Business

Barriers to Entrepreneurship Among First-Generation and Low-Income College Students
 

Angel De La Torre
Baylor University
 

Entrepreneurship is widely recognized as a pathway to economic mobility and innovation; however, first-generation and low-income college students often encounter barriers that may discourage business ownership. This study examined how financial constraints, mentorship, family support, and awareness of university entrepreneurship resources influence entrepreneurial aspirations among undergraduate students. It was hypothesized that participants would express interest in entrepreneurship while identifying financial and institutional barriers as significant challenges. An anonymous Qualtrics survey was administered to undergraduate students using a quantitative, cross sectional research design. The survey measured entrepreneurial interest, perceived financial barriers, mentorship, family support, and awareness of entrepreneurship resources. Descriptive statistics were used to summarize participant responses. The findings suggest that participants generally expressed strong interest in entrepreneurship while also identifying financial limitations and inconsistent access to mentorship as important barriers. Responses further indicated varying levels of awareness regarding entrepreneurship resources available through the university. These findings suggest that increasing access to mentorship, improving awareness of entrepreneurship programs, and expanding financial support may help create more inclusive pathways to entrepreneurship for first-generation and low-income students. 

Where Theory Meets Practice: Mapping My HR Internship to I-O Psychology

Sarah Wilburn
Baylor University
 

My study examines how Human Resources practices align with foundational concepts in Industrial–Organizational Psychology (I O Psychology). Under the mentorship of Dr. Sara Perry at Baylor University, I analyze the tasks, responsibilities, and organizational processes I engaged in during a summer HR internship at the Dallas Museum of Art and map them onto core I O domains. These include core IO domains such as assessment, selection, training, and workplace context. This project addresses a gap in undergraduate preparation for I O Psychology by demonstrating how HR coursework and applied HR experience can meaningfully connect to introductory I O theory. 
Data were collected through daily and weekly reflective field notes, structured journaling, organizational documents, and a running record of expanding responsibilities. Using a qualitative mapping approach, I coded in the following internship tasks: policy development, onboarding design, volunteer screening, performance review preparation, employee engagement initiatives, and recruitment support, then connected them to relevant I O constructs drawn from Industrial and Organizational Psychology: Research and Practice by Paul E. Spector. This method allowed me to compare textbook principles related to job analysis, structured selection, training transfer, organizational culture, and performance appraisal accuracy to the systems and behaviors I observed in practice. 
Preliminary analysis suggests strong alignment between HR operations and I O Psychology theory. This mapping highlights how psychological frameworks naturally underpin everyday HR work, even in organizations without formal I O structures. This research strengthens my ability to connect academic knowledge to applied settings and supports my goal of pursuing a Ph.D. in Industrial–Organizational Psychology.

Workplace Break Interventions and Employee Performance: The Mediating Role of Stress Recovery

Alex Castillo
Baylor University

Workplace stress has become an increasing concern for organizations as technological advancements, higher productivity expectations, and cognitively demanding work continue to place greater demands on employees. Although workplace breaks are widely used to promote employee well-being, limited research has examined the mechanisms through which different break interventions influence subsequent work performance. My study intends to uncover whether stress recovery mediates the relationship between workplace break interventions and direct employee performance. Participants were distributed randomly to one of four conditions: mindfulness meditation, virtual nature exposure, crossword puzzles, or no break. We measured participants physiological stress recovery levels using heart rate variability (HRV), while including subjective measures of stress and fatigue to complement the physiological data. Following each intervention, participants completed a workplace email task that will be graded and evaluated for performance. Drawing upon the Effort-Recovery Model and the Recovery Experiences Framework, this study proposes that restorative break interventions will promote greater stress recovery than no restorative conditions, resulting in enhanced task performance. This research aims to identify the links between workplace breaks, employee performance, and stress recovery and to provide evidence-based recommendations for institutions pursuing cost-effective strategies to boost employee well-being, productivity, and overall workplace effectiveness.