After going to school in face masks during COVID-19, I began to contemplate their impact on human connection and how well people could recognize each other’s emotions behind the mask. My curiosity led me to investigate. In an online search, I discovered Dr. Felicity Bigelow’s study on facial emotion recognition in the scientific journal, Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience, and I was immediately captivated. Her research aligned perfectly with my own interests, so I decided to reach out to her with my idea for an independent research project. I asked if she’d consider being my mentor, and I was ecstatic when she agreed, despite living across the globe in Australia. For nine months, I’d log onto Zoom at 8:30 PM every Monday in New York, while Dr. Bigelow did the same at 10:30 AM every Tuesday in Melbourne.

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