Gibney and Iwata are Selected to Receive Carson Grants

By Robert McKinney, Assistant Athletics Director, Communications

SALEM, Ore. -- Willamette University student-athletes Camille Gibney (Jr./Fy., La Crescenta, CA/Crescenta Valley HS) from the women's tennis team and Kela Iwata (Jr., LIB, Honolulu, HI/Kalani HS) from the volleyball team have been selected as two of the 10 recipients of this year's Carson Grants. Each Carson Grant is worth up to $3,000 and goes to a current sophomore or junior at Willamette to use on scholarly, creative, or professional research projects during the summer.

Gibney, who is double majoring in Environmental Science and German, will use her grant to study the mental health impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on college students. She will focus specifically on how friendships and the politicization of the pandemic have affected students.

"I've researched the impact that friendships have on mental health in the past, as well as how the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted the way people maintain friendships in a class last year," Gibney commented. "I wanted to build on that and add in the piece about how much the pandemic has been politicized and if that has had a noticeable impact on people's friendships, and then how that has impacted their mental health."

Her efforts will require significant planning and organization by Gibney since she is dealing with several different parameters.

"The three main pieces of the project -- mental health, friendships, and COVID politicization -- might seem a bit disconnected now but I am hoping that by the end of this project there will be clear lines as to how they all interconnect," Gibney said.

While conducting her study, Gibney will be working with other Willamette students.

"This project is focusing solely on Willamette undergraduate students and will involve a survey sent out to a random sample of the student body, with an optional follow-up interview," Gibney explained. "So, the main contributors to this project are Willamette students themselves, through their responses and interest in being interviewed. My sponsor/mentor for this project is Dr. Melinda Butterworth, a professor in the Environmental Science Department. Her specialty is health geography, and that field of study is what initially inspired my research proposal. The final proposal and question have drifted quite a bit away from a pure health geography perspective, but her insights were critical to the formation of the project."

Gibney looks forward to her research project. She's glad that she was able to apply for a Carson Grant.

"I feel so honored and so fortunate to have gotten the Carson Grant," Gibney noted. "I think to me it means that my interests are also interesting to others and that there is actually a future path where I can continue researching things that I am passionate about. It also means that I get to apply knowledge from my classes in a real-world setting for the first time, in a project where I'm setting my own deadlines and goals, which is intimidating but such an opportunity for personal and professional growth.

"I'm excited to start!" Gibney added. "Having an independent research project funded as an undergraduate is such an amazing opportunity, and I'm looking forward to a summer of learning and experience."

Iwata, who is majoring in Psychology, will be conducting research on the traditional Hawaiian practice of hula as a possible preventative barrier for mental health deterioration. Her advisor for the project is Dr. Meredyth Goldberg Edelson in the Psychology Department.

"Over the summer I will be conducting a correlational pilot study to assess the effectiveness of hula, a traditional Hawaiian practice, as a preventative barrier in the deterioration of mental health within members of the Hawaiian community on the island of Oahu, amidst the COVID-19 pandemic," Iwata said. "I will be working alongside Professor Edelson, who has been a tremendous help in guiding me in the right direction.

According to Iwata, she is thrilled to have received a Carson Gant to help with her research project.

"Receiving the Carson Grant was a huge step in the right direction!," Iwata noted. "I was honored and humbled to be picked as one of the 10 students funded by the Carson Grant Program to pursue an independent research project this summer."

Iwata, from Honolulu, Hawaii, is particularly happy that her research will involve people living on the island of Oahu.

"This grant enables me to carry out a very important study specifically targeted to the Hawaiian people," Iwata said. "I'm excited to see what my results show and I am happy to hopefully be able to contribute to the mental health of the people on Oahu."