Category: Graduate School

  • Looking for Research Opportunities & Internships?

    Looking for research opportunities and/or internships this summer, but not sure where to start?

    Never fear! I bring you good news.

    The American Psychological Association provides a list of opportunities at major institutions for undergraduates. Such programs are available across the United States, from New York City to California.

    Take a look at a few of those offered below, you may be surprised at what’s out there.

    • Boston University Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowships (SURFs)
      • Particular focus on minority groups, those traditionally underrepresented in the sciences
      • Applications opened December 9th, 2019 and close on February 15th, 2020
      • Program runs from June 1st to August 1st
    • Harvard Lab for Developmental Studies
      • Students interested in research on language and/or cognitive development, have experience with research methods (especially psychology or linguistics), comfortable interacting with families in a professional setting, and have excellent problem-solving and teamwork abilities
      • Application deadline: 12:00 EST, 1 March 2020
      • Program runs from June 8th through August 14th
    • National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NIH) Summer Program in the Neurological Sciences and Other Neuroscience Research Training and Funding Opportunities
      • Available to high school, undergraduate, graduate, and medical school students
      • Receive first-rate training in neuroscience, have opportunities to network, and obtain impressive credentials when competing for graduate school, medical school, predoc or postdoc fellowships, and tenure-track positions
      • Applications open from mid-December through March 1st
      • Requires: CV or resume, a list of coursework and grades (do not need a transcript at this time), a cover letter describing research interests and career goals, and the names and contact information for two references
    • University of South Florida Summer Research Institute (SRI)
      • Application deadline: 15 March 2020 at 11:59 pm
      • Acceptance notifications: 3 April 2020
      • Program is dedicated to research and education of substance use and co-occurring disorders, prepares students for graduate school and/or Senior thesis
      • Up to 12 students chosen, courses in statistics and research methodology are required to be eligible
      • 11-week program from May 27th through August 7th

    And there are plenty more opportunities as well. If you are interested in learning more, follow this link to the American Psychological Association’s website where all their recommended research/internships are listed.

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  • AN INTERVIEW WITH RECENT GRADUATE NOELLE WARFFORD ’19

    © Roanoke College
    In an interview with a student assistant, recent graduate Noelle Warfford ’19 describes life after graduation, recalls on her favorite memories from Roanoke College, and shares about being Salutatorian for the class of 2019.

    No photo description available.

    To start off, can you tell me a little about yourself? 

    I’m Noelle, currently a graduate student at The University of Toledo studying Clinical Psychology. I would say I am a pretty friendly, hard-working person. I live with my cat Joshua, who is adorable, and I love to sing and watch movies whenever I get free time. Just not at the same time, to be clear. 😜 

    Congratulations on being a Salutatorian! What was it like when you found this out?

    When I found out I was Salutatorian, I was so excited that I just wanted to tell everybody I knew. I found out while I was with Dr. Nichols, who was my advisor, which made it even more exciting!

    Noelle and her friend Phillip

    What was graduating like? 

    I remember graduation as being simultaneously incredibly fun and pretty stressful. There were so many events to go to that week and people to hang out with and talk to. The evening at President Maxey and Mrs. Maxey’s house was awesome, but nothing beats the feeling of hearing your name and walking across that stage!

    How did it feel to finally step on the seal? 

    Stepping on the seal felt like one of my biggest accomplishments at Roanoke. We all spend four years avoiding it because we’re all at least a teeny bit superstitious. So when you finally get to do it, it’s such a relief! You really know you made it.

    What do you miss about Roanoke College? What is your favorite thing about having graduated? 

    I miss so many things about Roanoke…but Commons honestly might be the thing I miss most. Especially all the kind staff, and the delicious desserts. I miss Olin Hall and of course the 5th floor of Life Science too, because I spent so much of my time in those places, usually with my closest friends. The best thing about graduating, though, is not having to worry about parking on campus anymore! And I mean, having a degree is great too. 🙂
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    © The University of Toledo

    What are you doing now after graduating? 

    Since I graduated I moved up to Ohio to go to UToledo. The PhD program I’m in is 5 years long, including one year of internship. As a first year student, I have a few different jobs as a graduate assistant, I have classes on psychological assessment, clinical practice, psychotherapy, and research methods. I’m also already starting research and get to sit in on a clinical practicum where advanced students discuss the clients they’re treating at the University Psychology Clinic.

    What does a typical day consist of in Graduate school? 

    For me, a typical day in graduate school can range from a day where I only have meetings to attend throughout the day but no classes, to a full day where I have an hour-long lab at 8:15 (which I always grab a coffee on the way to campus for), a 2hr 40min class at 10:30, a brief time to grab lunch, and then another long class at 2pm. Since my classes only meet once a week, I usually have a lot of time to work on readings and assignments during the day and then have time to chill in the evening.

    Noelle and Joshua

    What has been your favorite part of graduate school so far? How about least favorite? 

    My favorite part of graduate school is getting to study topics I’m interested in in a lot of depth. For example, I’ve already gotten to practice administering two major cognitive tests, the WAIS-IV and the WIAT-III, on a volunteer. I’m always surrounded by students and faculty who are very passionate about what they do, so it’s an encouraging environment to be in. My least favorite part is the sheer amount of reading I have to do. I’m so thankful I got practice reading empirical articles while I was at Roanoke, because I feel like that’s all I do now!

    Where do you hope this opportunity takes you in the future?

    My hope is that during my time in this program, I’ll be able to make contributions to research on psychosis assessment, especially assessing thought disorder, and that I’ll be able to gain significant experience working with populations with psychotic disorders. From there, I hope I can find a job where I get to do assessments all the time and help train others to become experts in assessment as well.

    Is there anything else you would like to tell us?

    Hmm…I guess the only other thing I’d like to share is, look out for a chapter on psychosis that I’ll be co-authoring with my advisor in the 2nd edition of The Oxford Handbook of Personality and Psychopathology Assessment. I am psyched about getting to work with her on this project! We’re starting a lot of exciting work on assessing early symptoms of psychosis, and I’m focusing in on signs of thought disorder, like you often see in schizophrenia.

    Congratulations on all of your accomplishments Noelle! We will be continuing to cheer you on from Roanoke College!

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    Bloghttps://psych.pages.roanoke.edu/
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  • UPCOMING ONLINE OPEN HOUSE FOR SAINT JOSEPH’S UNIVERSITY

    Image result for st joseph's university
    Next Monday, November 18 at 2:00 PM St. Joseph’s University is hosting a virtual open house! This open house is a wonderful opportunity to learn more about their MS in experimental psychology program. This is a full-time program designed to provide students with a solid grounding in the scientific study of psychology.   All students in their program are assigned to a mentor and conduct an empirically based research thesis under their direction.

    Information on how to attend the open house can be found at this link!

    For more information of their program check out this link as well as the brochure below!

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    Blog:  https://psych.pages.roanoke.edu/
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    Website:  https://www.roanoke.edu/inside/a-z_index/psychology

  • AN INTERVIEW WITH RECENT GRADUATE CODY DILLON-OWENS ’19

    © Roanoke College

    In an interview with a student assistant, recent graduate Cody Dillon-Owens ’19 describes life after graduation, recalls on his favorite memories from Roanoke College, and shares about being Valedictorian for the class of 2019.

    To start off, can you tell me a little about yourself? 

    Well, I am of course a graduate of Roanoke College and this past August I started the first year of my PhD at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte for Health Psychology with a Clinical Concentration. I was born and raised in Roanoke, VA so this is my first time permanently leaving the area. I have a love for mountains and the outdoors and enjoy playing bass and guitar in my spare time. 

    © Roanoke College

    Congratulations on being a Valedictorian! What was it like when you found this out?

    This was actually interestingso, Ellen and a few professors, along with the registrar during my Senior check-out in the Fall, told and reminded me that I was in the running. I knew I had a 4.0, but I guess the question was: how many other people did, and could we all keep it up? When it was official, knowing I had achieved it was cool (I had certainly worked for it), but I think my main feelings centered around the privilege of addressing our graduating class. There are a lot of fiercely intelligent, insightful, caring, and hard-working people I had the honor of attending Roanoke with and, in some ways, I feel like the cards just lined up for me to keep that magic number. A lot of people had very transformative journeys through college, but just the lack of one A puts them out of the running. I wanted my speech to focus on the triumphs we achieved as people, not students. 

     

    © Cody Dillon-Owens

    What was graduating like? 

    For me, it was kind of weird to suddenly just be done. Four years of the same people, working towards the same goal, and now you’ve done it. I felt proud for doing it, happy I’d have a break from homework, but mostly curious about the future. I made a lot of great friendships, including with my professors. It was sad to have to leave and watch everyone start doing their own thing. But it was also a joyous occasion having my whole family there and seeing all the people who supported me to get me to this point. 

    How did it feel to finally step on the seal? 

    Don’t tell Maxey, but I had probably accidentally stepped on it long ago haha. It does remind me of some of the fun and quirky traditions we had at ‘Noke. I am glad I got to attend a college with some character and live out some of its traditions. 

    © Cody Dillon-Owens

    What do you miss about Roanoke College? What is your favorite thing about having graduated? 

    I definitely miss the people. Ellen and all the psych faculty are the bee’s knees. And having all my friends in the same place. All you can eat chicken tender and mac day is kind of noteworthy as well. My favorite thing about having graduated is that I’ve completed another milestone in life that’s gotten me closer to where I want to be. I get to take specialized courses in what I want to be doing and pursuing ideas that are uniquely mine. This is also the first time for me being totally on my own which I’ve enjoyed. 

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    Photo of the UNCC Campus © Cody Dillon-Owens

    What are you doing now after graduating? 

    Currently, I am attending UNCC getting my PhD. Technically, the PhD is in health psychology which is a very interdisciplinary field. It looks at health as a unitary concept involving both brain and body, which are deeply interconnected. We apply psychological models, like the biopsychosocial model and the ecological model, to examine health (prevention, maintenance, outcomes) – it’s very broad. My concentration is in clinical psychology, although being APA accredited, I’m also technically getting the same required training as any accredited clinical degree. So, within that realm I’m also learning the components of assessment and treatment. I think the two fields complement one another very well. 

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    Cody Dillon-Owens office setup for his first intellectual assessment

    What does a typical day consist of in Graduate school? 

    Haha, usually quite a bit depending on the day. Currently, I am in course overload, so I never run out of things to do. I have classes at 8am most days, and after class there will be a mixture of activities. I read many articles and chapters of textbooks for my classes basically every day. I may also have to work on writing 2-page application papers or contributing to a pre-class discussion board. I now have a couple of course papers I have somehow make time to start working on too. I also have two applied clinical courses, so I am conducting an interview or an intellectual assessment about once a week. I’m also a Research Assistant and Project Coordinator on a HRSA GPE grant so I have meetings and various tasks I carry out for that. And then I’ll be reading and generating research ideas for my own research projects as well. Of course, it’s some mixture of these each day, not all at once thankfully. It’s still quite busy though, so it’s essentially class and then work until the evening where I’ll leave myself about an hour and half or so for myself to do whatever. My cohort has also instituted tea-time on Thursdays where we’ll take a break from work, and every other week or so we’ll have a big outing like yoga at a brewery or bingo or hiking or something. It’s mostly work but not entirely ;). 

    First program social

    What has been your favorite part of graduate school so far? How about least favorite? 

    The learning environment is so enriching. Getting to discuss concepts with students and professors of various backgrounds has really broadened my perspectives. I’ve learned so much in such a short time. It’s also really cool to start being trained with skills for the clinical profession. My least favorite part is 1000% the lack of time haha. 

    Where do you hope this opportunity takes you in the future? 

    That’s a good question. I’ve tried giving some more thought to it, but it may take me a few more classes and clinical experiences to know for sure. I’ve considered a professorship at a small college, or at least teaching some health psych courses. My main career path I’ve told people is working as a clinician in a healthcare center but doing a mix between practice, intervention research, and maybe program eval. Recently after working on this grant, it also popped in my mind to pursue a position as a director of integrated care and push and work for developing true integrated behavioral health care and a patient-centered approach. 

    Is there anything else you would like to tell us? 

    This app/site called Trello saved my life for that extra level of self-management I needed, especially when working with other people so check that out if you’re interested. My new email is cdillono@uncc.edu, if anyone has more questions or would like student-level advice about graduate school or what the transition is like or anything, feel free to contact me! And remember that self-care is important, and no goal is worth sacrificing your happiness and well-being. 

    Congratulations on all of your accomplishments Cody! We will be continuing to cheer you on from Roanoke College!

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    Bloghttps://psych.pages.roanoke.edu/
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  • UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH CAROLINA COLLEGE OF SOCIAL WORK ON CAMPUS VISIT THIS FRIDAY!

    This Friday, October 4, 2019 from 11:30 am to 1:00 pm, the University of South Carolina College of Social Work will have a representative tabling in the Atrium of the Colket Center. They will be here promoting programs for Master of Social Work and PhD in Social Work.

    Image via https://phialpha.synthasite.com/

    Here is a little bit more on these programs:

    A Master of Social Work  

    According to the Universities website, “A Master of Social Work from the University of South Carolina will provide you with the skills to work with individuals, families, groups and communities. Whether you are interested in direct client service, advocacy or policy, our program will give you the knowledge and skills necessary to be a leader in the social work profession.” To learn more about the master program check out this link!

    PhD in Social Work

    According to the Universities website, “Earning a Ph.D. in social work at the University of South Carolina will prepare you to provide leadership for social change by conducting transdisciplinary, community-engaged research into key issues and by educating the next generation of social workers.” To learn more about the PhD program check out this link!

    If you are interested in pursuing a master’s degree or a PhD with a focus on Social Work, then stop on by and ask some questions and to learn more about the University and programs check out this link! We hope that you stop by on Friday! 

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  • ENHANCING YOUR RESUME, CV, AND LINKEDIN ONE SKILL AT A TIME!

    Naufel, K. Z., Appleby, D. C., Young, J., Van Kirk, J. F., Spencer, S. M., Rudmann, J., …Richmond, A. S. (2018). The skillful psychology student: Prepared for success in the 21st century workplace. Retrieved from: https:// www.apa.org/careers/resources/guides/transferable-skills.pdf

    “The Skillful Psychology student” guide shown above lays out skills that could be listed on a resume, CV and LinkedIn.  The graphic separates skills into five categories and lays out some of the most valued skills in each category.

    If you are looking to enhance the way you look to possible employers or future graduate schools then check it out!

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    Bloghttps://psych.pages.roanoke.edu/
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    Website: https://www.roanoke.edu/inside/a-z_index/psychology
    Instagram: rcpsychology
  • Still Looking for Graduate School Opportunities?

    Still looking for graduate school opportunities?

    UVA Educational Psych – Applied Developmental Science Master’s Program is still accepting applications!

    If you are interested in learning more about how developmental processes impact learning in an educational and community environment, and enjoy conducting research to improve the lives of youth, then this program would be a great fit for you!

    The Applied Developmental Science Master’s Program at UVA is 12 month long and gives you the opportunity to work with and learn from their supportive faculty. You will learn more about human development, educational psychology, and research methods. As part of this program, you are expected to complete a 6 credit (200 hour) internship with a local lab or community-based organization.

    What can you do with this degree? Graduates go on to become educators, researchers, or consultants working in a variety of settings including schools, labs, and non-profit organizations.

    Applications are due May 15th, and the program has a new start date of June 3rd. To learn more about the program click HERE.

    Have questions? Contact Dr. Beverly Sweeney by phone at  434-243-1995 or via email at .

    Written by Rachel Harmon, contributed to and edited by Brittney Rowe

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    Bloghttps://psych.pages.roanoke.edu/
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    Website: https://www.roanoke.edu/inside/a-z_index/psychology
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  • CFF Summer Treatment Program Internship Opportunity

    Interested in gaining experience this summer working with children with ADHD and related behavioral, emotional and learning challenges?

    The Center for Children and Families at Florida International University offers training opportunities for both undergraduate and graduate students through their Summer Treatment Program to learn and help children improve their ‘problem-solving, academic functioning, and social skills.’

    The Summer Treatment Program focuses on providing evidence-based intensive treatments through group and tailored individual programs in a therapeutic summer camp style. The program is eight weeks. The children are divided into two programs according to their ages: STP Pre-K and STP Elementary.

    https://ccf.fiu.edu/opportunities/summer-treatment-program-opportunities-and-training/

    Available Spring 2019 positions include: 

    Things to Consider:

    There is no application deadline but CCF recommends applying early due to the program’s popularity.

    Room, board, and travel expenses are not covered by CCF. Accepted staff members interested in finding a roommate will have to do so themselves through social media.

    Dates, hours, salary, and responsibilities are subject to the different positions. According to CFF, once positions have been filled, applicants will be placed on a waiting list.

    Application: 

    Step 1: Online Application

    Step 2: Three (3) Letters of Recommendation from those indicated on the Online Application.

    Step 3: Official College or University Transcripts

    Have questions or want to know more? Please email stpjobs@fiu.edu.

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    Bloghttps://psych.pages.roanoke.edu/

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    Website: https://www.roanoke.edu/inside/a-z_index/psychology

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  • Congratulations to Noelle Warfford ’19

    The psychology department would like to congratulate Noelle Warfford ’19 on her acceptance to The University of Toldeo’s Clinical Psychology PhD program!

    Recently I received an offer of admission to The University of Toledo’s Clinical Psychology PhD program to work with Dr. Joni Mihura. Since this had been my top choice school, I happily accepted. I’ll start this fall, and I’ll be doing research on developing a short form of the Rorschach-Performance Assessment System to assess for thought disorder in first-episode psychosis.                                         

                                                                       – Noelle Warfford ’19

    University of Toledo

    We are incredibly proud of Noelle and will be cheering her on from the fifth floor of Life Science. 🙂

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    Bloghttps://psych.pages.roanoke.edu/

    Facebookhttps://www.facebook.com/rcpsychology
    Twitter: @RC_Psychology

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    Website: https://www.roanoke.edu/inside/a-z_index/psychology

    Instagram: rcpsychology

  • A Reunion in Copenhagen: Interview with Kaitlin Busse ’18

    Our student assistant was recently able to catch up with recent graduate Kaitlin Busse about life after graduation and her favorite memories from Roanoke College! A Fulbright recipient, Busse is currently studying Industrial and Organizational Psychology in Denmark. 

    Thank you so much for answering my questions! We’ll start with the basics first. Can you tell me a little about yourself?

    I graduated back in May of 2018, which is so hard to believe that it was six months ago! During my time at Roanoke, I majored in Psychology, minored in Sociology, and concentrated in Human Resource Management. I was the President of Psi Chi, Vice President of Chi Omega, and a member of the Honors Program. I also worked on campus as a Maroon Ambassador, a Psychology Student Assistant, and as a research assistant for the HR Department. I really liked research and was  extremely involved with projects in the Psychology Department, where I was part of Dr. Powell’s lab.

    Over the course of my college career, I had three internships that have given me experience in learning and development, talent management, and counseling. One of my favorite experiences that Roanoke College provided me with was the opportunity to study abroad. I completed my May Term in Sri Lanka studying the landscape and culture and also spent a semester in the Netherlands.

    Can you tell me more about where you interned?

    My first internship was at a local outpatient counseling facility back home in NJ. During my time, I learned about what is was like to work as a counselor and gained some insight into how counseling sessions were run. While I enjoyed the internship, I found that after the experience my interests shifted more towards the organizational issues in the workplace. It was then I decided to take an Organizational Behavior class at Roanoke and completely fell in love with it!

    That summer, I interned as a Talent Management intern at Digitas, an advertising agency in NYC. I gained so much experience there, which also reaffirmed [my interest in] the field of I/O. My favorite projects were analyzing company turnover rates and developing a national survey for interns and managers regarding job satisfaction and progress.

    The next summer I interned at Wyndham Worldwide as a Learning and Development intern in their corporate office. While I was there, my favorite project involved researching ways that employees could develop the core values of the organization, which then led to the creation of a professional development website.

    In both my internship programs, I participated in group case study projects where we worked together to create a strategy to solve a problem in the organization. This is where I became interested in a possible career as an organizational consultant.

    What was your May Term and study abroad like?

    During my May Term, I studied the landscape and culture in Sri Lanka. During the three weeks that we were there, we traveled all over the country, which was nice because we gained a well-rounded understanding of the culture. We visited different sites of worship where we gained an understanding the religious diversity of the country. We had the opportunity to interacts with the locals. My most memorable experience was volunteering at a school for a day where we taught English, did arts and crafts, and played sports with the kids. It was really interesting to visit the tea plantations and learn about its significance to the economy. My favorite part of the trip was learning about the wildlife, where we had the opportunity to go to safaris and a baby elephant orphanage!

    I studied abroad in Tilburg, Netherlands in the fall semester of 2016. I chose the Netherlands because I wanted to study in a country that was known for their high quality of life and good working conditions. Tilburg University was the perfect school where I could take classes in the field of organizational studies through a psychological, sociological, and HR background (which combined all of my majors, minors, and concentrations)! I got to take a qualitative research class, an HRM class, and a class about the importance of building relationships within the workplace.

    […] I spent my weekends traveling throughout different European countries. Traveling to different places in Europe was so cheap and I got to experience so much history, culture, and beautiful architecture and landscapes.

    During my time at Tilburg, the most meaningful memories I made were with the people I met. I was active in the international club, where I got the opportunity to interact with both Dutch people as well as different exchange students from all over the world. I lived in an international dorm where I also had the opportunity to learn about different cultures and build strong friendships with my roommates, who I still keep in touch with! (Fun fact: two of my friends that I studied abroad with actually live in Copenhagen and are students at CBS)!

    What was graduating like? (Stepping on seal, the ceremony, etc.)

    Graduation was such a special experience. Everyone was smiling and cheering each other on as they walked across the stage and got their diplomas. My whole family had driven all the way from New Jersey and Florida to share this moment with me which was so meaningful to me. At the end of the ceremony, it was a really special moment to walk past all of my professors who had supported me along this journey. Stepping on the  seal was definitely felt a little strange as I made sure I stayed away from it all four years.

    What are you doing now after graduating?

    After graduation, I took the summer off from working to do some traveling both within the States and internationally. Whenever I have free time, I love to explore new places and experience different parts of the world. It’s funny because I actually spent more time traveling than I did at home this summer. I traveled around the US with my best friend, who was also a recent graduate of RC! We went to Charleston, South Carolina, went all over California (San Francisco, Napa Valley, and Los Angeles), and Kennebunkport, Maine. It was funny because I live in NJ and my friend lived in Maine, and since we weren’t ready to say goodbye to each other just yet, we would book trips every few weeks so we could see each other fairly often! I got to visit family in Cocoa Beach, FL, where I have gone every single year since I was born. I also got to travel to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil for a couple weeks to visit my boyfriend and quite a few of the friends that I studied abroad with.

    I am now in Copenhagen, Denmark as I was awarded a Fulbright to studying and research at Copenhagen Business School for one year. It has truly been such amazing experience. I take classes within organizational studies and am researching workplace-related issues such as Nordic gender equality and sexual harassment in the workforce. During my time here, I have also started volunteering with an organization that focuses on students’ professional and personal development. I usually spend my weekends exploring new places throughout the city and country with friends. Although Denmark is such a small country, there is so many beautiful things to see and things to do. I’ve also taken up yoga in Denmark, which has been really cool to get into, especially in Denmark!

    Where have you traveled to in Denmark?  

    Since I’ve been in Copenhagen, I’ve been able to do some travelingboth domestically and internationally. The first few weeks I got here, I spent my time around the Copenhagen area getting to know the city a little better. My favorite things in Copenhagen are walking along the pretty painted houses of the Nyhavn, sitting on the dock at the beach in Amager Strand, exploring the different parks with all the fall foliage, and going to Tivoli at different times of the year (so far, I’ve got to experience the decorations for Summer, Halloween, Christmas). Outside of Copenhagen, I’ve done a road trip to Mons Klint, which are the cliffs in Denmark, which are absolutely stunning. I’ve also been to Odense to visit another Fulbrighter, which is an old town and also home to the birthplace of Hans Christian Anderson, one of Denmark’s most popular authors (he wrote the Little Mermaid). Outside of Denmark, I’ve been to Oslo, Norway which was another beautiful Scandinavian city. I also had some time to explore Malmö, Sweden, which is a 30 minute train ride from Denmark (you can actually see from Copenhagen)! My favorite trip I’ve been on so far is to Switzerland to visit one of the friends I lived with when I studied abroad in the Netherlands. She is now an intern for the United Nations in Geneva and it was so nice to catch up with her, explore the city, and meet some of her friends. Switzerland is absolutely gorgeous with the mountains and the lakes!

    What drew you to Denmark? Now that you have been there for a few months, what is living there like?

    Living in Copenhagen is pretty awesome! The Danes are extremely kind and are also very chill. It is such a lovely place to live […]. There’s this concept in Danish called “hygge” which is really hard to describe, but it translates directly to cozy. It’s sort of this warm, cozy feeling of being relaxed and surrounded by people you care about and often involves food and drink. I think this is my favorite part about Denmark! Everyone rides their bikes pretty much everywhere, so it has been fun getting to know the city on bike. I live in international housing where I have my own room and share a kitchen with nine of master’s students from all over the world. It has been great to get to know everyone and learn about their cultures! Work-life balance is really emphasized in Denmark as well, which has been nice with balancing class, research, friends, volunteering, and leisure activities.

    Copenhagen is a foodie city, so I have definitely made an effort to try lots of cool places to eat (Copenhagen street food and food markets are incredible)! The only downfall to Copenhagen is that it rains more than it does back in the States!

    That sound amazing! What kind of food do they have there? 

    Danish food is […] quite good! Rye bread is big here and so is seafood like small shrimp and salmon. Pork is also very popular (fun fact: there are more pigs than people in Denmark).

    Although the Danes eat similar food that we do on a day-to-day basis, I’ve had the opportunity to try some of the more traditional dishes. Smørrebrød is probably my favorite dish. It’s a beautiful open face sandwich with all different kinds of meats, vegetables, and topping on it. Danish pastries are also SO GOOD! I’ve also tried roasted pork with crackling which has also been quite tasty as well! My favorite are the Danish version of cinnamon buns, which are incredible! While we have hot dogs in the US, the Danish hot dogs have a ton of topping on them like onions, pickles, and a bunch of different sauces. Aside from food, beer is also huge in Denmark and they have tons of local beers. Tuborg and Carlsberg are the two most popular and a couple of weeks ago, the beer companies released their Christmas beers which was an (un)official holiday in Denmark!

    What do you miss about Roanoke College? What is your favorite thing about having graduated?

    I love life after graduation, [though] I do miss Roanoke! I miss seeing my friends and professors every single day the most! I also miss how beautiful campus is and sitting outside of Commons on a nice day…

    My favorite thing about having graduated is the newness of everything. In the past six months, I’ve moved to a completely new country and had the chance to experience many different things.While I still spend most of my day in a university setting, I am a part-time student so there is a bit less of a work-load in the evenings. With that being said, I have more free time to do things that interest me like spending time friends, reading leisurely, and enjoying different events in the city.

    I saw that two of your friends came to visit you recently in Copenhagen and you took over RC Snapchat while they were there! That sounds like a lot of fun. Can you tell me more about it? What did you guys do?

    It was so nice to have two of my friends visit me during their Fall Break at RC. It was so nice to catch up and show them around Copenhagen! We had a great time getting to explore the different parts of the city and trying good places to eat! My favorite place that we went to was Tivoli Gardens, which is a cute little amusement park in the middle of the city. Since it was October, the whole park was covered in Halloween decor which was so pretty! My Danish friend also came along and it was really nice for my two friends to meet some of my friends here in Copenhagen as well! I’m really grateful to have made such amazing friends at RC and miss them already!

    What plans do you have for the future?

    After I return back to the States from Denmark, I plan go to graduate school and get a degree in industrial/organizational psychology. I would like to work as an organizational consultant and focus on improving the work life of employees.

    Is there anything else you would like to tell us?

    I’ve been extremely grateful for all of the opportunities I had at Roanoke College, especially within the Psychology Department. I would not be who I am without the support and guidance from my professors and advisors. To current students reading this, take advantage of the opportunities that come your way… you never know what they will lead to!

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