Sabrina Uva earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in Human Development and Family Sciences from UConn in 2022 with a double minor in Psychology and Gerontology. She graduated Summa Cum Laude and was a member of various honors societies including Phi Beta Kapa, Psi Chi, and Alpha Lambda Delta. In addition, she served as the President of the Student Government Association at the UConn Stamford Campus. She was awarded the Cohen Scholarship for enhancing community due to her leadership accomplishments. Specifically, she worked in a coalition of legislators to pass a bill on menstrual equity and led an initiative that provided free menstrual products to the campus community. Sabrina is passionate about creating inclusive communities and plans to continue her efforts through policy and research in the Human Development and Family Sciences doctoral program.
Sabrina started her graduate studies working on anti-racism research with her advisor, Dr. Annamaria Csizmadia. Broadly, Sabrina focuses her research on understanding the implications of racial bias for college students’ mental health outcomes. She is pursuing this research interest by conducting a study to examine if protest and activism combined with pandemic-related stressors might affect college students’ psychological and academic adjustment. She is also interested in understanding social media’s role when engaging in these activities. She has submitted her work to present to professional organizations including the Society for Research in Child Development and the Society of Research on Adolescence.
In addition to her research, Sabrina is interested in utilizing emerging technologies for the social good. She currently serves as the Lead of Writing for the NASA Big Idea Challenge finalist team. In her work with the team, she applies human development frameworks to understand how to use advanced technology to foster therapeutic advancements and inclusive communities. In addition, she worked in an entrepreneurial business leadership academy to create an impact project, focused on utilizing technology to facilitate projects and creative ideas among students, especially students with neurodivergent backgrounds. Sabrina is excited to bring her interdisciplinary background in innovation, policy, and research to the HDFS graduate program.