Rebecca Schnefel

As a first-year student at Russell Sage College, Childhood Education major Rebecca Schnefel ’29 presented her research on the history of Broadway at the New York Capital Region Honors Exchange and Russell Sage’s annual Undergraduate Research Day. She’ll add two more conferences in the fall semester of her sophomore year, when she presents “The Role of Curiosity in Education” at the New York State Association for Foreign Language Teachers conference and the New York Six Undergraduate Research conference.

She recently spoke to Professor of Spanish and Honors Program Director Kate Kagan about overcoming her first presentation nerves and finding her voice as a student researcher.

You got involved in research and presentations during your very first year at Sage. What made you say yes to the opportunity to participate in the NYCHE Honors Conference and Undergraduate Research Day?

What made me say yes was my love of learning, to be completely honest. NYCHE Honors was my first-ever conference. I am lucky enough to have a lot of support from my mom and dad, and my boyfriend. The undergrad day was really fun because my best friend and I were able to see each other’s work. Being a first-year, I knew I wanted to dip my toes into the pool of conferences.

Do you remember what it felt like to present your work for the first time? Was there anything that surprised you about the experience?

When I presented my work for the first time, I was very surprised by how natural I am in front of a group of people who come up to me. I was nervous; I felt that I was not ready for the actual day, but when I got there, I was ready and excited.

You are an Education major with a concentration in History. How do these two areas of study come together in the research topics that interest you?

For my first presentation on the history of Broadway, it was actually because of a history course I was taking that I decided on the topic.

Now I am working on an abstract that is more education-based and driven by my own love of learning, “The Role of Curiosity in Education.”

Since your first year, you have continued to look for opportunities to share your work. What have you learned about yourself as a student and researcher along the way?

I learned that I am always interested in learning. As I found myself diving deeper into my research, I learned that I am on the right path. I enjoy learning more about myself. I was always looking things up, but research projects were never my strong suit, because it was always in front of a class and not in front of other researchers.

You will be presenting at NYSAFLT in October and at the New York Six Undergraduate Research Conference in November. What are you most excited about as you prepare for these next two opportunities?

I am excited to be sharing my research on the role of curiosity in education this year because it is something that I have thought about over the summer as I was working my summer job.

If you could go back to your first year and give yourself one piece of advice about getting involved in research, what would you tell yourself? What would you say to another Sage student who might be thinking about taking that first step?

I would tell her to go for it and embrace who you are. Follow the path you were made for. Start your research. It is worth it. As for giving another Sage student advice, if they are thinking about taking that first step, do not be afraid to express yourself, enjoy it, and meet new people.