025 URCA Assistant Program Awards!
URCA Research Mentor of the Semester Awards
Dr. Joshua Wooten, Department of Exercise, Sport, and Nutrition Sciences
Nominated by: Max Hardiek and Grace Karloewicz
Nomination:
"We are writing his letter to wholeheartedly recommend Dr. Joshua Wooten for the highest level of recognition as our URCA mentor. Throughout our time as URCA Assistants, Dr. Wooten has
provided us with countless opportunities not only to engage in meaningful research experiences
and develop our analytical skills, but also to build valuable and lasting relationships with faculty
and our fellow assistants. Dr. Wooten has meticulously and impressively recruited URCA
students with diverse personalities and perspectives to improve exercise science and succeeded
in his goals of developing them into strong leaders and thinkers that are geared to make
powerful positive changes in the world around them.
One of the aspects of Dr. Wooten’s excellence that we appreciate most is his investments in
each of his mentee’s academic/professional careers and personal development. Through
countless individual, group, and journal club meetings, Dr. Wooten has encouraged and assisted
us in developing strong interpersonal skills that will aid us for years to come. During our many
research projects, Dr. Wooten has also pushed each of us to take on challenging but
transformative leadership positions to develop skills and qualities that will directly translate to
our experiences in graduate school and our professional roles thereafter.
With occasional monotony and setbacks, the research process can sometimes be frustrating or
tedious, but Dr. Wooten thrives at maneuvering around this challenge. With his laid-back and
humorous personality, we assistants are consistently put at ease in times of distress. Dr. Wooten
encourages us to look at the positive side of things and to treat each challenge and mistake as a
learning opportunity. His support is exemplified each semester with our biannual barbecue
celebrations. We spend this time to reflect and appreciate our opportunities to work together
as researchers. We truly hope all URCA students are able to have a mentor as outstanding as Dr.
Wooten because we wouldn’t be who we are today without him."
About Dr. Wooten's Research:
"The overall goal of my research is to improve the performance and health of the female athlete during and following their athletic career. My current research team is using the Biopsychosocial Model, to measure physiological and psychosocial factors during the competitive season to develop predictive models to better understand the needs of the female athlete. Undergraduate research assistants are accomplishing this goal through: 1) conducting audits and systematic reviews of the literature to evaluate bias against female athletes in sport with regards to training, injury treatment, and return-to-play strategies, and 2) monitoring in-season and off-season psychological and physiological factors on female athletic performance and sport-related injury. In the Fall, we plan to incorporate wearable technologies in our research to determine the relationship between tracking and physiological data with athletic performance outcomes."
URCA Research Assistants of the Semester Awards
Liezel Lindo, Department of Psychology
Nominated by: Dr. Maggie Polk
Nomination:
"I first met Liezel as a student in a course I guest lectured for back in the Fall semester. As part of my lecture, I shared my research interests and what my lab currently studies. Liezel immediately asked questions about my research and even had research questions of her own that she thought of just as I gave a brief overview of what I study. Within a few hours of the class being over, Liezel emailed me to set up an appointment to discuss more about my research and how she could get involved. Upon meeting her, I could easily see how driven and hardworking she was. She had questions prepared that were already graduate level questions, and I could tell she just had a passion to learn and answer questions, which is why I was quick to admit her into my lab this current semester.
As a current research assistant in my lab, Liezel has continued to amaze me with the questions she asks and the work she does. When I asked my students to find measures for a study we were conducting, she found multiple scales and provided explanations for why to consider each scale. In addition, she asks questions or provides ideas in our open discussion in lab that allows for me to converse with her as if I am talking to a colleague. Lastly, in the past year, she has spearheaded our two recent lab projects. She has taken a leadership position in organizing our survey, ensuring our project is in line with prior research, and signing herself up for many time slots so that she can be there to conduct the research. And she continues to do this while being an active member in another lab and writing her own Honor’s Thesis. She is truly one of the most intellectually curious students I have met, and I believe this is one of her best qualities as a student and researcher. Liezel’s curiosity knows no bounds, and this level of curiosity is a true sign of an outstanding URCA student. I have no doubt that as a result of this curiosity, she will one day be creating and publishing research projects on her own. In addition to this curiosity, Liezel is also extremely hardworking. While she expressed to me that her ultimate research interests lie more in a social cognitive lens, specifically behavioral processes, that has not stopped her from getting familiar with the area of research I examine and contributing to the lab a great deal. She manages a great load with her classes and extracurriculars, but is still contributing and adding to our research lab. I credit her success to these two qualities – her curiosity drives how hard she works."
URCA Creative Assistants of the Semester Awards
Syndey Williams, Department of Art and Design
Nominated by: Prof. Rodrick Whetsone
Nomination:
"My name is Rodrick Whetstone. I teach graphic design in the school of art and design. My URCA student is Sydney Williams. My research this semester is in its infantile stage. This means that I am starting a new body of artwork. Therefore, I must brainstorm, sketch and cultivate new ideas. This stage of the creative process can be daunting since the artist is finding their way to the starting line. Where Sydney fits into this equation is that she is learning how the creative process works. Upon learning this, she has jumped into the process with both feet. She has absorbed information and been, in some cases, the driving force behind the cultivation of new ideas.
I nominate Sydney because she is always on task and very fun to be around. She is always willing to learn something new and enjoys my creative process. She has help me weed out unfruitful ideas while homing in and cultivating better ideas. My research would not be where it is now without her input."
