Emily Chippa: I enjoyed Dr. Hymes’ Social Psychology lab and and my internship with Dr. Loeb (a Psychology professor) because this helped me to receive a position with Career Services on campus.
What courses did you take and how were they beneficial in the classroom and beyond?
EC: I took a lot of courses that made me self aware which is helpful in an office setting where you’re trying to understand people and help people grow and you want to fine tune general procedures and policies to each individual. So, courses like Gender Roles, Psychology, Sociology, Personality Theory; these try to help you understand how people work.
In your opinion, what makes CASL student’s unique and how has that affected you?
EC: CASL students have a strong sense of teamwork which is good because companies like that. Within the Talent Gateway and Career Services, it is meant to make people more aware of their soft skills. This is also why I decided to do an internship because it took me outside of my comfort zone. [Working in Career Services helped me] realize I absolutely love this office and working with students.
Why did you choose to major in the Liberal Arts field?
EC: I have an intrinsic want and need to help people. I love to see people grow and succeed and achieve things they want out of life. I don’t think there’s another career that allows you to do that besides Liberal Arts. I decided on psychology during my junior year of high school. At that time there was someone who was struggling with mental illness and I wanted to be able to understand more and help others that were suffering with the same thing as the person I was close to was struggling with. Being an advocate for that type of change has furthered my drive to want to be in the psychology field. Also, human beings are so unpredictable. In Psychology and Sociology, we can understand how humans act and how we think. These fields are vital to our society and our success as human beings.
Additional thoughts to share or advice?
EC: I’m proud I was able to push myself outside my comfort zone and I was able to succeed in what I wanted to do. It took me over five years to get my B.A. and I worked part-time and took full time classes. But I want to let other students know it’s ok to take a little while. Don’t compare yourself to other students. School is hard and you will only survive if you really really want to.
Interview Compiled by Leah Olajide