Emily graduated from UConn in 2017 as a Psychological Sciences major in the Honors program, with a minor in American Sign Language & Deaf Culture.
What are you doing now? Why did you choose to go into this field?
I am currently working as a full time psychology technician at the National Center for PTSD located in Boston, MA. I chose this position to work under some of the top researchers in the field of trauma as I prepare for a career in clinical psychology. My role here ranges from managing study protocols to co-authoring on research posters and publications. It is the perfect interim job to get me prepared for a PhD program in clinical psychology.
What was one of your favorite things about UConn?
One of my favorite things about UConn would have to be the amount of support I received from every angle. Whether it was from my lab supervisors, graduate students I worked with, Sarah Scheidel (the best advisor a lost college girl could hope for), or the friends I made there, I always felt that I had the necessary social support to get me through my stupidly overloaded and stressful semesters.
What was your favorite psych course you took?
I can honestly say I enjoyed most of my Psych courses at UConn. My favorite was probably Drugs & Behavior (2201) with Dr. John Salamone or Modality Issues in Language Development (3470, Current Topics in Developmental Psychology) with Dr. Marie Coppola.
What’s a piece of advice you would give to current students in our program?
GET INVOLVED IN RESEARCH ON CAMPUS! This is something I found out about and started my sophomore year at UConn. Talk to your advisor about how you might get involved in this. Typically, the process involves identifying a professor whose research you’re interested and just setting up a time to chat with them about it. During my time at UConn, I was lucky enough to work in Dr. Jeff Burke’s Behavioral and Affective Dysregulation: Course and Outcomes (BADCO) lab, as well as Dr. Diane Quinn’s Stigma and Identity Management lab. Though intimidating at first, I cannot stress enough how invaluable my learning experiences through these labs were in my professional development.