Researcher Profiles

Harrison Oakes

Harrison Oakes, Year 3 of 4, Honours Psychology

Briefly describe the professor and research project you are working with.

I am working with Dr. Wendy Josephson who leads one of PREVNet’s ten National Centres of Excellence Knowledge Mobilization projects. Partnering with Family Channel, Dr. Josephson and her research team have been creating resources for this year’s Bullying Awareness Week (BAW) in November. My role on this project was to write a teacher’s guide to accompany Family Channel’s media resources for BAW, as well as to provide background education about, and information to deal with, bullying in middle school.

Why do you want to do this kind of research?

After repeated incidents of teenagers committing suicide because of bullying, I decided I needed to get involved somehow. Once I started researching bullying, I quickly realized there was an unfortunate gap between what we learn from research and what actually gets applied to make a difference in the lives of children. Working with PREVNet and Family Channel to write a teacher’s guide for Bullying Awareness Week gave me the perfect opportunity to combine my research interests with practical applications of the information on bullying.

How do you think this research benefits you in developing your skills and abilities?

The benefits of this research have been incredible. I gained the opportunity to develop my networking skills through teleconference calls, meetings with Family Channel’s project managers, as well as PREVNet’s many outstanding members. The volume of the teacher’s guide showed me that I am capable of pushing the limits of what I believe I can achieve. It was also a learning experience in terms of the amount of work that went into writing the guide. Through it, I believe I developed perseverance and patience, especially through the lengthy editing process. In the end, I feel it has prepared me quite well for work on my undergraduate thesis.

What is the best part, or what has surprised you in doing this research?

The best part of this research has been the opportunity to be involved in a project that I feel has the ability to make a real, lasting difference in the lives of teachers and students. As well, through this project I was able to meet several of the leading researchers in the field of bullying research. I was pleasantly surprised to find that the individuals behind the prolifically published names were every bit as ‘real’ as I was. It reminded me that no matter what one’s accomplishments are, a ‘real person’ always exists behind them.

What would you say to students thinking about attending UWinnipeg regarding research opportunities here?

I don’t know the situation in other departments that well, but I am always quick to point out that in terms of completing one’s Bachelor degree in Psychology, UWinnipeg offers the benefits of small classrooms which results in a greater likelihood of developing personal relationships with your professors. These relationships often open the door for involvement in research, and anyone who wants to obtain research experience usually has plenty of opportunities to do so here.

What are your personal goals, how do you hope to use your education down the road?

My immediate personal goals center around being accepted into a leading graduate studies program, working with a supervisor who is at the top of her or his field, as well as obtaining SSHRC funding for graduate studies.

In the future, I hope to obtain a tenure-track faculty position as a research professor in psychology, and to be involved in the leading research on cyberbullying and the intersection of social media and interpersonal relationships. I plan to use my education to ensure that research is applied to the lives of children in practical ways. Ultimately, my efforts sum up in the desire to make a difference.