{"602140":{"#nid":"602140","#data":{"type":"news","title":"Emily Hokett: Seeking Strength from Role Models","body":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EFebruary is Black History Month, a special time set aside to celebrate the contributions of African Americans. The College of Sciences joins the celebration by inviting the perspectives of African-American colleagues through a two-part Q\u0026amp;A.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EEmily Hokett is a second-year Ph.D. student in the \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/psychology.gatech.edu\/research\/cognition-brain-science\u0022\u003ESchool of Psychology Cognition and Brain Sciences Program\u003C\/a\u003E. In the \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/duartelab.gatech.edu\/\u0022\u003EMemory and Aging Lab\u003C\/a\u003E of \u003Ca href=\u0022http:\/\/www.psychology.gatech.edu\/people\/faculty\/335\u0022\u003EAudrey Duarte\u003C\/a\u003E, Hokett is investigating the relationship between habitual sleep patterns and associative memory in young and older adults.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EHokett was born in Dillon, a small town in South Carolina. Everyone in the neighborhood knew each other, and all the children played sports together. Tennis was Hokett\u0026rsquo;s favorite. Then the family moved to an even smaller town, Mullins, where she finished high school. Psychology grabbed her attention during her senior year.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EFor most of Hokett\u0026rsquo;s childhood, she lived with her mother, uncle, and grandmother. \u0026ldquo;My grandmother was my primary caretaker,\u0026rdquo; Hokett says. \u0026ldquo;But as I got older, the roles seemed to reverse.\u0026rdquo;\u0026nbsp;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EHokett\u0026rsquo;s grandmother began to lose her memory and slowly forgot the people around her. \u0026ldquo;It\u0026rsquo;s devastating to watch someone who raised you forget who you are,\u0026rdquo; Hokett says. \u0026ldquo;The difficulty of losing someone so close to me has defined my career choices and academic interests.\u0026rdquo;\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EAs a freshman at Winthrop University, where she majored in Psychology and Spanish, Hokett began doing psychological research, with \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.winthrop.edu\/cas\/faculty\/default.aspx?id=25657\u0022\u003ESarah Reiland\u003C\/a\u003E, an assistant professor of psychology. \u0026ldquo;We studied the relationship among stressful life events, cognitive flexibility, and depression,\u0026rdquo; Hokett says. As her research interests grew, Hokett joined the neurobiology lab of \u003Ca href=\u0022https:\/\/www.winthrop.edu\/cas\/faculty\/default.aspx?id=13967\u0022\u003EEric Birgbauer\u003C\/a\u003E, an associate professor of biology. She studied the development of the visual system in an animal model.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EAt Georgia Tech, Hokett is delving into memory and aging, which have long intrigued her. \u0026ldquo;My interest stems from a genuine curiosity about the mechanisms and neural correlates of the stages of memory,\u0026rdquo; she says. The pain she experienced witnessing her grandmother\u0026rsquo;s memory loss was also a powerful impetus.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhat is the accomplishment that you are proudest of so far?\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\nI\u0026rsquo;m proudest of being able to study in the area of my true interests \u0026ndash; sleep, memory, and aging. I\u0026rsquo;m hoping to continue research in this area throughout my graduate career and likely my entire academic career. I think that lifestyle factors, particularly sleep, have important applications for preserving memory.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhat does Black History Month mean to you?\u003C\/strong\u003E\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\nBlack History Month is a time to celebrate the contributions of African Americans. Recognizing African-American creativity and strength is important for all African Americans, but especially for young people like me.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n\r\n\u003Cp\u003EAs a member of a minority group, I sometimes find it difficult to meet role models who look like me. Black History Month makes finding role models that much less difficult. Instead, I realize that although I may face many challenges as an African American woman, I come from a culture of incredible strength, intelligence, and creativity. Knowing that gives me courage, inspiration, and determination to actively pursue my goals.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","summary":null,"format":"limited_html"}],"field_subtitle":[{"value":"Psychology Ph.D. student reflects on Black History Month"}],"field_summary":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EFebruary is Black History Month, a special time set aside to celebrate the contributions of African-Americans. The College of Sciences joins the celebration by inviting the perspectives of African-American colleagues through a two-part Q\u0026amp;A.\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","format":"limited_html"}],"field_summary_sentence":[{"value":"The College of Sciences celebrates Black History Month by inviting the perspectives of African-American colleagues."}],"uid":"30678","created_gmt":"2018-02-08 15:44:15","changed_gmt":"2018-02-13 21:42:08","author":"A. Maureen Rouhi","boilerplate_text":"","field_publication":"","field_article_url":"","dateline":{"date":"2018-02-22T00:00:00-05:00","iso_date":"2018-02-22T00:00:00-05:00","tz":"America\/New_York"},"extras":[],"hg_media":{"602336":{"id":"602336","type":"image","title":"Emily Hokett","body":null,"created":"1518558088","gmt_created":"2018-02-13 21:41:28","changed":"1518558088","gmt_changed":"2018-02-13 21:41:28","alt":"","file":{"fid":"229568","name":"2018 Emily Hokett [CoS].square250.jpg","image_path":"\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/2018%20Emily%20Hokett%20%5BCoS%5D.square250.jpg","image_full_path":"http:\/\/tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/\/sites\/default\/files\/images\/2018%20Emily%20Hokett%20%5BCoS%5D.square250.jpg","mime":"image\/jpeg","size":61310,"path_740":"http:\/\/tlwarc.hg.gatech.edu\/sites\/default\/files\/styles\/740xx_scale\/public\/images\/2018%20Emily%20Hokett%20%5BCoS%5D.square250.jpg?itok=0ZDGdtrh"}}},"media_ids":["602336"],"groups":[{"id":"1278","name":"College of Sciences"},{"id":"443951","name":"School of Psychology"}],"categories":[],"keywords":[{"id":"177030","name":"2018 Black History Month"},{"id":"4896","name":"College of Sciences"},{"id":"167710","name":"School of Psychology"},{"id":"177067","name":"Emily Hokett"}],"core_research_areas":[],"news_room_topics":[],"event_categories":[],"invited_audience":[],"affiliations":[],"classification":[],"areas_of_expertise":[],"news_and_recent_appearances":[],"phone":[],"contact":[{"value":"\u003Cp\u003EA. Maureen Rouhi, Ph.D.\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\nDirector of Communications\u003Cbr \/\u003E\r\nCollege of Sciences\u003C\/p\u003E\r\n","format":"limited_html"}],"email":["maureen.rouhi@cos.gatech.edu"],"slides":[],"orientation":[],"userdata":""}}}