When Samuel Liu noticed workplace friction among fellow Resident Assistants (RAs) at UC Santa Barbara’s San Nicolas Residence Hall, he decided to investigate. As a senior majoring in Communication and Sociology, Liu turned his personal and professional observations into an award-winning independent research project. His study, titled " 'It’s Not Just a Job, It’s Literally My Housing': Resident Assistants, Job Embeddedness, and Dissent," earned first place and a $750 prize at the 2026 Library Award for Undergraduate Research (LAUR).
Advised by Dr. Karen Myers (Communication), Liu’s research challenged existing workplace communication literature. While scholars usually consider friends and family "safe" outlets for venting job grievances, Liu discovered that for low-income and first-generation students, family dynamics are far more complex. Because these families rely on student labor to secure housing and avoid debt, parents hold a financial stake in their child's employment, complicating the otherwise detached audience.
To navigate his data, Liu leveraged UCSB Library’s vast collections, services, and resources. Among others, he regularly consulted with Humanities and Social Sciences Librarian Anne Cong-Nguyen and Research Facilitator Jairo Melo Florez, and attended workshops on Boolean search terms and managing researcher identity. “The Library was an amazing place for me to talk to people, workshop ideas, and figure out appropriate literature,” Liu shared.
Now preparing for graduate school, Liu views the LAUR recognition as an invaluable milestone that pushed him to reflect on his growth as a researcher. His work ensures that the crucial, often-unseen voices of campus RAs are being heard.
