The Power of Undergraduate Research: Abigail Stephen’s’ 26 WIRE Journey

Photo courtesy of Abigail Stephens. She is a California native embracing the outdoors and making the most of a beautiful day.

Spring is here, bringing with it a season of change and new possibilities. As we step into fresh experiences, it’s the perfect moment to reflect on the opportunities in front of us, especially as CCI minors, and to think about how research can help shape our creative and professional paths. That’s why today, we’re spotlighting one exciting opportunity: WIRE, the Wilkinson Interterm Research Experience.

What is WIRE?

The Wilkinson Interterm Research Experience (WIRE) is a four-week, on-campus fellowship program that allows Wilkinson College undergraduate students, whether majoring or minoring, to engage in hands-on research or creative projects under the guidance of a faculty mentor. At the end of the program, each student presents their work in a five-minute capstone presentation, showcasing the knowledge and skills they’ve developed.

Why Undergraduate Research Matters

Research is often seen as something reserved for certain majors, but that’s far from the truth. CCI students, in particular, have unique perspectives and skills that can make research projects deeply rewarding. Engaging in research teaches critical thinking, problem-solving, creativity, and professional communication, skills that are invaluable in any career path.

Photo courtesy of the Office of Wilkinson. Abigail Stephens presents her final project at the WIRE showcase, sharing insights from Anyone’s Game? Evaluating Integrations of Gameplay within Adult-Facing Art Exhibits, a study exploring how interactive exhibitions can transform the museum experience for adult audiences.

A CCI Perspective

Today, I had the pleasure of speaking with CCI student Abigail Stephens’26, a history major with minors in CCI and journalism. Abigail shared her WIRE experience, discussing the project she pursued and, most importantly, how it enriched her understanding of research and opened doors she hadn’t considered before.

With her WIRE research project Abigail explored the museum industry through interactive displays. We will hear more about her project including her methods, and her assessment of WIRE in a moment. However, before we dive into that, this is a good time to note that for a lot of students in ‘creative’ studies, research projects can seem superfluous or even intimidating. Yet Abigail’s project is a perfect example of how accessible and beneficial adding a project like this to your undergraduate portfolio can be. 

In addition, research is almost the definition of creativity. The beginning of the process is often marked by uncertainty, but this is where the student has a chance to explore theories, create and test ideas, and through sleuthing discover answers. This is one more powerful way that CCI students can dive into their passions, grow professionally and make meaningful contributions to their fields.

So let’s hear from Abigail about her experience!

Photo courtesy of Abigail Stephens. Abigail is embracing the outdoors and making the most of a beautiful day.

What are your career and creative interests, and what inspired you to participate in the WIRE program?

AS: Career-wise, I’m aiming for museum studies, working in a gallery or museum. What I love about that kind of work is how creative it is. You get to take all kinds of information and present it in ways that are interesting, engaging, and visually appealing. There’s so much knowledge you draw from, and the goal is to make it meaningful for the people experiencing it. Outside of my career path, I’m all about creativity. I do ceramics, write poetry, and I’m trying to learn how to draw, though I’ll admit, I’m still a beginner!

When it comes to WIRE, I knew it was an opportunity I couldn’t pass up. It’s a four-week fellowship funded by Wilkinson that lets you dive into a personal academic project while building real research skills. You learn everything from writing a paper to crafting a presentation, and even navigating things like IRB (Institutional Review Boar) approval. The project itself is valuable, but the skills you gain are what really stick, helping you for grad school or future jobs. Honestly, I didn’t even realize it was paid at first! The $2,000 funding made it even more appealing because it allowed me to take a break from work and really focus on my project. Since Chapman doesn’t offer a museum studies major, I intentionally chose History as my major, with CCI and Journalism minors, to build a foundation that would prepare me for grad school in museum studies. WIRE gave me the perfect chance to bring all those pieces together and create a project that directly connects to the career I’m passionate about.

Photo courtesy of the Office of Wilkinson. Abigail Stephens presents her final project at the WIRE Showcase, highlighting key insights from Anyone’s Game? and explaining the significance of her findings and why they matter.

Can you tell us about your research project and what inspired your focus?

AS: Absolutely! My project, Anyone’s Game? Evaluating Integrations of Gameplay within Adult-Facing Art Exhibits, explored how museums can incorporate virtual game elements, like video games and simulations, to create more interactive and engaging exhibitions. Most research tends to focus on children and simple educational games, but the desire to play doesn’t stop in childhood. College students, for example, are still gaming, playing sports, and exploring creative outlets, play comes in so many forms.

I wanted to see how museums could harness that energy, using play-based learning to make experiences that are not just educational, but also fun, immersive, and meaningful. For me, it’s about reimagining museums as dynamic, accessible spaces that spark curiosity and creativity in ways that go beyond the typical exhibit.

What did you find? What did you actually do during the project?

AS: The program was four weeks of hands-on work, mentor check-ins, and workshops that covered everything from publishing research to digging through archives. For my project, I created a virtual museum exhibition using Kunstmatrix. Before diving in, I explored research on game-based learning and found a few key takeaways:

• Games give you a safe space to fail and learn.

• They make testing knowledge less stressful.

• They make learning more fun and engaging.

Then came the exciting part: I picked a video game that fit these principles and integrated it into my exhibition. Testing it with college students was a blast! I watched how engaged they were, how much they retained, and how much they genuinely enjoyed the experience, basically seeing if adding gameplay could make learning more interactive and memorable than just walking through an exhibit.

Tell me, why do you think undergraduate research projects are important?

AS: Undergraduate research is so important because it lets you break out of the usual assignment structure and follow your curiosity. Programs like WIRE give you the chance to spot gaps in existing research and dive into questions that genuinely interest you. It pushes you to think both critically and creatively, it’s like a workout for your brain. You practice analyzing deeply, asking meaningful questions, and building something on your own. That kind of intellectual independence is incredibly valuable and gives you skills you carry far beyond the classroom.

Photo courtesy of the Office of Wilkinson. WIRE participants gather at the conclusion of the program, proudly holding their certificates. Each student completed a unique research project representing a wide range of majors and minors from the University.

What WIRE really shows us is just how powerful undergraduate research can be, and Abigail is the perfect example. She didn’t just take on a project; she ran with it, diving headfirst into exploring how museums can embrace interaction instead of limiting it, and she’s choosing to continue this work. Her classes played an even bigger role than she first realized. Taking CCI 444: Media, Culture, and Emotion, where she wrote extensively on art installations, gave her the tools to turn theory into practice for her digital project. As she says, “CCI teaches theories that can be applied across disciplines, and that flexibility really helped me shape my research.”

WIRE also opened doors in ways Abigail hadn’t anticipated. She met professors and students she might never have crossed paths with, expanding both her network and her perspective. For her, CCI’s interdisciplinary approach was key, it’s flexible, creative, and allowed her to design a course of study around her passion for museum work. It was the closest path to museum studies at Chapman, and it gave her hands-on skills she can carry straight into her career. We love recommending CCI to students interested in arts, culture, or the creative industries because it lets you mix disciplines and chase your interests in so many directions. And if you’ve done research through CCI, don’t hesitate to reach out, we’d love to share your story too!