Are you a current student interested in graduate school?
The College of William and Mary will be holding a Diversity Open House for their Masters Program in Psychology over Zoom. The Masters Program in Psychology is a 2-year research-focused program designed to help prepare students for admission to Ph.D programs. All Roanoke psychology students are encouraged to attend to learn more about the program.
The Open House which will be held on October 25th at 6:00pm EST. Click here to RSVP!
The Roanoke College psychology department is always proud to recognize the work of our fantastic students. Today we are highlighting Avery Jackson who completed an internship this summer at Children and Family Associates in Roanoke, VA.
Avery is a senior from Yarmouth, Maine who is double majoring in Communications and Psychology. She shares that she was motivated to pursue this internship because “I knew I wanted to have a hand on experience with a counselor.”
While interning at Children and Family Associates, Avery was able to observe counseling sessions and discuss her questions and comments with the counselor afterwards. She shares what a typical day in her internship looked like: ” an average day would involve me going in at noon to debrief with my supervisor on the previous day. I would then sit in on the sessions each hour unless the client requested for me to not be present.”
This direct experience paid off since Avery says, “I wasn’t sure if I wanted to work with children, but after this experience I know that I want to pursue this career.”
I asked Avery to reflect on a meaningful moment from her experience. She shares that the most impactful memory occurred as she was wrapping up her internship:
“My supervisor pushed me to fill out the report for a new client. After meeting with this new client, my supervisor asked me what I would diagnose this patient with. I replied with what I thought the diagnoses would be and I remember a huge smile coming across her face. She told me she was so impressed and proud of me. She pushed and encouraged me the whole summer and made me realize that this is what I want to do, and I can do it.“
Avery Jackson ’23
Avery’s work is an exciting example of the benefits of completing internships as a psychology student. We can’t wait to see what Avery does in the future and how her internship experience guides her career!
Psychology students who are interested in completing an internship can contact the department’s Internship Coordinator, Dr. Findley-Van Nostrand (findley@roanoke.edu) for more information.
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:
Once again, the Princeton Review has rated Roanoke College as one of its Great Schools for Psychology Majors (and some other great things too.) The full story can be found here:
Pie-A-Professor is back! Roanoke College Psychology student organizations are proud to present PIE-A-PROF 2022.
On Monday, April 25th, stop by the front patio of Colket to take part in this annual fundraiser. As usual, the proceeds from this event will go to the Bradley Free Clinic Behavioral Health Services.
You can use this link or scan the QR code pictured above to purchase a pie for only $3.00!
This event will be from 4:00PM to 5:00PM. We hope to see you stop by!
Congratulations to all Roanoke College students who have been elected into Phi Beta Kappa during their undergrad years. PBK recognized and celebrates excellence in the liberal arts and sciences and championed freedom of thought. As America’s most prestigious academic honor society, PBK is uniquely equipped to advocate for the value and benefits of liberal arts and sciences education.
This semester, Roanoke College held its election for new junior and senior members, and the Psychology Department is happy to report that the following Psych majors were elected:
Alice Chandler Maya Lamprinakos Carey Linkous Angela Ross Anne Schoelkopf
We are so proud of the students above and of the additional Psychology majors that have been elected in prior semesters. You are all doing a great job at representing your college and our department. Thank you!
We look forward to celebrating with you at the formal initiation ceremony, which will take place at 2:30pm in Antrim Chapel on Friday, May 6th, 2022. If you are a student recently elected into PBK, please check your email for a link to RSVP for the initiation ceremony.
