CAR Student Alumni Stories: Asana Okocha, BA

Asana Okocha, BA

Asana Okocha, BA, joined CAR as an undergraduate student in 2016. Okocha worked as a student research assistant in the Language Lab under the guidance of Dr. Julia Parish-Morris. With the Language Lab team, Okocha supported transcription of clinical and behavioral evaluations and participated in conversational procedures with research study participants in the lab and in the field.

"My time at CAR was incredibly valuable," Okocha said. "It was so rewarding to meet and serve local families and children! I also felt so professionally supported by the community at CAR. I learned so much from talking to researchers at every level who had such diverse interests."

Okocha received her Bachelor's degree in Cognitive Science from the University of Pennsylvania, graduating magna cum laude in 2017. She then lived in Johannesburg, South Africa, where she conducted monitoring, evaluation, and research for African Leadership Academy, a secondary school serving a diverse population of talented African youth.

Okocha is currently a doctoral student at Princeton University studying Developmental Psychology and Social Policy. Okocha studies the impacts of caregiver-child relationships on language and cognitive development, with a particular focus on non-traditional families. She is a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellow and a Princeton University Centennial Fellow.

Reflecting on her career development at CAR Okocha said, "As a PhD student who does not plan to pursue a tenure-track position in academia, it was helpful to see so many ways one could create a career in research. I'm so grateful for my time at CAR."

Participated in Student Role at CAR

2016-2017

Current role

Doctoral Student, Princeton University