Full disclosure: Panel one was totally what Pandora was going to do. I was having trouble writing that in any way that I was happy with, however, especially limited to the shorter EGS:NP format. This way, she gets to truly interact with people, and it gives me a lot more to work with.
As for why she's posing as a college psychology student, asking a bunch of random strangers personal questions is, in my experience, something psychology teachers love telling their students to do. I never cared for such assignements, but hey, it's a good cover story for Pandora.