Summer Research Students Explored Stress of Essential Store Workers During COVID-19

Morgan Blume ’22 and Molly Dreher ’24 spent their summer listening to grocery workers talk about the treacherous year they endured during the COVID-19 pandemic.

As part of Professor Mark Barajas’s research group that studied the effects of COVID-19 on various communities, Blume and Dreher recruited participants for their analysis through social media. Participants filled out one survey on their ethnic identity and another to scale their perceived stress. Then, they sat for an interview over the phone or on Zoom. 

Blume, a Psychology major, said it was hard to listen to such difficult experiences from the past year, though it was also the most rewarding part of their research. “I felt like I was really helping to make a difference,” she said. “My final interview question to them was always, ‘Is there anything else you’d like me to know?’ and many of them said they were so glad we were doing this research. They said they had felt invisible this year. Bringing their stories to light feels like a way to give back.” 

A Behavioral Neuroscience major, Dreher started research with Barajas in the spring, focussing on Saint Mary’s faculty and students’ stress levels in relation to COVID. She was happy to continue the work and focus on a new community. “I liked that I received immediate feedback from this work. I really felt like what I was doing meant something,” Dreher said. 

Confidence Gained

Both Dreher and Blume said they gained valuable interpersonal skills. The interviews were tough; both students found themselves in vulnerable spaces with people they had never met. “A lot of people would break down during the interview,” Blume said. “I’d need to be there to comfort them. Dreher expressed similar thoughts: “You have to share your emotions when you’re in a position where you’re trying to have people open up. You also have to be vulnerable in order for them to feel safe. That was probably the hardest part.” 

Blume feels more confident after her research experience. Going into the summer, she said she was “very nervous. I thought research was scary. I didn’t know if I could handle it. Now, I have the experience, and I feel like I could continue the work.” 

Students that were part of the Summer Research Program met once a week to hear about others’ progress and also shared their challenges and failures along the way with each other and faculty mentors. This helped demystify the research process for students and eased the way for those new to the experience.  

Both students will present their research in the fall with the other Summer Research participants. To students thinking about the Summer Research Program, Blume said, “Don’t shy away from research! If you have the opportunity, definitely do it. It’s so rewarding.” 

READ MORE about the Summer Research Program.