Although I have concluded my time conducting Laidlaw Research on Barnard's campus, I still have much more planned for the rest of the summer. This week, I traveled to Hostos Community College to speak with student parents enrolled in summer courses, and about half of them confirmed their interest in being interviewed for my research. In addition, I spoke with the historian behind the CUNY Digital History Archive, who provided me with more essential readings about the history, structure, and policies foundational to the university system. Through speaking with students, administrators, and faculty alike, I have created a snowball effect of collecting new contacts for my research. I am making sure to dedicate the next month to interviewing as many more people as I possibly can. 

One big question that almost everyone has asked me during their interviews is "How did you even become interested in this topic?" This is a question that I definitely was prepared to address, especially since I am not a CUNY student who has experienced firsthand what the transfer process looks like from within. However, I would always explain my volunteer experience as a tutor to students at CUNY, and how working with them one-on-one had sparked my interest in learning more about this issue. I always wanted to emphasize, however, that the purpose of my paper is not to prove my expert understanding of CUNY, but the journey I took to try and learn more about it. Even in my interviews, I try to ask as open-ended of questions as possible, rather than narrowing the scope of what I ask to what I assume is most prevalent to the academic experience of the student. Everyone's stories and journey into the CUNY system is so uniquely different, and my paper is meant to highlight those differences rather generalize their paths.