PLACE (Center for Purpose, Life, and Career Exploration) is hosting a Senior Series on Wednesday evenings to prepare Roanoke students for the job search and life as a recent college graduate.
Senior Series events are taking place on Wednesday evenings from 7:00-8:00pm. The sessions cover a variety of topics relating to professional development. Psychology students who are planning to entering the job market immediately after graduation will especially benefit from these events!
There are three topics remaining in the series:
Professional Interview Preparation
Oct. 5th (Pickle Meeting Room – Colket Center)
Professional Development: Dress and Act for the Professional Goals you Seek
Oct. 12th (Pickle Meeting Room – Colket Center)
Professional Transition: Using your Skills and Career Readiness
Oct. 26th (Fintel Library – Classroom 1)
Students can register to attend each event on Handshake or email Amy Foster (foster@roanoke.edu) for more information.
The psychology department is excited to welcome a new faculty member this year!
Dr. Lauren Kennedy-Metz graduated from Roanoke College with a B.S. in Psychology, a Creative Writing minor, and a Neuroscience concentration. She then went down the road to Blacksburg where she completed a PhD in Translational Biology, Medicine, and Health with a concentration in Neuroscience at Virginia Tech.
This year Dr. Kennedy-Metz has returned to her alma mater where she is currently teaching Introduction to Psychology and Cognitive Psychology, as well as serving as the faculty advisor for Psi Chi and RCPA.
When asked what brought her back to Roanoke, Dr. Kennedy-Metz shared that the Roanoke College Psychology Department was her “ideal scenario” for a work environment. She says the department is “where I learned the most about myself, my interests, my strengths as a student and as a human.” She adds that “it’s where I was afforded the opportunities to thrive through the encouragement of lifelong faculty members.” In addition, this native New-Englander shared that “the Roanoke area has always felt like home.”
Dr. Kennedy-Metz brings a unique research background to the department. She summarizes her work as follows:
“My research interests include characterizing psychophysiological indicators of acute stress and developing biofeedback-based approaches to stress management interventions. Most importantly, I’m interested in taking a tailored approach to both of these things within specific high-stress populations both on campus and beyond (e.g., students, student-athletes, police officers, healthcare workers, kitchen staff, etc.).”
Dr. Kennedy-Metz says she became interested in this topic because the experience of stress is very relatable, but people are often left in the dark about how to respond to it appropriately. However, properly responding to stress is a critical topic, especially for the populations mentioned above.
Speaking to current psychology students, Dr. Kennedy-Metz encourages you to “get involved in things that interest them early on.” She recommends exploring research, clubs, club sports, internships, study abroad and anything else that catches your eye. When trying new things, Dr. Kennedy-Metz says, “worst case you learn that it isn’t for you, and you move on!” She closes with this sage advice. “If you push yourself outside of your comfort zone and end up finding a niche you love, you might look back one day and wonder how different things may have been if you hadn’t taken that first step.”
Be sure to say hi to Dr. Kennedy-Metz when you see her around on the 5th floor of Life Science.
Tonight – Friday, September 23, at 7:00p, the Black Student Alliance is hosting a Faculty/Staff vs Students Basketball game in Bast Gym. Dr. Nichols, chair of the Psychology Department, will be playing (loosely defined). It would be great to see support from the Psychology department for all participants!
Black Student Alliance presents Faculty/Staff vs Students Basketball Tournament 7:00 p.m. Bast Center, Gym
Let’s boost our school spirit and morale as faculty and staff take on students in a basketball tournament!
This year’s Salem-Roanoke Out of the Darkness Walk for suicide prevention is taking place on Saturday October 1st. The annual event is hosted by the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP) to raise awareness and support for suicide prevention.
RCPA and Psi Chi are joining the Roanoke community by walking as a team. The event begins at 10am at the Cregger Center right here on campus. All psychology students and faculty are encouraged to sign up to walk with the team or donate to AFSP at the link below:
