Christy Thai

Like some of our other research assistants, Christy served as an undergraduate RA for all four years of her time at UAB.  While we were lucky enough to have her, she proved to be a valuable asset to both our lab.  Not only that, but she also juggled commitments between our lab and another research lab on campus without ever letting anything fall through the cracks.  Christy competed in the Ost Undergraduate Research Competition several times and successfully completed an senior honor thesis using research she helped to collect in our lab.  She graduate with honors in Spring 2016.  As of Fall 2017, Christy was in Philadelphia, volunteering with AmeriCorps to increase mental health literacy and public awareness through Mental Health First Aid

Research Collaborations:

Thai, C., Henry, M. A., & Mrug, S. (2014, April). Does Parenting Prevent Hopelessness in Low Income Youth? Poster presented at the OST Undergraduate Research Competition,   Birmingham, AL.

Christy’s Feedback:

Fall 2014:

“Towards the end of the spring semester of my freshman year, I decided to join a research lab to explore the field of psychology. At the time, I had barely begun the core curriculum of a psychology major. I was nervous about joining a lab but Meredith changed that for me. She was friendly and never got upset even when I asked her to walk me through how to conduct an interview with a participant for the 10th time.  Summer passed and the fall semester of my sophomore year began. I was enrolled in statistics and was surprised to find out that one of my teaching assistants was Meredith. Had it not been for Meredith, preparing for my exams would’ve been much more difficult. She took time out of her already busy schedule to create PowerPoint reviews and games and to host supplemental instruction sessions―all to help prepare us students. And when I happened to send an email out to her the day before an exam, she replied promptly, addressing all my concerns. It has now been about a year since I first joined a research lab and now Meredith is helping myself and another fellow research assistant prepare posters to present in a competition. Even now, she takes time out of her schedule to work with the two of us separately and when I ask her to explain SPSS syntax for the third time in a row, she explains it differently each time, molding the explanation until it fits my understanding. Meredith has been one of the most kind and patient mentors I’ve ever worked with. Because of her, I’m not so afraid of the path I’ve chosen.”

Summer 2016:

“As a former research assistant, I have been fortunate and privileged to have had Meredith as a lab leader. Not only has she helped me in conducting and presenting research efficiently but she has also given me invaluable words of wisdom from her own experiences in school and career decisions.”