SAS Student Committee

Members-at-large provide additional input and support to the Executive Team while developing year-round student-centric programming.

Ellen Zheng
Arizona State University

Eva Liu, 2024-2025 Chair

Kyle Barrentine, 2023-2024 Chair

Angela Smith, 2021-2022 Chair

Olivia Zhao, 2020-2021 Chair

Catie Brown, 2019-2020 Chair

Katie Hoemann, 2018-2019 Chair

Jennifer MacCormack, 2017-2018 Chair

Erik Nook, 2016-2017 Chair

Jasmine Mote, 2015-2016 Chair

David Arroyo

My vision for students in the Society for Affective Science is to build a vibrant, inclusive community where early-career researchers feel supported, connected, and inspired to grow both professionally and personally. I want SAS to be a space where students don’t just consume research—they shape the field through collaboration, innovation, and mutual support.

Felix Yu

I think students are already very values in SAS. I appreciate the mentor-mentee program, though I hope this could be a little more organized. For instance, I participated in this program twice, but both times my mentors were not responsive and I ended up not gaining anything from the program. 

An information session for students on how to approach mentors might be helpful, as well as a letter for the mentors on what to expect. 

Cai Liu

My vision is for SAS to not only include students from all backgrounds as members, but also to create more inclusive and accessible opportunities for anyone interested in affective science to actively participate. Many students, especially those from smaller institutions, interdisciplinary programs, or minoritized backgrounds, may not know how to get involved or find peers doing similar work.

To address this, I propose a specific initiative: SAS Regional Peer Circles, which are student-led groups organized by geographic region that connect undergraduates, graduate students, and postdocs around shared interests. These circles could host informal meetups, create group chats, share resources and opportunities, and organize small, low-cost regional events (e.g., mini-conferences). These are valuable opportunities for early-career scholars to actively engage with the community, share works-in-progress, and connect with like-minded peers. By building bridges across institutions in the same region, these circles can reduce isolation and foster meaningful collaboration.

This idea is inspired by my own experiences at Duke University and the University of Virginia, where I saw firsthand the power of small regional gatherings, such as local honors thesis conferences and regional Society for Personality and Social Psychology meetups, in building community. However, I’ve also noticed a gap: there is little structured support for regionally grounded, interest-driven connections across institutions, particularly within affective science. SAS Regional Peer Circles would help fill that gap, making the field more welcoming and interconnected.

Ginger Blodgett

It has become increasingly clear that many scientists struggle to communicate their research in ways that are accessible to the general public, contributing to declining public trust and support for science. It is crucial that both senior scientists and early-career researchers receive training not only in communicating within their own disciplines, but also in reaching across fields and engaging with broader audiences. Conferences provide an ideal setting to support this kind of skill development by bringing in experts who have excelled at disseminating their work beyond academia. The SAS conference could offer a workshop focused on science communication, where experts offer guidance on how to effectively engage different audiences such as scientists from other disciplines, the general public, or even children. Conference attendees would have the opportunity to learn practical strategies for this challenging but critical skill.

Jingyi Luo

My vision for students in SAS are we should be a group who are open-minded, respectful, willing and not afraid of converying our own thoughts, and humble but confident that each of members can have their owninteresting point of view. So I really would like to have SAS build up a comfortable environment for students to communicating their ideas and thoughts and making connections not just among the trainees but also across the board with more senior scholars. I hope there’s a way/event that  trainee to get connected with the senior scholars they would like to talk to and really get to know them in a more casual communication.

Alex Detrich

As you might guess from my recent service work, I am interested in increasing conference accessibility for all students, but particularly disabled students with intersectional identities. Oftentimes disability advocacy is lost when talking about diversity and I would like to help bring that to the forefront of SAS’s Governance, Innovation, and Membership priorities for 2024-2028. I would love to expand my training sessions on accessibility in disseminating research findings via data visualizations to a wider audience and I think this position is the perfect opportunity to help realize this goal through providing seminars about changing visualizations and help writing guidelines for researchers submitting to the conference.

Kristen Petagna

My vision for students at SAS is that they feel welcomed and like SAS is a community and a resource for them. That students are equipped with the mentorship, resources, and peer connections they need to thrive in affective science careers no matter their background.  would love to see SAS continue to grow as a space where trainees can find both community and professional development opportunities, especially those who may be from underrepresented institutions or interdisciplinary backgrounds. A specific initiative to support this would be a Peer Match and Mentorship Series that pairs trainees across career stages (e.g., post-baccs with grad students, grads with postdocs) for short-term, structured mentorship conversations over zoom. This could be supplemented with themed panels at the annual meetings (e.g., navigating the job market, interdisciplinary research, wellness in academia) led by both trainees and faculty for trainees. Or these series and panels can be hosted on Zoom outside of the annual meeting to foster connection and knowledge sharing outside of the annual conference. I also think that fostering more sense of belonging among trainees during the annual meeting could be to organize more low-key, student-led meetups during the annual conference, such as coffee walks, shared meals, or theme-based interest groups (e.g., wellbeing & emotion, writing routines, navigating grad school). 

Kate Petrova

The original vision of the SAS founders was to create a society that felt truly welcoming and supportive to trainees. To this day, SAS excels at this mission. However, as the society grows, it is also becoming more challenging to maintain that sense of intimacy. My goal is to help reignite this mission by bringing back some of the pre-pandemic programming at the annual meetings (for example, the option for trainees to formally invite up to three faculty members to visit their posters). I’m also eager to explore new session formats that prioritize dialogue, such as shorter talks from mid- and late-career members with extended Q&As. Beyond the annual conference, I would love to spearhead a monthly SAS trainee-specific newsletter that highlights recent publications and other accomplishments of the SAS trainees.

Sydni Adams

In today’s world, collaboration and community are dishearteningly lacking in academic spaces. I have a vision of creating a collaboration-focused community for other students at SAS that allow us to not only learn more about the field as a whole, but other peers within the field. I see a functional community within affective science advancing everyone’s ability to think outside the box by having a greater connection with others in SAS to learn more about their interests, perspectives, and focuses within psychology. I think creating space not only to hear from professionals within the field but also from each other as students would be highly beneficial. This kind of initiative would expose students to what their peers are working on, which may support the generation of ideas, the building of connections and community, and the creation of projects. I would love to see an initiative over Zoom where people could get together to talk about their research, whether through giving talks or something even more informal, simply sharing ideas, brainstorming ways to pass roadblocks, or discussing novel theoretical perspectives and new articles and areas of affective science.

Eisha Haque

I would love to expand the feelings of connection and belonging at SAS, particularly for students who may be first joining this community. I really appreciate how SAS feels like a strong community when the conference happens each year. However, that feeling and momentum is not easily maintained outside of the conference, especially given the geographic distance between a lot of our community. A specific initiative I would like to start would be a regional student meetup/mini-conference for SAS students outside of the usual conference time. It can be a place where students talk about current projects and findings and make connections without the stress and nerves that sometimes come with a larger conference. I hope that this will help maintain this feeling of community and encourage more collaboration between SAS student members.

Ziyu Song

As someone who once felt lost navigating resource platforms and academic pathways, I truly appreciate the mentorship opportunities SAS has consistently offered. That said, I’ve noticed that many of our existing efforts are centered around the annual conference. My vision is for SAS to evolve into a “connection platform”, a space that supports students who are curious about affective science and want to explore, understand, and engage throughout the year, not just during a single event.

I imagine this platform operating on four key levels to foster a sense of belonging, exchange, and collaborative growth:

1. Horizontal connection – enabling students from different schools, cultures, and backgrounds to interact and learn from one another;
2. Vertical connection – creating bridges between newcomers (even those outside the field) and more experienced trainees, allowing for peer-led mentorship and informal knowledge sharing;
3. Structural connection – opening up meaningful pathways for students to engage with SAS’s broader resources and decision-making processes;
4. Collaborative connection – encouraging peer-to-peer project collaboration, and helping students see that gaining research experience isn’t limited to finding full-time RA positions. We can also demystify what it takes to initiate an independent project, even as an undergrad or early master’s student.

To help bring this vision into action, one initiative could be the launch of a living online student community, hosted on a shared folder, Slack, or any other platform best suited for sustained and accessible interaction. This space would include topic-based channels aligned with the four connection dimensions, real-time question boards, and curated resources collected from both students and faculty, then redistributed to those who need them. We could also host monthly virtual sessions for focused Q&A, real-time discussion, peer support, and even themed talks or mini-workshops. This ongoing space would make it easier for students to find both information and each other, filling the gaps between conferences and reinforcing SAS as a year-round hub for connection, collaboration, and growth.  

Michelle Shipkova

SAS is a vibrant community of scholars, many of which are trainees, so I think it would be great for there to be more trainee and professional development opportunities added to the conference! For example, in previous email surveys from SAS, it seemed to me like sharing code and sharing resources is important for many trainees, and it would be interesting to see if we could plan an initiative to make that vision a reality. It might also be interesting to have a SAS list-serve or something similar on the website to share postdoc and faculty job postings throughout the years (not only on Whova during the conference). Another professional development initiative I can imagine we can do (if of interest) is to have an expert session/dialogue with editors of Affective Science (or another journal) about both how to effectively engage in peer review of articles and also what the journal editors are looking for when viewing submitted articles (so perspectives from the lens of both the reviewer and the lens of the submitter).

Claudia Bobadilla

My vision for students in SAS is to advance the Student Committee’s mission of supporting trainees from diverse backgrounds by increasing access, visibility, and engagement in affective science. I believe SAS can serve as a bridge to connect students-especially students from historically marginalized or underrepresented communities- to meaningful mentorship, interdisciplinary insight, and professional development opportunities. For example, paired mentorship with doctoral/postdocs in their chosen discipline, informational content (via social media or newsletter) on how each discipline studies affectivity (ex: psychology vs. medicine vs. computer science vs. sociology etc.) including  guidance on how to pursue affect-related research and work experiences and skills , and a “Research Spotlight” feature showcasing recent publications or projects by SAS members to keep students informed and inspired. 

Desiree Webb

I would love to see SAS expand its reach to even more students, especially undergraduate, post-baccalaureate, and other early career researchers who might not have learned about these opportunities yet. One initiative could be to strengthen outreach to psychology departments at universities and colleges, including minority-serving institutions. I recognize that students from underrepresented backgrounds often face additional barriers in accessing information about opportunities within research careers, and expanding SAS’s outreach could help reduce that gap. In a past role as an outreach intern for the Student PIRGs New Voters Project, I helped connect with students across the country, and I saw how impactful proactive outreach can be. I think similar strategies, combined with an even bigger social media presence (shoutout Shannon Brady who did an amazing job at this year’s conference), could bring more visibility to SAS and help us welcome new members into the community.

Additionally, I personally found the Grad School Application Workshop so helpful, and I would love to help expand the promotion of programs like that to reach a broader range of future applicants and SAS members.

Leo Kalotihos

My vision for students in SAS is to create a space where they feel inspired, a sense of belonging, and empowered to be their authentic selves. I want to help foster an environment that promotes critical thinking, curiosity, and a space for open dialogue where students feel comfortable asking questions. This vision of mine includes creating space at the table for diverse perspectives and identities. For example, if this doesn’t already exist at SAS, perhaps we could develop affinity groups for the next SAS conference. This could include meetups for LGBTQ+ students, BIPOC students, and other underrepresented or marginalized groups. These would serve as spaces for connection, mentorship, and shared experience, while also emphasizing how diverse identities are seen and valued. This is especially important in today’s political climate, where diverse voices and research are actively being defunded and/or censored.  

 Archita Tharanipathy

I want SAS students to feel a strong sense of belonging and recognize the value of their contributions, even at the start of their journey. I propose creating casual yet structured peer open forum events, both virtually and year-round, to provide spaces for students to network and collaborate without the pressure of more experienced members. This initiative would help create a more supportive, inclusive environment where students, especially those new to the field or attending alone, feel excited and less isolated. This approach would complement SAS’s mission by fostering deeper connections and empowering students to grow together.

 Zoe Damon

My vision for students in SAS aligns well with the existing mission of SAS as a whole. Ultimately, I hope to make the community, opportunities, and knowledge that SAS provides, available to even more impressionable students. One way to accomplish this would be through a broader dissemination tactic which would rely on other eager students, like myself, to take the initiative of bringing SAS training and ideals to their universities. The SAS network spans far and wide and is full of members who feel passionately about sharing their knowledge with others. In a mutually beneficial opportunity, more established SAS faculty members could pair up with early-career researchers affiliated with their university to hold information sessions about SAS with undergraduate students. I envision engaging Q&A sessions or more simple tactics like posting flyers or speaking in undergraduate classes. With most of the efforts of this plan falling on students, I think that this could create a supervision role realistic for most busy faculty members. I would be very excited to implement this plan and work with each faculty-student pair to create a plan tailored to the culture of their unique university. I believe that this initiative has the realistic potential to engage hundreds of students, each with the opportunity to provide future contributions to the SAS community.

Riya Mishra

My vision for students in SAS is to create a more connected, globally inclusive community where trainees, regardless of geography or background, feel equally supported in their academic and professional development. A specific initiative to realize this vision could be establishing a “Global Peer Mentorship Program”—pairing international students with peers and mentors who can guide them through research opportunities, conference preparation, and navigating academic life in different regions. This would foster a strong network and ensure that international students feel more integrated into the SAS community year-round.

Natasha Vogel

My vision for students in SAS is to create a more connected, informed, and empowered student community. I want to make research and funding opportunities more open and transparent by actively sharing information about exciting research initiatives, emerging work in the field, and awards or grants available to students. Many opportunities exist, but students often miss out simply because they are not aware of them.

A specific initiative to make this vision a reality would be the creation of a “Student Opportunity Spotlight” which could be sent out as part of a monthly newsletter dedicated to highlighting conference information and updates, student awards, travel grants, and research calls, as well as educational opportunities like seminars or presentations on research methodology or statistics.