Launa Chhor is a first-generation, fourth-year undergraduate student majoring in Global Studies with a minor in Cambodian Language and Culture at California State University, Long Beach (CSULB). In the Fall of 2023, she joined Dr. Kelly’s Child Language Interactions and Memory (CLIaM) lab as a research assistant; becoming a Lab Coordinator in 2025, guiding new lab members and monitoring projects.Launa’s interest in CLIaM lab stems from her passion for education, which fuels her exploration of how parent-child conversations can promote science interest in preschool-aged children in informal learning spaces as opposed to traditional schooling.She aims to cultivate an interdisciplinary perspective that deepens her understanding of the interconnectedness of the global community on pressing universal issues. One area of interest is making the education system more equitable and just for underserved communities and at-promise students.She plans to obtain a master’s and PhD and pursue her career in the field of education. Launa is a McNair Scholar for the 2025 Cohort and completed her McNair summer research project “How Neoliberal Reforms Impact Holistic Education in the CSU System and Beyond.” Throughout her academic journey, Launa has presented research at three undergraduate research symposiums (2 UROP and 1 McNair symposium), the National Conference on Undergraduate Research (NCUR), the Western Psychological Association (WPA) 2024 conference, and the Society for Research in Child Development (SRCD) 2025 conference. She received funding awards from SLD, ASI, and McNair fellowship at CSULB. In her free time, Launa enjoys spending time with family, learning, and cooking.