Being a P&N graduate has shaped my success by providing me with the confidence to embark on diverse professional journeys including being a psychologist at an inpatient hospital, working as an undergraduate professor, and now being a Director of clinical training. I learned in graduate school that learning was a skill that I was both good and enjoyed, but it also taught me about dealing with adversity. This has allowed me to boldly try different career paths. Further, I was given the encouragement to research various topics and was not pressured to only examine mental health. This space really has allowed me develop a research agenda that enabled me to write a textbook about African American psychology in which mental health was only one of the chapters. My most important takeaways from graduate school were self-confidence and resilience.
The primary advice that I would give to graduate students in Psychology or Neuroscience is to push yourself to learn and develop new skills. In order to do this, you must take on challenges that you are not sure you can overcome. In doing that, remember that failure is not necessarily a terrible thing. Often, these failures can teach you so much about yourself and the world; but if you succeed, that just adds to your confidence.
Department of Psychology & Neuroscience