Madi Duran ’28

PACE Student Worker ’24-’28

Madi is a part of the Class of ’28 and, in addition to the PACE program, is an Elon College Fellow and an Odyssey Scholar. She is originally from Thornton, Colorado which is a suburb of Denver! She is a Psychology major with minors in Criminal Justice and Sociology, but is also very passionate about dance (which she once considered minoring in).

Madi in front of the Eiffel Tower

PACE Program Background

The PACE Program was started in Fall 2011 to help secure on-campus employment for talented students for whom having a job might impact their ability to attend Elon. Students who qualify for the program are identified through the financial aid process and are invited to apply.

Students in the PACE Program go through a natural hiring process in which they write resumes, cover letters, and interview for PACE eligible jobs. Although students may not secure their top pick, they are guaranteed a job on campus.

Experience with Dr. Vandermaas-Peeler

For Madi, after interviewing for various jobs, she was able to secure her top pick job which is working under Dr. Vandermaas-Peeler, director of CRGE, developmental psychologist, and professor of psychology. In this role, she not only takes on various roles within CRGE, but also assists Dr. Vandermaas-Peeler in her Undergraduate Research lab.

So far in this role she has: interviewed Dr. Sandy Marshall on his role as the inaugural Intercultural Learning Scholar (see the Intercultural Learning Scholar page on the CRGE website), worked on updating the CRGE website, as well as, organized and prepared data to be coded for Dr. Vandermaas-Peeler’s child development research.

Future Directions

Madi with her Elon College Fellows orientation group

Madi has already learned so much in her short time working with Dr. Vandermaas-Peeler and is excited to continue to learn more, shape her role as a PACE student worker, and hopefully have a positive impact on CRGE!

If anyone has any questions about the PACE or Odyssey programs, Elon College Fellows, or the Psychology Department in general feel free to contact Madi at mduran2@elon.edu!