My submission to the CHBS Newsletter about the Graduate Student Panel:
On March 24th, 2015, Psi Chi sponsored an event for the undergraduate students in order to inspire them to want to pursue a higher education degree in psychology. Psi Chi is the international honor society in psychology, and Analise Roccaforte is the current Executive President of Radford University’s chapter. The event was a Graduate Student Panel where 18 graduate students came and spoke about their graduate school experience. They told their story and provided information on why they chose the type of psychology that they did, how they came to be at Radford, their current research experiences and involvements, valuable advice for the transition between undergraduate and graduate school, and what their future plans are. The panel featured graduate students from the Counseling Psy.D. program, the Clinical-Counseling Master’s program, the Experimental Psychology Master’s program, and the Industrial-Organizational Psychology Master’s program.
Douglas Buchanan described the transition from undergraduate to graduate school as “a leap from pre-school to high school.” However, every graduate student assured the undergraduates that if you are passionate about psychology, graduate school is very worth it. The students talked about how close you become with your cohort and how they become your best friends. They also had very interesting, diverse goals for what they planned to do after this. Amanda Adams and Douglas Buchanan are Clinical-Counseling Master’s students. Amanda wants to eventually pursue a career in clinical neuropsychology where she works with patients with brain injuries. Doug thought that he wanted to pursue a Ph.D. in clinical psychology, but after being in the Clinical-Counseling program, he feels like counseling may be a more beneficial end goal. Shea Fyffe and Gregory Krause gave a very informative description of Industrial-Organizational psychology, which is the study of psychology in the workplace. They went on to discuss how a terminal Master’s degree would be sufficient for pursuing a career in this field and how Industrial-Organizational psychology is one of the fastest growing fields in the US.
Michael Feeney and Katie Vizy talked about how they have already been accepted into Ph.D. programs, and that is where they will be in the fall. Rachel Turk and Bethany Hall have been accepted into Psy.D. programs for the fall. The undergraduates learned that you have to do a dissertation at the Psy.D. and Ph.D. level. Savannah LeBarre is a student that is in the Counseling Psy.D. program at Radford. Her dissertation is on women survivors of breast cancer, comparing levels of posttraumatic growth in rural areas, and comparing three types of support: religious support, non-religious support, and peer support (e.g., breast cancer support groups).
The graduate students mentioned the difference between the M.A. degree and the M.S. degree. At Radford University, the M.A. degree involves a thesis project. Anastasia Formica is a student pursuing a Clinical-Counseling M.A. degree, and she will be doing her thesis with Dr. Dayna Hayes. Kate Rehberg is an Experimental Psychology student, and she is doing her thesis with Dr. Niels Christensen. The undergraduates also learned about the different assistantships offered at Radford University. There is a teaching assistant job and a research assistant job. Abigail Vandivier is a Clinical-Counseling student who is doing her research assistantship with Dr. Jeffrey Aspelmeier, and they are looking at attachment theory and self-regulation in dismissing individuals. Ivan Zuidhoek is an Experimental student who did a teaching assistantship under Dr. Jeff Willner and helped teach the PSYC 302: Research Methods in Psychology.
The amazing research opportunities at Radford University were also discussed. Ryan Lingg and Ian Ostrander are graduate students in the Experimental program. Ryan is studying the effects of alcohol and nicotine on the hippocampus. He conducts this research in the rat lab in Russell Hall. Ian also does drug exposure research in the rat lab, and he specializes in the effect of cannabinoids and food intake on anxiety and memory in adolescent rats. Stephen Casazza is a Counseling Psy.D. student, and his research involves investigating positive and negative attitudes and behaviors of Radford students toward bisexual individuals based on the geographic region in which they grew up. “We work closely with faculty and lead many of the research projects that go on in the program, with there support,” Stephen explains. Alissa Goldstein is also in the Counseling Psy.D. program, and she is researching transgender counseling attitudes and the effectiveness of utilizing social media to enhance generosity and social comfort.
The graduate students not only informed the undergraduates about how rewarding it feels to pursue a higher level degree, but they also made them aware of the amazing opportunities that Radford University offers at the graduate level. The Psi Chi members who sponsored the event really hope that the undergraduates learned a lot. We also are very thankful for the graduate students’ participation and the valuable lessons they taught us about how to succeed in graduate school.
On March 24th, 2015, Psi Chi sponsored an event for the undergraduate students in order to inspire them to want to pursue a higher education degree in psychology. Psi Chi is the international honor society in psychology, and Analise Roccaforte is the current Executive President of Radford University’s chapter. The event was a Graduate Student Panel where 18 graduate students came and spoke about their graduate school experience. They told their story and provided information on why they chose the type of psychology that they did, how they came to be at Radford, their current research experiences and involvements, valuable advice for the transition between undergraduate and graduate school, and what their future plans are. The panel featured graduate students from the Counseling Psy.D. program, the Clinical-Counseling Master’s program, the Experimental Psychology Master’s program, and the Industrial-Organizational Psychology Master’s program.
Douglas Buchanan described the transition from undergraduate to graduate school as “a leap from pre-school to high school.” However, every graduate student assured the undergraduates that if you are passionate about psychology, graduate school is very worth it. The students talked about how close you become with your cohort and how they become your best friends. They also had very interesting, diverse goals for what they planned to do after this. Amanda Adams and Douglas Buchanan are Clinical-Counseling Master’s students. Amanda wants to eventually pursue a career in clinical neuropsychology where she works with patients with brain injuries. Doug thought that he wanted to pursue a Ph.D. in clinical psychology, but after being in the Clinical-Counseling program, he feels like counseling may be a more beneficial end goal. Shea Fyffe and Gregory Krause gave a very informative description of Industrial-Organizational psychology, which is the study of psychology in the workplace. They went on to discuss how a terminal Master’s degree would be sufficient for pursuing a career in this field and how Industrial-Organizational psychology is one of the fastest growing fields in the US.
Michael Feeney and Katie Vizy talked about how they have already been accepted into Ph.D. programs, and that is where they will be in the fall. Rachel Turk and Bethany Hall have been accepted into Psy.D. programs for the fall. The undergraduates learned that you have to do a dissertation at the Psy.D. and Ph.D. level. Savannah LeBarre is a student that is in the Counseling Psy.D. program at Radford. Her dissertation is on women survivors of breast cancer, comparing levels of posttraumatic growth in rural areas, and comparing three types of support: religious support, non-religious support, and peer support (e.g., breast cancer support groups).
The graduate students mentioned the difference between the M.A. degree and the M.S. degree. At Radford University, the M.A. degree involves a thesis project. Anastasia Formica is a student pursuing a Clinical-Counseling M.A. degree, and she will be doing her thesis with Dr. Dayna Hayes. Kate Rehberg is an Experimental Psychology student, and she is doing her thesis with Dr. Niels Christensen. The undergraduates also learned about the different assistantships offered at Radford University. There is a teaching assistant job and a research assistant job. Abigail Vandivier is a Clinical-Counseling student who is doing her research assistantship with Dr. Jeffrey Aspelmeier, and they are looking at attachment theory and self-regulation in dismissing individuals. Ivan Zuidhoek is an Experimental student who did a teaching assistantship under Dr. Jeff Willner and helped teach the PSYC 302: Research Methods in Psychology.
The amazing research opportunities at Radford University were also discussed. Ryan Lingg and Ian Ostrander are graduate students in the Experimental program. Ryan is studying the effects of alcohol and nicotine on the hippocampus. He conducts this research in the rat lab in Russell Hall. Ian also does drug exposure research in the rat lab, and he specializes in the effect of cannabinoids and food intake on anxiety and memory in adolescent rats. Stephen Casazza is a Counseling Psy.D. student, and his research involves investigating positive and negative attitudes and behaviors of Radford students toward bisexual individuals based on the geographic region in which they grew up. “We work closely with faculty and lead many of the research projects that go on in the program, with there support,” Stephen explains. Alissa Goldstein is also in the Counseling Psy.D. program, and she is researching transgender counseling attitudes and the effectiveness of utilizing social media to enhance generosity and social comfort.
The graduate students not only informed the undergraduates about how rewarding it feels to pursue a higher level degree, but they also made them aware of the amazing opportunities that Radford University offers at the graduate level. The Psi Chi members who sponsored the event really hope that the undergraduates learned a lot. We also are very thankful for the graduate students’ participation and the valuable lessons they taught us about how to succeed in graduate school.