Nicole Lentini
What interests you in Childhood Studies? What stands out from your experience of the Childhood Studies degree?
When I first decided to declare a major in Childhood Studies, I was not exactly sure what the classes would entail. I hope to become an early childhood education teacher, so childhood studies seemed like the perfect major. After taking the courses I learned so many new things about children and their childhoods. What stands out to me the most is the construct of childhood and how it changes over time. The history of childhood itself is interesting. Growing up in a time frame myself where children are considered innocent and live freely in their childhood, I cannot imagine what it was like for children decades ago who had to work at factories or in other unsafe environments. Another thing that stands out to me is the intersectionality of race, class, discrimination, and gender has the ability to deeply affect a child’s life. I think overall Childhood Studies has the ability to help change a child’s life. The classes I took offered vigorous frameworks into the lives of children all over the world and the challenges they face to this day.
What is the focus of your research for the senior seminar?
The focus of my research for the senior seminar is how Capitalism and Childhood are intertwined through marketing food to children. My thesis paper analyzes the current U.S. food marketing regulations and guidelines and includes a comparison with Europe. I researched to prove how most of the time children are advertised unhealthy foods. Some points my paper aims to make are how healthy foods such as fruit and vegetables are not marketed to children at all, they are more expensive which in turn makes it harder for lower income families to afford, and the ingredients in marketed food that are linked to health issues.
After you leave Rutgers, what do you hope to do in the future?
After I leave Rutgers, I plan to apply to Rutgers Graduate school for Teacher Education (I recently applied). I hope to become an Early Childhood Education Teacher. I think the knowledge I have learned in my childhood studies courses about discrimination and children’s agency will greatly help me to become a better teacher and be able to really relate and bond with my future students.
Amelia Morrow
What interests you in Childhood Studies? What stands out from your experience of the Childhood Studies degree?
Childhood Studies interests me because I have always loved to be around children and have been in the early childhood education field for many years. I have cared for children of diverse ethnicities and cultures. Learning about children intrigues me.
Throughout my courses, the many methods, theories, perspectives, and especially the ethnographic research stood out to me. I find ethnography to be very interesting, how one immerses themself in the lives of others to get a better understanding of the “why” that affects the subjects of their research. I also like that Childhood Studies is a multidisciplinary field.
What is the focus of your research for the senior seminar?
The focus of my research for Senior seminar is the inequalities in early childhood education that prevent all children from attaining an equitable, high quality learning experience. I chose to focus on public preschool programs as well as the Head Start program.
After you leave Rutgers, what do you hope to do in the future?
After leaving Rutgers, I hope to obtain my Master’s in Speech Language Pathology, become fluent in Spanish and ASL, and explore other career options.
Andrea Sellers
What interests you in Childhood Studies? What stands out from your experience of the Childhood Studies degree?
Throughout Andrea’s undergraduate career, her research interest has centered on the history and experiences of African American children and childhoods. Andrea’s research explores the importance of civil rights and aims to challenge discrimination based on race, class, gender, and sexuality.
Reflecting on her past four years in the Childhood Studies Department, Andrea explained that she values the variety of topics covered within her courses most. She has explored various themes and subjects throughout her coursework, including African American children and childhood, global childhoods, LGBTQ youth, intersectionality, capitalism, consumerism, agency, and children’s rights. Andrea has enjoyed her time in Childhood Studies and has appreciated learning about diverse children and the spaces they inhabit.
What is the focus of your research for the senior seminar?
For her senior thesis, Andrea explores the school-to-prison pipeline, which refers to the education policies and practices that push students out of public schools and into the juvenile and criminal legal systems. Andrea highlights the story of 16-year-old Ashlynn Avery, who was violently beaten and arrested for dozing off in class. Through Ashlynn’s narrative, Andrea explores the consequences of zero-tolerance and dress code policies that disproportionately impact African American and other minority students. Andrea plans to include future strategies and practices to move forward and create an equitable and safe environment for all students.
After you leave Rutgers, what do you hope to do in the future?
Andrea currently serves in the United States Army National Guard and hopes to work as a clinical psychologist for the Department of Veterans Affairs. As Andrea finishes her senior year, she is applying to doctoral programs in counseling psychology and clinical psychology to pursue her goal of serving and supporting veterans.