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Can you tell us how you ended up being a psychology student at NMT? What led you to
decide to enroll/switch?
I first became interested in clinical psychology during my junior year of high school,
when I took
an Introduction to Psychology course at a local community college. Though undecided
about the
exact course of my future at the time, I was so taken with psychology that I decided
to major in
it. As a member of MESA (Mathematics, Engineering, Science, Achievement), I had previously
toured New Mexico Tech several times. NMT appeared to be set apart from the other
universities in New Mexico in terms of academics. Plus, NMT allowed students to stack
multiple
scholarships in addition to receiving the Lottery Scholarship. The quality of education
for the low
cost of attendance was just too good to pass up.
What were some of your favorite experiences as a psychology student at NMT? Assignments?
Research? Personal relationships?
The psychology department at NMT was very small, but for that reason it was also very
close-
knit. I could count on seeing the same familiar faces in all of my psychology courses
and I was
able to quickly build rapport with my professors. The faculty were also very accessible
for this
reason, and I felt free to wander into their offices pretty much anytime I happened
to be walking
through Cramer Hall. I took Experimental Psychology my first semester and it had a lot of really fun and
interesting labs. We measured our own blind spots, tested whether a person could tell that they
were being watched, and took Miracle Fruit tablets to experience taste distortion. I was able to join a research project that started with just myself and one other
student, meeting with our professor during the summer to eat cup ramen in the psychology department
break room. By the time I graduated that same research project had granted me the opportunity
to become the co-author of a scientific paper, perform brain surgery on mice, and spend
more hours than I could count sitting in front of a cryostat and slicing sections of frozen
tissue samples. Also, for whatever reason, your peers tend to become really paranoid about your opinion
of them as soon as they find out you’re a psychology student. You can probably have some
fun with that fact if you anticipate it.
How have the skills and concepts that you learned as a psychology student helped you
later in
your educational journey and/or career?
NMT instilled in me a philosophy towards learning, the scientific process, and the
role of
research that has never ceased to be relevant. I’m now in a program that emphasizes
the
importance of research in advancing the profession. Being up to date on the latest
literature in
the field of counseling psychology is an imperative, as it allows you to select the
best treatment
approaches possible to serve your clients. There is a crucial link between research
and clinical
practice. NMT helped me learn to navigate and value scientific literature.
What would you say to someone considering pursuing psychology at NMT to help make
up
their mind?
NMT is a great place to go if you want to be a part of a familiar and very nerdy community
and
can handle the academic rigor. The psychology department is very welcoming and will
equip
you to succeed in whatever path you choose in this diverse field. I hope you don’t
mind small
towns, though.
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