Tell us about yourself… Currently I am a full time student living in Chicago and I  hold the position of secretary at the World Campus Psychology Club as I write this in  April of 2015. I am also a member of Psi Chi, Blue & White Society, the American Association of University  Women, and the International Blind Tennis Association.

How long have you been part of the Penn State World Campus community? My experience at PSU’s WC began with my first semester in Spring 2013 when I started working towards my Bachelor of Science in Psychology with a Life Science option.  How do you feel about your learning experience? This is the most rewarding experience, and it is because of the professors and doctors teaching the well-thought out curriculum and the learning friendly environment.

Why did you choose Psychology as a major? Psychology within its vast knowledge base can answer the big questions of why society and individuals behave in specific ways in specific situations.

Tell us about your job…. I am a full time student spending at least eight hours a day reading and another 3-5 hours writing and preparing assignments. The vast amounts of reading is because I search out much of the research used to compile our commentaries and textbooks, and of course this happily leads to more research. Also, right now I am pulling together roundtable discussions for the WCPC. The first will be held in June where we will discuss bullying from social, cognitive, and neural biological perspectives and its effect on individuals and groups and interventions to prevent and lessen its behavioral development.

Have you learned any skills from your academic involvement? I have gained the skill of being able to understand everything in my environment better. What once baffled me is now understood with psychological theories with the beginning of biological understandings that give evidence to many of these theories through advanced technology. This knowledge has strengthened my belief in psychology’s ability to help with many of our issues and problems of today. So, I work diligently to increase my knowledge of what has been discovered in order to be able to form well-thought out research in the future.

Do you plan on applying to graduate school? If so, tell us how would you make graduate school a reality. Yes, I do plan on attending graduate school, and I am going to keep working attentively in order to be there in 2-3 years.   How do you see yourself in five years? Sitting at a desk reading, writing, and doing research while working towards my Ph.D.

What would you do if you win $500 million dollars from the lottery today?  Today my first plan would be to consult with an attorney to create all the necessary paperwork for a few endeavors that I would do immediately upon winning the prize. First, the I/O Psychology department would be asked to become involved in all stages and levels of the infrastructure in the creation of a working factory in my severely economically depressed home town in Pennsylvania. I would put 100 million into the actual project and donate to the department at least 10 million to fund the department’s ability to participate in a meaningful way. The next 150 million would go to the psychology department for funding in interdisciplinary research. The remainder would go to family and friends while retaining ten million for myself, and the factory control would be given to my brother, a PSU alumni. Then, I could continue reading, writing, thinking, and hopefully conducting research one day while striving to live happily.

Thank you, Hevylla, for my interview, and thank you, WCPC members , for allowing me to serve you this year. It has been my pleasure and honor. *:-)