Student assistants gain experience, help faculty with groundbreaking research

When the pressure is on to find employment in trying economic times, one way for Vassar students to boost their resumes and get a leg-up in the job market is through paid positions as student research assistants. Research assistants occupy an exciting niche of the Vassar community. There is a prevalent misconception that research assistants are little more than photocopiers and fax machines, but a quick scry into their world reveals that they occupy a privileged limbo between teacher and student that allows hands on access to the research and activities that color Vassar's academic flavor.

Mariclare Dasigenis '12 is a research assistant in the Art Department. Her work includes the expected duties of finding articles, copying images and making Professor of Art Nicholas Adams' work run smoothly. Dasigenis represents the typical Vassar research assistant. When speaking of her position, Dasigenis admits, "I mostly do administrative stuff, but it's nice because it teaches you to do things independently, improves your researching skills, and you learn to manage your time well because you're not on a timetable and are responsible for getting your work done." These are the qualities one would be expected to possess when in pursuit of a paycheck. While there may be few surprises in the position, the opportunity to work closely with a professor and develop a solid base of professional skills has allowed Dasigenis to reach for the art historical heights, or at least the top of Professor of Art Harry Roseman's hypnotic mural, as she will be transitioning into a more prominent role as a preparator's assistant at the Frances Lehman Loeb Art Center in the Fall: "Working as a research assistant has been a good stepping stone, it was a good way to get experience in the Department."

The student assistant position need not only be administrative in nature: in some departments, the position involves a hands-on approach to research. Psychology Department Student Assistant Nicole Wood '12, enjoys the usual responsibilities of matching quotes to their authors and compiling a lexicon of relevant scholarship, but the true intrigue of her position lies in her work at the Wimpfheimer Nursery School and Infant Toddler Center. The Wimpfheimer School is a lab school, which means that the tykes are not only under constant supervision for their safety, but also as research subjects with the consent of parents. Unable to pursue her dream double major in psychology and drama, Wood turned to the Office of Student Employment and found an engaging alternative. Wood, a drama major, works under Wimpfheimer Nursery School Director Julie Riess, of whom she recalls, "I worked at the nursery school as a teacher's assistant last year, and did an independent research project with [Riess]. We worked really well together, so she just hired me. I came into Vassar thinking I'd be a drama-psychology double [major]. So this was a great way for me to do both." Working at the Wimpfheimer Nursery School utilizes the skills of student assistants as members of their laboratory team, thus allowing Wood to spend time with the children and participate in observational studies. A favorite assignment of hers involved collecting data as part of a close psychological observation of one rambunctious youngster. Wood respected the observational approach to psychological analysis and childhood development. Wood explained that it is important for her to have spent time in the classroom so that the children became comfortable around her. She explained that this bond makes her an effective observer in experimental situations.

Though working in a very different field from Wood, Michael Hofmann '13 has also gained valuable research experience in the Music Department. His work with Department Chair and Associate Professor of Music Kathryn Libin has sent him into the dusty depths of Skinner Hall of Music and the picturesque music library in a job whose goals are twofold: to decipher the works of a master musician and to enliven the building in which students study his works. It sounds fancy because it is. Hofmann's primary focus involves transcribing examples of German classical composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's own handwriting into a computer system to assist Professor Libin with her thesis on his composition style. While transcribed examples of Mozart's work already exist in the music library, Hofmann explained, "The accepted transcriptions are not always true to exactly what Mozart wrote. Editors usually changed his notation so that it makes more sense or so it looks better." Hofmann knows his notes and has been trusted to transcribe Mozart's original works with fidelity that is, as yet, unmatched. In an aside that illustrated his musical fluency, Hofmann explained that Libin is focusing on Mozart's discerning ear when notating voice leading, a concept primarily reserved for piano that suggests that notes ought to be played as if they were of two voices. To the untrained ear, this means very little, but Hofmann's work has made this a familiar and exciting concept to him.

Hofmann pursued a position with Professor Libin, his major advisor and harmony professor, on his own initiative. Hofmann recalled, "When I went onto the job registration I knew I wanted a job that involved music, so I went to her, and she said she was looking for a research assistant with the ability to use the transcription program." Hofmann's duties are not limited to transcription. "My newest project," Hofmann explained, "is to create small exhibits in Skinner [Hall of Music]. There are empty glass cases in the hallways and stairwells, and I am working on getting some of the [items] in our collection of historic instruments put into those cases. I recently went into the treasure room above the music library, which has a lot of really cool historic instruments and documents. I think that is probably the coolest thing I've done so far. Now I'm working on getting background on the instruments I've found so far. It's like a wild goose chase tracking down the details on these instruments."

From the secret lives of Vassar's instruments, to the hidden psyche of a child, and all the way back to assistant staples—so to speak—such as making copies and scanning images, Vassar is rife with opportunity to find that real on-the-job experience to complement classroom work. Dasigenis' artistic expertise, Wood's analytic insight and Hofmann's instrumental contributions to the Music Department foreshadow the expectations of a post-Vassar reality. The academic machine benefits from a cohesive engagement between professors, students and the material. This relationship is bolstered by the work of student assistants whose behind the scenes maneuverings are likely to be the binding agent behind any number of classroom materials. In fulfilling their duties, student assistants transcend the daily grind and arrive at a position that offers valuable and department-specific learning opportunities. The position of student assistant holds a unique perspective among campus jobs. Although student assistants are included under the umbrella of student employment, the term "employee" is not able to capture the depth of the symbiotic relationship that a student assistant shares with their professor, and the educational worth of the projects they undertake.