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Their dedicated team of student-researchers—Nathan Barnes ’24, Mariam Hovhannisyan ’24, Capri Kalvelage ’25, Thomas Mayiga ’25, Ava Pulaski ’24, and Jia Zheng ’25—embarked on a captivating, educational journey during the summer of 2023. The trip was fully funded by ASIANetwork, an organization that promotes education about Asia within the liberal arts.

This research endeavor took the team on a profound exploration of four prestigious universities in Taiwan. The hands-on experience in data collection will enhance their resumes and serve as a valuable asset in their future careers. The team had the invaluable opportunity to interact with a diverse group of individuals and to deepen their understanding of the academic landscape.

Barnes, a communication major who is minoring in Chinese, and Zheng, a business major who has taken 300-level Chinese business courses, created the surveys used for data collection, translated them into Chinese, and translated the answers back into English for data analysis.

“Preparation before the trip involved doing literature review and research to get a sense of what data is already out there so we didn't reinvent the wheel in regard to research,” Zheng said. Originally on a pre-med track, Zheng got her first college experience in research in a biology lab. The study conducted in Taiwan marks her first foray into business research.

“I wasn’t really sure what that would even look like,” she said. “Doing business research opened another door for me to explore. This experience got me really excited to leap in a little bit more and see what’s out there. That was very helpful.” 

A transfer student from Butler University, Barnes has studied Chinese every year since the sixth grade and appreciates the opportunity to practice his language skills in a native setting.

“I’ve grown both in terms of my professionalism and my knowledge of economics.” 

“The only other country I had ever been to was Canada, so this is the first time I’ve been in a country where I could practice Chinese in the real world, having conversations with people on the street and university students in class,” Barnes said. “Being able to understand and translate in a real-life setting definitely has helped my language development.”

This language proficiency not only enriches their personal growth but also opens doors to international job opportunities in regions like mainland China, Taiwan, and Singapore.

Back on campus, Kalvelage, a double-major in economics and computer science and minor in math, is leading the effort on the data analysis with the use of Stata, along with Hovhannisyan, a double-major in economics and computer science, and Mayiga, a finance major.

Preliminary results show a positive relationship between resilience and financial risk taking, mediated by other factors. At the completion of the data analysis, Pulaski will lead the process of producing a publishable manuscript co-authored by the whole team and the project will be presented at a professional conference. 

“This is by far the coolest opportunity I’ve had in college so far,” Kalvelage said. “Research experience is always great, and after this trip, I’ve grown both in terms of my professionalim and my knowledge of economics. Knowing what goes into research is a huge opportunity that not only helped me experience-wise, but will set me apart from others when applying for grad school or jobs after college.”