Semester Insights: Fall '18 - Spring '19

DB
Apr 1, 2019
2 min read

Professional/Academic Experiences: Marketing and Communications Internship | Psychology Club | Social Psychology Research Lab | Life-Health Sciences Internship Program (LHSI) | Multicultural Leadership Empowerment Program (MLEP)

This school year is quite productive! I proudly serve as President of Psychology Club. I am also continuing my jobs with the School of Science, working within the Life-Health Sciences Internship Program, and volunteering as a research assistant in the Ashburn-Nardo's Stereotyping, Prejudice, Intergroup Relations (ASPIRe) Lab.

More recently, I have been accepted into the "Sankofa: A Cultural Journey Through Ghana" study abroad program. This life-altering opportunity will allow me to experience Sankofa with a cultural journey through Ghana led by staff of Africana Studies, the Diversity Enrichment and Achievement Program, and the Multicultural Center. This trip will explore slavery and colonialism; economics and globalization; and contemporary Ghana—people, culture, and society. I have also been accepted into the Multicultural Leadership Empowerment Program (MLEP). The purpose of MLEP is to:

Examine self and others as members of social groups in the context of systems of power, privilege, and oppression.
Gain knowledge and understand the impact of systems of privilege and oppression (racism, sexism, heterosexism, ageism, classism)
Develop skills to work with differences, disagreements, and conflicts
Identify and plan individual and collective actions that contribute toward more inclusive and just communities.

During the summer of 2018, I completed a marketing and communications internship with the School of Science here on campus. I was also able to volunteer with a professor and other students through the CDF Freedom Schools® Program. I witnessed the impact that the program had on the children and observed how being actively present can help others. My experiences have helped solidify my desire to truly do "good" in spaces that I occupy.

LIFE-HEALTH SCIENCES INTERNSHIP PROGRAM

I was previously helping Indiana University (IU) and Riley researchers find out more about brain mechanisms that underlie risky decision-making before a child ever uses a drug of abuse.

Now, I work with The Indiana University Psychotic Disorders Program (IUPDP).

IUPDP focuses on education, research, and treatment of individuals with schizophrenia.

This internship is helping me synthesize the topics and information that I learn about in class.

A little bit of insight into what I do:

Transcribe metacognitive therapy sessions

(Which allows me to understand how a typical therapy session goes)

Learn more about schizophrenia and stay up-to-date on scientific research
Create poster for end-of-year Poster Presentation Session

(My poster is titled "Shining the Light on Schizophrenia Manifestation and Perception within the African Diaspora - A Literature Review of Schizophrenia and other Psychotic Disorders")

An important goal of mine is to work on developing a specific career interest based on the experiences gained during my undergraduate journey.

The professional characteristics that I aspire to possess and to maintain are simple; I would like to have an abundant amount of resilience so that I can thrive as well as serve as a vessel to help others, create/publish consistently, and nurture unconditionally. I believe in working together to create a whole that is greater than the sum of its parts.