“I would like to open my own private practice.”

“Growing up, I went to my fair share of different schools, and when you go to different schools, you see how people are treated differently. I didn’t like to see the autistic kids get bullied or be in a different class than us. I remember taking psychology and AP psych in high school, and that was one of the only classes I was truly interested in. I wanted to know why people think the way they think and do the things they do, while also raising awareness for mental illness. I think that’s what really motivated me to major in psychology. When I was young, I really didn’t understand why these kids had to go to different classes. Once you get to know them, they’re very smart, but I feel like people look over them, or down on them, because they have a disability, when really they’re just regular people. I think I want to do clinical psych to be able to work hand in hand with them and maybe counsel or give them therapy. That’s something that I’m really passionate about now.

My mom was an attendance clerk at my high school, but she acted more like a counselor. We had a very huge high school with international students and English Language Learning (ELL) students. A lot of the students really liked my mom. They were close with her, and she connected with them too. Especially the ELL students and the foreign exchange students because they can easily get looked over, too. She’s worked in public schools for a while, and she’s always kind of acted like the liaison for students in the school. When they felt like they couldn’t talk to certain people, she was always there, and I could see that she was really helping people. They looked forward to talking with her, and it kind of made their day. I didn’t even realize the effect it had on me until now. It was really cool.

When you’re working in psychology, you can get any kind of patient. I was exposed to a lot of different people, and I feel like it’s good to have a versatile platform like that. I would like to open my own private practice and facility that would aim towards people in need more, and go towards non-profits, so I can help people as much as possible without them worrying about finances.”

– Jada, junior psychology major from Grand Rapids, Mich.