Rebecca Nyquist, M.Ed.
Rebecca graduated from Princeton University 2009, majoring in Religious Studies with a certificate in Environmental Studies. She is also a recent graduate from University of Pennsylvania's Residency Masters in Teaching Program, where she earned a Masters degree in education while teaching History and Religious Studies at the Lawrenceville School, a private boarding school in New Jersey. Her Masters thesis focused on cultivating empathy in high school history classrooms and this focus further deepened Rebecca's interest in the role of non-cognitive traits in learning.
Rebecca is now a full time research coordinator in Angela Duckworth's lab at UPenn's Positive Psychology Center, studying traits like grit and self-control in youth. Currently, she is working on a longitudinal study, following 1,400 8th grade students from the beginning of their 8th grade year into the spring of their 9th. The study is an effort to examine character development in adolescence, as well as explore the relationship between character strengths like; grit, self-control, prosocial purpose, actively open-minded thinking, and gratitude. In addition, Rebecca is spearheading research efforts in Baltimore city middle schools, piloting various character interventions and evaluating their impact. She is deeply committed to bridging the worlds of research and practice, and hopes to continue sharing insights from the field of positive psychology with educators.
Rebecca graduated from Princeton University 2009, majoring in Religious Studies with a certificate in Environmental Studies. She is also a recent graduate from University of Pennsylvania's Residency Masters in Teaching Program, where she earned a Masters degree in education while teaching History and Religious Studies at the Lawrenceville School, a private boarding school in New Jersey. Her Masters thesis focused on cultivating empathy in high school history classrooms and this focus further deepened Rebecca's interest in the role of non-cognitive traits in learning.
Rebecca is now a full time research coordinator in Angela Duckworth's lab at UPenn's Positive Psychology Center, studying traits like grit and self-control in youth. Currently, she is working on a longitudinal study, following 1,400 8th grade students from the beginning of their 8th grade year into the spring of their 9th. The study is an effort to examine character development in adolescence, as well as explore the relationship between character strengths like; grit, self-control, prosocial purpose, actively open-minded thinking, and gratitude. In addition, Rebecca is spearheading research efforts in Baltimore city middle schools, piloting various character interventions and evaluating their impact. She is deeply committed to bridging the worlds of research and practice, and hopes to continue sharing insights from the field of positive psychology with educators.