Kimberly came to the EPET program after teaching psychology and theory of knowledge at an international school in Quito, Ecuador. She has a B.S. in psychology and history from Central Michigan University and an M.A. in Educational Studies from the University of Michigan. She is interested broadly in understanding the relationship between students’ actual experiences and their remembered experiences and how this affects their motivation.

Matthew came to the EPET program after 3 years of teaching science at a virtual high school in Michigan. He has a BA in Physiology from the University of Colorado, and a BS in Secondary Education from Western Michigan University. He is currently interested in studying student engagement in online and virtual environments, and in how technology impacts student engagement.

From California to Michigan, Vicky is interested in shaping students’ interest and experience in STEM through designing an engaging and effective learning environment. She earned a B.A. in Psychology and during her undergraduate years, she was involved in understanding the motivating factors of students pursuing STEM. Her connection to teachers and professors inspires her to be an educator and to keep on growing as a student

Stephanie is broadly interested in understanding how various social supports (e.g., teachers and peers) in the classroom impact students’ motivation, engagement, and psychological well-being. She has a B.A. in Elementary Education and M.S. in Educational Psychology. Her research interests are shaped by her experiences as an English/ESL teacher in K-8 classrooms. Currently, she is interested in using mixed methods to understand how instructional practices are related to motivational constructs such as self-efficacy and engagement.

Briana comes to the EPET program with experience working in curriculum development and teacher professional development experience in Durham, North Carolina. Briana earned her B.S. in Business and Marketing Education and M.S. in Teacher Education and Learning Sciences with a concentration in Educational Psychology. She currently studies Black educator's and student's motivational experiences in science classrooms and community-embedded computing contexts.

Samuela is interested in understanding how students respond to academic challenges. She seeks to identify which obstacles students routinely face and the motivational resources (such as re-engagement and academic buoyancy) that they use to bounce back. She is also interested in how students' racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic backgrounds impact their experiences of adversity and resilience in the classroom.

Before coming to MSU, Brooke worked as a special education teacher in mathematics classrooms with k-8 students. These experiences created a number of questions that have led to the topics she studies today. Brooke is interested in exploring how the intersections of race and gender impact the experiences of girls of color in the mathematics classroom. Her employs a critical perspective to studying the psychological constructs of belonging, self-efficacy, and motivation more broadly.

Goun is exploring the aggression of adolescents and the tension between group conformity and social exclusion. She would like to find educational ways to cultivate moral competence of young people to challenge social injustice. Her interest comes from the question of why people condone social exclusion and discrimination when it is wrong. Goun has a B.A. in political science and an M.A. in international development and public policy.