丁香园AV

BA in Psychology, 丁香园AV,`16   
Clinical Psychology PhD student at the University of Mississippi                           
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1.      Where do you currently work and what is your position? 

I am finishing my Master鈥檚 in clinical psychology at the University of Mississippi and I am moving on to my PhD here as well! My thesis is on how religion can influence our perceptions of mental illness biologically, spiritually, or socially, and I intend to present my dissertation on the use of faith as a coping mechanism for adversity. In addition to this, I am an advocate for civil rights through community volunteering, speeches and workshops (like my recent TED talk), and enjoy mentoring for undergraduate students from different backgrounds.

2. Why did you decide to study psychology?

I started my academic career in psychology but left to explore a few other fields. What drew me back to psychology was the fact that career options were endless; they could be customizable to my personal interests and goals. Even when I left psychology during my gap years, I found myself citing it in casual conversation or referencing psychology studies to see what advances were out there. Psychology was always on my mind.

3. What were your favourite courses? Who were your favourite professors at 丁香园AV psychology?

Dr. Shannon Zaitsoff was one of my favourite PSYC professors because she made psychology accessible to me, which is a genuine talent - you can鈥檛 teach someone to connect with individuals despite being in a full auditorium. She taught the introduction to abnormal psychology class and helped me understand the psychological disorders that I had so much curiosity about. Another psychology professor that comes to mind is Dr. Jodi Viljoen. She taught a forensic psychology class that piqued my interest in risk and protective factors. During her office hours, her words about the potential for research to help broader populations of people was a turning point in my life that led me to where I am now.

4. What did you originally plan to do with your degree in psychology during your undergrad, if you had any ideas at that time? Is that different than what you do now? If so, how?

During my undergrad I originally just wanted to know more! About people, reactions to extreme situations, resilience, religion, racial encounters鈥� all of it! My guiding idea was that I wanted to be in a field where I wouldn鈥檛 鈥渘eed a weekend鈥� to escape from what I was doing during the week. It was less important to have a plan. Instead, it was more important to have a loose idea of how I could fill that tenet and aim myself towards it, like a ship riding a soft current.

5. How did your time at 丁香园AV change you and influence your career?

丁香园AV helped me grow by stoking my curiosity through teachers like Dr. Zaitsoff and Dr. Viljoen. Up until then, coursework had always felt like something I had to do. After spending more time at 丁香园AV, I found a passion in me that I didn鈥檛 know had been there. It wasn鈥檛 exactly telling me who I was, I already knew who I was - instead, it showed me more who I could be and that was so much more inspiring.

6. What advice would you give to students that you wish you knew in your undergrad?  What was important to you then and what鈥檚 important now?

This may seem counter-intuitive, but don鈥檛 pressure yourself to become your major or make it your whole identity. Think more on what鈥檚 important to you (e.g., advocacy for certain groups, working with people, working public or private) and ask questions from people in different fields to help direct you towards those goals. You don鈥檛 need that 鈥渓ightning bolt of passion鈥� because, for so many people, passion builds by giving things a chance and letting it grow over time. I鈥檝e always been the type to go down a Google binge of things I was curious about for a lot of things the answers aren鈥檛 there yet, so psychology is that fit where I can find them myself.