She taught her first class, served on a psychology conference panel in Peru and won a major grant to write her dissertation. All in all, it has been an exciting and eventful summer for Rice University doctoral student Jennifer Knight.

After leading her first introductory psychology course during Rice's summer term, she traveled to Lima for ten days to attend the Inter-American Congress on Psychology and served on a discrimination panel. The research grant is from the Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues, and she will make her dissertation proposal in September.

"I plan to examine how fluctuations in the economy can affect companies' commitment to diversity programming," she says. Applying a social psychological theory called "realistic group conflict," she hopes to show how attitudes toward "outgroup members" change during times of economic stress. "I enjoy tying in research from different fields--social and organizational psychology, economics and political science--to my work in industrial psychology. It draws heavily upon my liberal arts background."

Knight received her master's degree in industrial/organizational psychology in May 2002 and anticipates earning her Ph.D. in 2004 or 2005. She describes her time at Rice as "phenomenal" and believes her transition from undergraduate to graduate work was eased by her experiences at Southwestern--"not only in the classroom, but through my research experience with Dr. (Traci) Giuliano. I still continue to work with her, and I speak to her on almost a daily basis."

Last year, Giuliano and Knight had their research about the media's portrayal of female athletes featured in the June issue of Allure magazine. Their paper, "He's a Laker; she's a 'looker': The consequences of gender-stereotypical portrayals of male and female athletes by the print media," was originally published in the interdisciplinary journal "Sex Roles." She says, "I feel that getting research in the public eye is important, so this was a big step for me."

Working with Giuliano has become a family affair now that Knight's sister, Katie, is a senior psychology major at Southwestern. The elder Knight says, "Somehow all three Knight sisters wound up as psychology majors (Vickie attends Angelo State University). Our parents aren't sure what to make of that, but we have very different interests within the field."

During her senior year, the Delta Delta Delta national sorority recognized Knight as its 2000 recipient of the Sarah Ida Shaw Award. The honor is given annually to the outstanding national collegian among their 9,000 members who "has a sincere devotion to the ideals of Tri Delta and has been a motivating force within her chapter." That year she also became the first Southwestern student named to USA Today's All-USA College Academic Team.

Upon completion of her studies, she will consider post-doctorate work opportunities in Australia and Washington, D.C., but she insists that her future lies in the classroom. "I absolutely want to teach, ideally at a small liberal arts school, because I believe that is where students find the best and most well-rounded education."