Initially, I came into my undergraduate studies at St. Ambrose University looking to become an Occupational Therapist, but that goal changed once I began my undergraduate coursework. Towards the end of a semester of research methods, I became fascinated with statistics and the process of research. In biopsychology classes, I learned how wonderful and sometimes cruel the human mind could be. Occupational Therapy suddenly seemed less interesting and I began to look more seriously at pursuing a different path, more in line with the amazing things I was learning about psychology, research, and the brain.
Undergraduate coursework in psychopathology, working with survivors of trauma, and counseling, as well as volunteer experiences working with survivors of sexual assault, have led me to my professional goal of working with survivors of sexual assault and other traumas to try and help them through what most people never dream of enduring. However, I want to do more than that. I firmly believe in the psychologist as a scientist and a practitioner in equal measure. I want to work with survivors of trauma and take what I learn from them to scrutinize treatment practices and study them empirically-- not just for my clients, but for the advancement of science as well. This is how I came into contact with Loyola University. As an advocate for survivors of sexual assault, literature of how to better help them has been of interest to me as I strive to be a psychologist rooted in thinking as a scientist-practitioner. PTSD is an all too common reaction to sexual assault and further inquiry is needed to better help survivors. As an undergraduate, I have looked for ways to strengthen my research skills outside of the classroom. I was accepted to my undergraduate Honors program to complete an independent research project with a faculty mentor, a social psychology professor. My work with this mentor led me to examine social comparisons and their effect on prosocial behaviors. I conducted a literature review which yielded a gap in the research surrounding ingroup versus outgroup social comparisons using negative feedback compared to students from the participant 's own school versus another school. I designed a methodology, completed an IRB proposal, and submitted a conference presentation proposal to the Midwestern Psychological Association (MPA), where I hope to present my findings in May 2016. Data collection will be complete by February with a final write up scheduled for early April. My research experience also includes working closely with a Psychology Department faculty member and small group of peers to study the effects of walking versus sitting on reading comprehension. I led my group in designing the experiment, submitting an IRB application, collecting and analyzing data, and interpreting the results. Next semester, I will be working along with my team to present our findings at a local research conference at St. Ambrose University, as well as seek out other undergraduate conferences we could present at. My research experience extends further to work I …show more content…
I joined my university Psi Chi chapter and Psychology Club as it allowed me to be around others who shared my growing interest in the field, and helped me to see how topics from my courses came alive during our volunteer work with a variety of community mental health organizations. One such occasion came my junior year as the Psi Chi Vice President and then in my senior year as the chapter President when we were fundraising for the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI). As part of the Psi Chi officers, we led fundraising efforts across our campus to bring awareness about mental health issues, which resulted in raising more money than any other walk team and brought a record of over 100 St. Ambrose students to participate in the …show more content…
I led therapeutic activities, completed intern work for the organization, and worked under the guidance of a licensed social worker and a clinical psychologist. While here, I worked with children whose parents were living with cancer. I planned activities as well as interacted with the children individually during a small free play time along with typical intern duties that arose. I am drawn to the counselling training at Loyola University as it would allow me to expand this hands on experience to even more populations which include cancer patients, combat veterans, and those with severe mental
Undergraduate coursework in psychopathology, working with survivors of trauma, and counseling, as well as volunteer experiences working with survivors of sexual assault, have led me to my professional goal of working with survivors of sexual assault and other traumas to try and help them through what most people never dream of enduring. However, I want to do more than that. I firmly believe in the psychologist as a scientist and a practitioner in equal measure. I want to work with survivors of trauma and take what I learn from them to scrutinize treatment practices and study them empirically-- not just for my clients, but for the advancement of science as well. This is how I came into contact with Loyola University. As an advocate for survivors of sexual assault, literature of how to better help them has been of interest to me as I strive to be a psychologist rooted in thinking as a scientist-practitioner. PTSD is an all too common reaction to sexual assault and further inquiry is needed to better help survivors. As an undergraduate, I have looked for ways to strengthen my research skills outside of the classroom. I was accepted to my undergraduate Honors program to complete an independent research project with a faculty mentor, a social psychology professor. My work with this mentor led me to examine social comparisons and their effect on prosocial behaviors. I conducted a literature review which yielded a gap in the research surrounding ingroup versus outgroup social comparisons using negative feedback compared to students from the participant 's own school versus another school. I designed a methodology, completed an IRB proposal, and submitted a conference presentation proposal to the Midwestern Psychological Association (MPA), where I hope to present my findings in May 2016. Data collection will be complete by February with a final write up scheduled for early April. My research experience also includes working closely with a Psychology Department faculty member and small group of peers to study the effects of walking versus sitting on reading comprehension. I led my group in designing the experiment, submitting an IRB application, collecting and analyzing data, and interpreting the results. Next semester, I will be working along with my team to present our findings at a local research conference at St. Ambrose University, as well as seek out other undergraduate conferences we could present at. My research experience extends further to work I …show more content…
I joined my university Psi Chi chapter and Psychology Club as it allowed me to be around others who shared my growing interest in the field, and helped me to see how topics from my courses came alive during our volunteer work with a variety of community mental health organizations. One such occasion came my junior year as the Psi Chi Vice President and then in my senior year as the chapter President when we were fundraising for the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI). As part of the Psi Chi officers, we led fundraising efforts across our campus to bring awareness about mental health issues, which resulted in raising more money than any other walk team and brought a record of over 100 St. Ambrose students to participate in the …show more content…
I led therapeutic activities, completed intern work for the organization, and worked under the guidance of a licensed social worker and a clinical psychologist. While here, I worked with children whose parents were living with cancer. I planned activities as well as interacted with the children individually during a small free play time along with typical intern duties that arose. I am drawn to the counselling training at Loyola University as it would allow me to expand this hands on experience to even more populations which include cancer patients, combat veterans, and those with severe mental