Kevin Clarke, Roanoke College graduate of ’02, pictured in the center.
Kevin Clarke, a 2002 Roanoke College alum, recently succeeded in defending his dissertation!
Dr. Clarke completed a Bachelor of Arts degree in psychology from Roanoke College. After graduation, he not only went on to pursue a doctorate in theology from Ave Maria University, but also edited the inaugural volume of a new series published by the Catholic University of America Press this past May, titled The Seven Deadly Sins: Sayings of the Fathers of the Church.
We invite you to join us at the Psychology Department alumni reception this Saturday April 14th from 4:00-5:30 pm at the Lucas Library and outdoor balcony. Note, you are encouraged to attend even if you have not registered for this event. We hope to see you there!
Are you looking for internships? Job opportunities? Then consider attending to Alumni Career Fair! The event will be held on Thursday, April 12th, from 5-7 pm on the main level of Colket.
Why should you attend? According to Director McLawhorn of Career Services, alumni from around 30 companies/organizations/career fields of various industries and geographic locations will be there to share about their career fields, as well as provide information about internships and/or job opportunities that may be available at their respective places of employment.
Some company recruiters will be there as well.
Things you should know before you go:
Neat, but casual clothing is fine.
It’s highly suggested that students bring resumes, but they are not required. (Students can contact Career Services for assistance with resumes prior to April 12.)
Stephanie Shields. Courtesy of Roanoke College News
Last semester, students from Dr. Nichols lab published a paper titled “Exploration of Methodological and Participant-Related Influences on the Number of Artifacts in ERP Data.”
Under the direction of Dr. Nichols, Ms. Stephanie M. Shields and Ms. Caitlin E. Morse conducted a study in order to see how the number of trials needed to collect enough data for Event-related Potential (ERP) could be minimized through the reduction of artifacts.
Typically, this type of research requires a number of trials in order to collect enough data. Oftentimes, several of these trials have to be discarded as a result of artifacts, or errors.
Shields, Morse, and Nichols focused specifically on the connections between “the number of trials that have to be eliminated due to artifacts and a set of methodological variables, physical considerations, and individual differences.”
To read more about what they found as a result of their research, follow this link to the original article.
Related: Ms. Shields was awarded a Fulbright grant to return to Germany to study bat vocalizations and vocal learning in Munich, Germany from September 2017-July 2018. Prior to this, she spent a summer in Hamburg, Germany through the German Academic Exchange Service Research Internship in Science and Engineering. While there, she completed a research project with Ph.D. student Signe Luisa Schneider on electroencephalography (EEG), learning, and memory. (To find out more about this latter project, follow this link.) Shields also completed over three years of research in the psychology department and had other articles published as well. She graduated with a major in psychology, a concentration in neuroscience, and a minor in German. She plans on earning a Ph.D. in Neuroscience.
Related: Ms. Morse currently works as a Licensed Nursing Assistant at Portsmouth Regional Hospital in New Hampshire. Graduating from Roanoke College with a degree in Kinesiology and Exercise Science in 2017, she followed this by attending the Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences where she completed a Bachelor of Science degree in order to become a registered nurse. While at Roanoke College, she worked as a research assistant in the psychology department for around three and a half years, starting in 2013. She has also participated in two other published articles through Dr. Nichols lab, alongside Ms. Shields and other students. Her Linked In account can be found here.
Alexandra Ekirch, an Officer with the Roanoke City Police Department, was recognized by the Kiwanis Club, along with her partner, for their service to the community. Officer Ekirch graduated in 2014 with a Bachelors of Science in Psychology from Roanoke College.
The Psychology Department will be hosting an alumni reception during Alumni Weekend (Saturday, April 8th) in Lucas Library (215) and on the adjacent outdoor balcony from 4:00 to 5:30pm. We are excited to see our returning alumni at this event.
Please stop by for some drinks, snacks, and fun activities with the Psychology Department!
The Community Counseling at Family Service of Roanoke Valley has at least two openings for a Community-Based Mental Health Counselor (working primarily with youth) in the Roanoke area.
Community Counseling Programs – Family Service of Roanoke Valley is seeking part-time professional to work with youth and families in Medicaid Licensed Programs as well as grant funded programs. The services will be provided in a variety of community settings included homes, after school settings and school based groups. A Bachelor’s degree in an applicable social science is required as is experience working with youth (must be Qualified Mental Health Professional-Children, QMHP-C). Each applicant must hold a valid Virginia Driver’s License and have an insured vehicle to transport youth. Bi-lingual applicants are encouraged to apply.
Applicants can email or call Emily DeCarlo, the Program Manager, if they have any questions.
edecarlo@fsrv.org, Phone: (540)563-5316 ext. 3007.
Please see www.fsrv.org for more information on Community Counseling at Family Service of Roanoke Valley.
Haley Goodes ’15 is currently attending Radford University’s Industrial-Organizational Psychology Master’s Program! We reached out to her answer some questions about graduate school. Feel free to reach out to Haley if you have any questions (see end of article for contact info).
THE DEADLINE TO APPLY IS FEBRUARY 15TH, 2017.
What’s your program like?
The Industrial-Organizational Psychology Master’s Program at Radford University is a two-year program that is project-oriented. In comparison to other programs, we work directly with clients in the majority of our classes to assess their needs and present them with materials to help resolve these organizational needs. It is also required of every student to have an internship, which is extremely helpful in getting experience in the field outside the classroom setting. In our program, our culture involves teamwork and communication. The professors are very helpful and strive to teach us to be the best evidence-based practitioners that we can be. In general, this degree supports those who are looking to go into consulting (internal, external) or human resources fields.
What type of classes and assignments intrigue you the most in your program?
Every class is designed to teach us best practices for different topics; however, the materials and best practices somewhat overlap in an organized way to provide us with a better overall understanding of I/O Psychology. Classes such as Organizational Psychology, Employee Selection, Psychometric Theory, and Performance Appraisal have been the most interesting to me since these classes provide a framework for how to perform most of our practices in the most effective ways.
Any advice for current students?
If students are looking to further their education in Psychology, Industrial-Organizational Psychology differs since it focuses on specific issues in business settings. The analysis and comprehension of data is a strong component in I/O Psychology so that we can provide the most useful information to organizations with the support of evidence. Be passionate about what you think you would like to do in a career path and be very prepared with research, etc. before applying to any program. Asking advice from your professors about how to apply to graduate school and how to present yourself to each school is important. Also, the online information source to explore professions, O*NET, is a very helpful tool to see various aspects of different jobs.
What do you think prepared you the most for grad school?
At Roanoke College, my Human Resource Management concentration and psychology courses, such as Research Methods, Industrial-Organizational Psychology, etc. prepared me for the content of the courses and how to study and present myself to clients. I believe my involvement in many different groups around campus helped me understand how to better communicate and lead others. I also had an internship in a human resources department before graduating from Roanoke College, which helped me get experience and interact with professionals in a human resources setting.
Would you be willing to list your contact info on the post so students can reach out to you?
On Saturday, April 9th, Alumni of the Psychology department came together to share stories and partake in fun activities. This year, more alumni showed up than ever! Alumni entered into contests and trivia games as well. Peter Hill ’65 was the alumni who graduated the longest time ago, Kelly Paton ’12 traveled over 1000 miles, and Lauren Kennedy ’14 won our trivia games!
Congratulations to Alex Grant, alumni Rachael Benons, Ashley Johns, Melissa Hobson, and Dr. Nichols for their recent publication in Impulse! Impulse is a premier undergraduate journal dedicated to neuroscience.
Please see the link to read their article on Foreign Accent Perception and Processing with EEG: https://impulse.appstate.edu/articles/2015/foreign-accent-perception-and-processing-eeg
