51Ç鱨վ

By Tiffany Whitfield
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Question: Where are you from?
Answer: I’m from Downingtown, Pennsylvania.

Question: What made you want to come all the way to 51Ç鱨վ?
Answers I always knew that IÌýwanted to be a little further away from home, and I wanted to be able to establish myself somewhere else, but I felt I needed a transition as part of my next phase in life. I loved where I grew up, and I applied to a lot of schools, but my mom suggested I apply to 51Ç鱨վ. We came down to a campus tour and really loved the campus. There was something different that I couldn’t really explain, but it felt better for me also and I really wanted a school that hadÌýa lot of different optionsÌýavailable to me in terms of majors.

Question: What was your major and why did you choose it?
Answer: I came in as a nursing major, but I wasn’t 100% sure about it, and I realized nursing just wasn’t for me, and I just feltÌýlike there was a different path for me.ÌýI knew I wanted to helpÌýpeople eventually in some capacity, and I wanted at least a degree that would setÌýme on a path to potentially do that. So, then I changed toÌýa biology major as kind of a placeholder, plus I did well in biology in high school. I remember sitting over the winter break during my freshman year with my parents, and I went over every major 51Ç鱨վ offered trying to figure out which ones I was most interested in. I really wanted toÌýhave that stability in the sense of I know what I'm studying, and this is my path. I signed up for Psych 201S, and I really enjoyed the class. My parents really wanted me to do a minor to support communications, so I am a double major in Psychology and Communication Studies.

Question: What clicked for you in Psychology at 51Ç鱨վ?
Answer: A lot of my friends had found their thing and what they’re really interested in and passionate about. I love learning, But I hadn’t found that thing for me.ÌýWhen I took the psychology class,ÌýI realized that I really enjoyed understanding how people thinkÌýand why people think the way they do.ÌýThat also leads me to communications as well,Ìýlike, why people speak andÌýthe intricacies of the wayÌýthey’re speaking and stuff like that.ÌýAnd even not just in my interpersonal lifeÌýbut also mediaÌýand that sort of thing.

Question: How have you started to apply what you’ve learned in Psychology and Communication Studies?
Answer: I did an internship through a non-profit called Westchester Communities that Care back in Pennsylvania. They support a lot of youth in the area and do a lot of different stuff and help parents and teens. They are really directly related theories and concepts, how we think about things that also apply to communication. Psychology enriches my communications major because they both are really essential to the other. How we communicate isÌýdirectly tied to how we think about things.ÌýAnd there’s a lot of theoriesÌýthat apply to psychologyÌýthat also apply to communication so there’s a lot of overlap there.

Question: What was it like to study abroad?
Answers: In the beginning of this year (2023),Ìýfrom January until July,ÌýI studied abroad atÌýthe University of Essex in Colchester,ÌýUnited Kingdom, and I studied psychology there. The courses were so interesting.ÌýI took one onÌýrelationship psychology and oneÌýon brain and behavior. I also took a course on body senses in existence, and the last course was animal behavior.ÌýEach of the courses were veryÌýdifferent and touched on different concepts. Experiencing the culture there was wonderfulÌýand really shaped howÌýI’m going to go forward,Ìýgoing forward in myÌýcareer. Getting to experienceÌýa different academic environmentÌýis also very interesting because there are some similarities to here in the U.S., but there are some differences too. The courses there meet only once a week,Ìýcompared to back in America that meet multiple times a week.ÌýI only had one exam to take, and I had a 24-hour time frameÌýto write essentially two medium sized essays. ÌýAlso, interacting with other people thatÌýare from across the worldÌýlike from China andÌýAustralia and allÌýthese other different places was amazing because we got to experience things together. There’s a senseÌýof community there, we’re all studyingÌýabroad and we’re all in this new place.

Question: Why is 51Ç鱨վ special?
Answers: What really appealedÌýto both of us was the factÌýthat there were so many differentÌýoptions in terms of degrees.ÌýAnd they had a really strong science program,Ìýwhich was really importantÌýto me because I knewÌýI wanted to do science in some capacity.ÌýI just wasn’t sure what that looked like.ÌýAnd then of course, the campus was really nice.ÌýBut once I came here, I actually met one ofÌýmy best friends in the whole world here.ÌýIt was like the peopleÌýthat I’ve met while I’m hereÌýthat are important to meÌýthat stuck it for me.ÌýAnd of course, the content, the coursesÌýwere really interesting and stuff.ÌýBut it was really the people that I’ve met hereÌýthat really made it super meaningful to me.

Question: Which faculty members were impactful on your journey here?
Answer: There are two faculty members who made a difference:

• Elaine Murphy (lecturer) taught a Women’s Psychology course, and she wrote a letter of recommendation for my study abroad. It was one of the first classes that was really interactive, and I liked how she taught and factored in getting our opinions on the subject throughout the course.
• Courteny Mozo (adjunct professor) was Social Psychology professor, and I really enjoyed how her classes were setup. We had a group project and filmed a video that had social psychology concepts and that were really neat.

Question: WhatÌýwould you say specifically toÌýsomeone who is interestedÌýin pursuing psychology as a major?
Answer:ÌýYou just have to be confident in yourselfÌýand find the portions ofÌýpsychology that really interestÌýyou and explore thatÌýand invest yourself in those courses.

Question: What are your plans after graduation?
Answer: I am in the process ofÌýapplying to graduate school,ÌýandÌýI'm not 100% sure what I want to do as far as a career, but I am pursuingÌýintercultural communicationsÌýand international relations.