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Name: Simran Nagra
Title: Research Technician and Data Analyst
Department: Dean’s Office in Kremen School of Education and Human Development
Academic Degree(s):

• B.A. Psychology with a minor in French, Fresno State
• M.A. General Experimental Psychology, Fresno State

How long have you worked at Fresno State and in which offices have you worked?
As a staff member, I reached my first anniversary in June 2023. As an undergraduate student and later a graduate student, I’ve worked as a Math 45 tutor in the Learning Center, a Dog Days orientation leader, Office of Institutional Effectiveness research assistant, and a teaching associate for a Psych 144 lab.

Are you a Valley native?
Yes, I was born and raised in Clovis.

Are you a Bulldog family with generations of Bulldog graduates or current students?
My sisters and I are second-generation Bulldogs. My dad is a Bulldog alumnus.

Do you have a campus mentor or someone who has helped you in your career?
I’ve had a lot of people support me throughout my academic career which helped me in my current position today. Dr. Jana Price-Sharps opened the doors to research for me because she invited me onto her research team, which led me to figure out that I did like psychology, and I loved doing research. Dr. Matthew Sharps was my mentor during my graduate program. Overseeing his research team helped me practice research and data analysis skills that I use for my current role. Dr. Natalie Munoz was incredibly helpful during my undergraduate years in adjusting to college at Fresno State and I ended up getting a minor because I loved being in French classes.

Tell us about your department and what people may not know about it.
I work in the Dean’s Office within the Kremen School of Education and Human Development. To me, Kremen seems to be considered an area where people become teachers, but there’s a lot going on within the college. We have the most graduate programs on campus with counseling master’s degrees and a doctoral program. This is in addition to all of the teaching programs, credentials and master's degrees. Kremen gets to work with undergraduates, master’s and doctoral students, which keeps things interesting.

What is your most notable accomplishment in your field, and why was it important?
I’m just starting my career, so my thesis is my biggest accomplishment so far. It’s my biggest accomplishment because it was a major writing challenge for me. It’s a reflection of the application of research that I and my team had been working on for 2 1/2 years. The results were not significant, but finishing a thesis was a challenge that I’m happy I can show off.

In a work-related accomplishment, I’m happy I’ve reached a year at my first full-time job.

What are you most passionate about in your field and why?
I really enjoy analyzing the results of surveys. It’s always so exciting to go through the responses after working so long on a survey’s questions and how to distribute it. It is so interesting to see what people’s responses are. I learn a lot from people’s responses in the surveys I analyze because the students are going through the program. I’ve learned more about areas students need more support in. So, it’s great to learn about areas that we need to improve in that we might have missed or overlooked. This helped me provide insights from a big picture perspective which can help Kremen move forward.

What is a memorable moment you had at your job?
I started working on campus close to my birthday, so my co-workers surprised me by doing a small celebration for my birthday. It was so sweet of them to do that, especially since at that point in time they had only known me for a few days.

I’ve also enjoyed talking and mingling with all of my co-workers during our potlucks. There’s a lot going on during the academic year, so it’s nice to see and catch up with people during the potlucks.

What do you like to do for fun in your spare time?
I enjoy reading, sleeping, playing Dungeons and Dragons and traveling.