Diamond Jones Email and Phone Number

Developed and facilitated a scaffolded curricular workshop series serving 30+ students; refined student success across 3 implementations while utilizing a data-driven approach and pillars of accountability to address barriers in student participation in research. Advised 300+ undergraduates across 450+ appointments on various research and language-based grant programs; Tailored advising with empathy and optimism to empower confidence in students’ intellectual inquiry. Assessed ten years of qualitative and quantitative grant program data to write and design a 24-page “Office of Undergraduate Research Retrospective” showcasing program impacts through data visualizations for an audience of alumni, students, and donors. Streamlined workflow for “Student Feature” initiative highlighting student research projects; resulted in weekly showcasing of diverse student narratives and increased representation across disciplines, student experience level, and grant programs.

I investigated interdisciplinary scholarship both digitally and manually to establish a framework to fit a niche corpus of Horror Video Games that were hitherto unstudied. Additionally, I collaborated with scholars to adapt presentation styles - and knowledge backgrounds - in order to focus specialized research into an accessible 12-15pg research paper and presentation. Ultimately culminated in a 10-minute presentation entitled, "Let's Play," in which I examined the YouTube fan(dom) culture and parasocial relationships surrounding indie horror games from the 2010s. Mentored by Thomas Gaubatz, PhD.The Summer Research Opportunity Program (SROP) is a seven-week competitive research experience hosted by Northwestern University for sophomores and juniors from colleges and universities across the United States. All fields of research at Northwestern are open to SROP participants including the social sciences and humanities, physical sciences, chemical and biological sciences, technology, math, and engineering fields.

I work alongside Thomas Gaubatz, PhD, a faculty member for the Asian Languages & Cultures Department at Northwestern University. I compiled annotated bibliographies on game studies literature and systematized both academic and non-academic sources 8-10hr/wk to develop a narrative framework for Japanese popular culture and video games for pedagogical purposes. Additionally, I designed syllabi and coursework on Japanese video games to inform the inception of the 15-30 student class entitled, "Video Games in/as Japanese Culture," (First taught Spring 2023). Funded through the Office of Undergraduate Research, the Undergraduate Research Assistant Program (URAP) funds inexperienced students to work with faculty who are in need of assistance on their own research projects. In doing so, students who do not have sufficient research experience to design and carry out their own independent project gain first-hand mentored knowledge of research practices in their discipline, while faculty who would not otherwise be able to hire Research Assistants (RAs) get help with their own projects. Unlike our other grant programs, a URAP application has to be initiated by a faculty member.

Awarded fellowship to pursue an independent research project during which I established a foundation for game studies research whilst intimately examining 4 8-bit Horror video games and relevant texts. I compiled systematically organized 40+ texts and sources focused around investigating modern video games in a Japanese context. Ultimately culminated in a 10-minute presentation entitled, "Varied and Vengeful," in which I analyzed the appearance of the Vengeful Ghost (onryo) archetype within the games.The Posner Research Program gives rising sophomores the opportunity to engage in research projects under the guidance of Northwestern faculty members during the summer after their first year. Research opportunities are available in four areas of study: humanities, social science, natural science, or mathematics. Students who are among the first in their family to attend college or who attended high schools with limited AP offerings are especially encouraged to apply.