Ambassador of the Week: Divya Aikat

03/05/2024

Student Ambassador Divya Aikat is a junior studying Biostatistics and Sociology at UNC-CH, and Divya is the Office For Undergraduate Research’s Ambassador of the Week! We are so excited to feature Divya, and please check out our below interview where we discuss Divya’s research journey, advice for undergraduate researchers, and experience working with the OUR.

Tell us a little bit about yourself. Where are you from? What did your road to UNC-CH look like?

I was born and raised in Chapel Hill. My parents work at the university and my brother went here, so this is familiar ground for me. My family is really lovely and eccentric, so I love that I get to be near them. I also had the fortune of getting accepted to the Chancellor’s Science Scholars program and the early admit Biostatistics program in Gillings, so UNC was all around the best choice for me. As Jane Austen once wrote, “Ah! There is nothing like staying at home, for real comfort.”

In my free time, I like to read, journal, and do various arts and crafts. This year, I decided to get into pottery, and thanks to the wonderful Community Clay Studio, I’ve made bird baths, mugs, paintbrush holders, and lots of plates. I also love to be in nature any chance I can get.

Could you narrate your research journey? How did you first get involved in research? Has your research changed since it began?

There are two parts to my winding research journey: public health and Asian American Studies.

I first got involved in research in high school. I attended the North Carolina School of Science and Math, a public residential high school. Through their mentorship program, I connected with an Epidemiology lab, where I researched ways to provide under-screened women with accessible cervical cancer screenings. From that experience, I knew I had an interest in women’s health, but I was unsure of how to narrow my focus. I hopped around a bit after that. I joined the Short Trauma and Anxiety Research Lab in the Institute for Trauma Recovery, where I researched interventions to improve women’s mental health and care, post-sexual assault. Then, the summer after my sophomore year, I was selected for the Equity and Environmental Justice (QUEST) undergraduate scholarship training program. I worked on an independent project to identify pathways altered by endocrine-disrupting chemicals that lead to breast cancer.

Though I liked the women’s health focus, I just didn’t feel a strong pull with my past labs. That oh my god I see this problem everywhere I’m thinking of a new question as we speak and I can’t believe more people aren’t worried about this. And did you know that . . .? exciting-consumes-you aspect of research.

As a Sociology major with critical race theory and feminist perspectives, I eventually found my way to Social Epidemiology. Since January of last year, I’ve been working as a research assistant with Dr. Anissa Vines in the Persevere to Equity lab within Gillings. My independent project focuses on the effect of major life events on the development of uterine fibroids in young Black women, mediated by stress. This past summer, I received a Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) to support my project. I love this lab and the work is so important to me, so I feel a lot of fulfillment and excitement with my research.

To segue to Asian American Studies (AAS), in my sophomore year of college, I showed up at the Asian American Center (thank you Dr. Krupal Amin!!) and that began a whole new world and community for me. Soon after, a handful of us (Christina Huang, Joanna Yeh, Abbey Kollu, & Alicia Bao) co-created Students for Asian American Studies (SAAS), a student activist group advocating for Asian American student demands and pushing for AAS at UNC-Chapel Hill. After 30+ years of student efforts and with the help of faculty, we organized UNC’s first-ever cluster hire of AAS faculty members! This experience has given me valuable perspective about the backend of an institution’s power and the processes it takes to affect change.

This past summer (2023), inspired by our SAAS work, Christina and I had the opportunity to serve as research interns at the South Asian American Digital Archive (SAADA) in Philadelphia. SAADA has the largest publicly accessible archive of South Asian American stories, and documents and preserves stories of our community. We created an oral history collection to document the creation of AAS programs across the country, spanning 50+ years of history, featuring perspectives from students, faculty, and community members. As current Asian American Studies Fellows at SAADA, we are now expanding our story collection. In April, thanks to SAADA, we are attending the Association for Asian American Studies Conference, where Christina and I will present a toolkit and host a roundtable highlighting findings from our collection! I’ve loved so many things about this ethnic studies realm and am excited to see where it takes me.

What has surprised you the most about engaging in undergraduate research?

The independence that I have with my independent project. I know that sounds like a silly answer, but it’s pretty cool to me that I can read, analyze, and then produce my own research.

What’s your favorite thing about doing research here at UNC-CH?

There are moments where you go to a lecture, or read a particularly probing work, or just meet someone who gets it, and you find a new framework with which to interpret life. Research can be a powerful bridge from feeling to knowing to understanding. In an interview Audre Lorde had with Adrienne Rich, published in Sister Outsider, she says, “The learning process is something you can incite, literally incite, like a riot. And then possibly, hopefully, it goes home, or on.”

What has your time as an OUR Student Ambassador been like, and how has it shaped your approach to research and peer mentoring?

I started as an OUR Ambassador this year. It’s been great! Serving on the Research in Social Sciences and Humanities Committee has been so impactful for me, as non-STEM research is often underrepresented. I’ve learned a lot and met a lot of cool people! I love hearing what everyone else is interested in, and the different avenues through which they pursue that.

This year, my friend Joanna and I are teaching an undergraduate seminar – Asian American Coming of Age: An Intersectional Exploration, of Gender, Sexuality and Kinship Ties. Being an OUR Ambassador has prepared me for public speaking and serving as a mentor at a larger level, which has been so helpful for my class.

Good mentors are everything, and the heart of research is collaboration and collective learning. So, I’m happy to contribute in any way I can.

What advice would you have for any UNC-CH student who is trying to get started in research? What have you learned in your research journey that you wish you could go back and tell the version of you who was just starting off in research?

Ask questions! Ask questions! Ask questions! In my opinion, the key to research is not so much what you already know, but your willingness to learn. At the beginning of my research journey, I couldn’t even read a research paper all the way, let alone understand any of it. Now, I’m trying to write one. Be ready to be frustrated and confused, but also come with a list of questions!

Some more directed advice: Block off significant time for research and stick to it. When looking for a lab, be upfront about what you want so you (and the lab) can find the best fit.

What media (books, tv show, movie, music, etc.) are you currently reading, watching, listening to, and why should we check it out too?

I’m a big bookworm, so I have a lot. Recently, I read Beyond Words: What Animals Think and Feel by ecologist Carl Safina. He encourages moving away from a human-centered view of the world and details all the beautiful and unique ways animals experience life. Life-changing.

More recommendations (all fiction): Lisey’s Story by Stephen King if you want a bit of everything, Cruddy by Lynda Barry if you want to have nightmares for a week, Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy if you like drama and have patience, House of Leaves by Mark Danielewski if you’ve ever wanted to read a book upside down that will turn your mind upside down, and Last Night at the Telegraph Club by Malinda Lo if you want something heartwarming and sweet. Also, anything Ocean Vuong, but listen to the audiobook instead.

I also must give a Mitski shoutout. She’s everything to me.

At a 2018 show in London, while tuning her guitar, she says, “I’ve gotten a lot of complaints saying that I can’t play guitar, and it’s true, I’m a keyboardist. But I do this because for a lot of girls it’s kind of scary to try to start playing guitar, ‘cause you feel like you immediately won’t be good enough. So, I’m telling you right now: I can’t play guitar and I’m playing guitar on stage. You can just start where you can.”

I know I’ve talked your ear off about the wonderful world of research and academia, but Mitski and her music have taught me more than any form of schooling ever has.