FHSU Docking Institute - Student Staff

Hannah Cross joined the Docking Institute as a student research assistant in the summer of 2022. She is currently pursuing a degree in Sociology with a certificate in Sociology of Medicine and Aging. Hannah is scheduled to graduate May 2023. She hopes to receive certifications as a Child Life Specialist and pursue a career at a Children's Hospital.

Wesley Davis joined the Docking Institute in January of 2021 as a student research assistant. Wesley is currently working as a graduate research assistant. Wesley codes, tracks, and enters survey data. He is experienced in working with a variety of different labor surveys and evaluation projects. Wesley also acts as the call center supervisor when conducting phone surveys. He ensures that the Docking Institute protocols for phone surveys are carried out, in addition to programming these surveys using the software IDSurvey. Wesley graduated from Fort Hays State University with a Bachelor’s in Communication Sciences and Disorders in 2022. Wesley is currently pursuing a Master’s Degree in Communication Sciences and Disorders. Wesley’s plans are to become a clinical speech-language pathologist after graduate school. 

Spencer Manning recently completed his Bachelor's degree in political science with an emphasis in Pre-Law/Legal Studies and a minor in Spanish. Spencer joined the Docking Institute as a student research assistant in May of 2021, and upon graduation has transitioned to a full-time research assistant. Spencer plans to attend the University of Kansas School of Law in the fall of 2022.  

Ivan Villalba joined the Docking Institute in the spring of 2022 as a data entry specialist and student telephone surveyor. Ivan is an undergraduate student pursuing a degree in Physics with a Minor in Math with plans of graduating in May of 2024. Upon graduation he plans to continue his career in Electrical Engineering. 

Leslie Watson-Divittore joined the Docking Institute in mid-spring 2020 as a student research assistant. Leslie is currently working as the Graduate Research Assistant. Leslie programs and administers surveys using state-of-the art softwares IDSurvey, CATI/online, and Qualtrics online. She carries out the Institute’s quality assurance protocols for best practices in phone surveying. She is experienced at piloting surveys, importing samples, monitoring for data quality control, troubleshooting respondent technical questions/issues, and exporting and cleaning data for analysis. Leslie provides status updates on all survey progress to staff and policy fellows on projects. Additionally, she contributes to the Institute’s team by submitting projects for IRB-approval, managing large data sets from secondary sources such as U.S. Census and the Kansas Departments of Commerce and Labor, and mentor's student research assistants on the Institute’s staff. She also assists other staff and policy fellows with analysis and reporting authoring and is increasingly assuming the lead role on some technical reports. Leslie graduated from Fort Hays State University with a Bachelor's in Psychology in 2019. Currently, she is pursuing a Master's Degree in Experimental Psychology. 

Jenna Welsby joined the Docking Institute of Public Affairs in February of 2022 as a student research assistant. She is an undergraduate student pursuing a degree in Tourism and Hospitality Management with plans of graduating in May of 2024. Upon graduating, Jenna plans to travel and be involved in management within the tourism industry.