Congratulations to UB student Brianna Brockington, the University Libraries’ 2025 Journey of Discovery undergraduate research contest winner. This $500 award recognizes students who produce significant academic work requiring the use of the University Libraries’ information resources and collections.
A psychology major, Brockington’s winning essay argues that societal gender roles are maintained through individual complicity and bad faith, and calls for personal liberation through authentic self-expression beyond traditional expectations.
Her essay, “Individual Influences and Impacts on Gender Roles and Expectations,” explores how gender norms shape relationships and work, drawing on existentialist and feminist ideas. Referencing the 2025 film Companion and sociological studies, it advocates moving beyond rigid gender binaries in favor of more flexible, self-defined identities.
As Brockington began her research, she sought resources that were diverse in both content and format. “I learned that there are multiple types of sources that can be cited, from videos to books to peer-reviewed articles,” she said.
Beth Carpenter, Undergraduate Engineering & Instruction Librarian
Brockington credits Undergraduate Engineering and Instruction Librarian Beth Carpenter for helping her navigate the library system. “Carpenter helped me navigate the library website and explained its search function in a way that made me feel comfortable using it for the first time,” she said.
She also found Delivery+ to be a valuable resource. “When I found that a book I wanted to use wasn’t available at Lockwood, I used Delivery+ and had it delivered from another university,” she said.
Silent study spaces played a key role as well. “The lack of distraction made it much easier for me to get my work done, and being surrounded by people who were also working hard created a sort of ripple effect, giving me even more motivation to write my paper,” she said.
Brockington hopes to pursue a career in research and says writing the paper helped her assess her research skills—highlighting both strengths and areas for improvement.
“As a freshman who never really used the libraries this way during my first semester, I’m incredibly thankful to the UB librarians—especially Beth Carpenter—for introducing me to these resources,” she said.