News > April 3, 2008

By Hunter Bratton | Contributing writer

Senior Christina Chauvenet was awarded first prize in the Peter K. New Student Research Competition in Memphis, Tenn. March 28. Sponsored by the Society for Applied Anthropology, the nationwide competition was open to all undergraduate and graduate students.

The competition also featured numerous papers that documented student research pertaining to the applied social and behavioral sciences.

The award-winning paper, titled “First Line of Defense: Health Care Agents and Childhood Cancer in Recife, Brazil,” was the culmination of an arduous process conducted by Chauvenet over the past summer.

When asked why she decided to do research in Recife, Chauvenet, the daughter of a Cuban-American, said “Brazilian culture has always been interesting to me.”

As a high school student, Chauvenet spent time in Argentina, building on her adoration of the Latin American people and their way of life.

Wishing to pursue her interest in Latin American culture, Chauvenet eventually discovered an opportunity through Saint Jude’s International Research Program that would allow her to conduct her own research in Brazil.

For seven weeks, Christina Chauvenet collected data in Recife that objectively judged the successfulness of the community workers in combating basic diseases of the indigenous children.

Chauvenet’s study was an observation of the effectiveness of the Brazilian health care agents in aiding infants who were afflicted with cancer.

Chauvenet said she has always held an affinity for human rights and public healthcare and wanted to experience the management of illnesses firsthand.

Combining her interest in public healthcare with her passion for Latin American culture created an opportunity to learn more about the two subjects that she has always found gratifying. After her research in Recife, Chauvenet, a native of Winston-Salem, returned to the United States where she spent two months tabulating data and writing the paper.

This phase of the exploratory process was equally challenging compared to field studies.

At some points during the compilation of her data, Chauvenet was required to spend as many as 60-70 hours a week working on her paper.

The research presentations were evaluated with regard to originality of the study, research methods, overall contribution to the sciences and “clarity of analysis and presentation.”

Chauvenet was awarded $1,000 from the Society for Applied Anthropology for her research, along with a trophy.

Chauvenet has a major in political science and a minor in Latin American Studies.

She would like to continue her studies in political science by earning a PhD.

She would also like to continue by further examining public health care policies.