Jade Groobman
STUDENT SPOTLIGHT | FEBRUARY 2021
Major: Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies major with a double minor in Political Science and American Studies
Describe your research/creative work in just a few sentences that we can all understand: My research seeks to understand how racism functions in Jewish spaces, specifically racism targeted at Jews of Color. It also seeks to understand how to best create more equitable and actively anti-racist Jewish spaces.
Q: Who mentors your project?
A: Professor Sarah Deer from the Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies department.
Q: What surprised you about doing a larger research or creative project?
A: The most surprising part of doing a larger research project is the amount of organization involved. With a large project, there is so much information and so many details to be processed, and being incredibly organized is essential to the project.
Q: What did you find most challenging about getting involved in or doing your project? What advice would you offer to students facing similar challenges?
A: The most challenging part about getting involved with my project was finding and narrowing down a topic that I was passionate about. There is so much important research to be done, and finding a topic and making it specific enough can be extremely challenging. If I could offer one piece of advice, it would be to communicate with a mentor or professor about your interests, and brainstorm until you find a topic that makes you excited to do research.
Q: What do you like most about your project?
A: My favorite part about my project is the opportunity to interview people. Hearing people’s stories and being able to connect similarities from all over the country with entirely different experiences is fascinating. Working with my mentor, Sarah Deer, has also been one of my favorite parts of this project. Professor Deer is an incredible, supportive, and knowledgeable professor and mentor, and I feel very lucky to work with her.
Q: What advice would you give to a friend wanting to get involved in research?
A: You are worthy and capable of doing both important and cool research! I know a lot of students struggle with imposter syndrome, but your contribution matters. Find something that you’re passionate about, and go for it.
Q: How do you spend your time when you're not working on your research?
A: When I’m not working on my project, I enjoy spending time with friends, being outside, taking care of my house plants, drinking boba tea, and doing yoga.