Georgia State University Personal Statement

Georgia State- Dr. Rebecca Williamson

Many of my early memories revolve around learning; I remember the first book I read, my first day of kindergarten, and eagerly awaiting the start of each school year. Education has always been a passion of mine. When I was young, I wanted to be a teacher and help foster the excitement I had for learning into younger generations. This goal continued until high school when I picked up my sister’s textbook for her psychology class and started reading. I clearly remember the fascination I felt while learning about Piaget’s stages of development and Freud’s theories on the subconscious for the first time. Since then, I have known I want to be a psychologist.

Early in my education at the University of Georgia, I was introduced to research by some of my professors. My introduction to research evolved my initial goal of teaching into being a professor at a research university. A Ph.D. in psychology with a concentration in early development would allow me

I hope to teach others about what psychology has to offer, especially the field of early development. I feel as though studying at Georgia State University would allow me to achieve my goals of being a researcher as well as a professor. I enjoy the emphasis on the small group and personalized approach, because something as complex as child development will require attention to detail that small groups can attend to. Working alongside the faculty and graduate students in the Development program would help me develop and learn the skills necessary to achieve my goals of earning a Ph.D. in Psychology. For me, pursuing a Ph.D. in Psychology is not simply a way of getting a high-ranking degree in a field that happened to be my major; it is way I can follow my own passion of continually learning and answering my own curiosity in a subject that I truly