Gabriela Zott
Canton, MI
Degree: 
MS
Major: 
Kinesiology
Faculty advisor: 
Sam Logan
Dissertation / thesis / project title and brief summary: 

"The influence of robot motivation on modified ride-on car driving behaviors." This study looked at how using a social robot that offered rewards would enable more self-directed mobility for children using modified ride-on cars.

Professional / academic / life plans after graduation: 

I have accepted a job at Numotion where I will be selling medical technology to families of children with disabilities.

Favorite memory of being a graduate student at Oregon State: 

My favorite memory as a graduate student was the IMPACT program I was a part of. I worked with different ages my first year, but my second year I worked with the youngest children (ages 4-7). In this program we would provide physical activity options with a variety of modifications for children with disabilities.

Impactful faculty mentorship: 

My first year I was under the advisement of Dr. Joonkoo Yun. After he took the position of chair of kinesiology at a different university, I transferred under the mentorship of Dr. Samuel Logan. Dr. Sam has been incredibly helpful in starting over with my thesis and is the one who connected me with Numotion. Under his mentorship I gained valuable data collection experience all the way through manuscript writing. In a short year I feel I was able to gain so much insight and I am very thankful for his mentorship this past school year. I am not sure I would have finished on time without his guidance.