Personal Statement

I am fascinated by how the heart and cardiovascular disease relate to the psychological self. To start, I feel the study of such phenomenon appropriately integrates my interests and skills within psychology, neurology, and exercise physiology. Parallel to this, I am inclined to believe that understanding the role and connection between the brain’s function and cardiovascular disease is one of the most important cases of mental processes relating to bodily functions, and studying this allows for an incredible opportunity for future academic growth and exploration. In conjunction with my experience and interests, I strongly believe focusing my academic energy in this area of learning and research is the most impactful and satisfying way for me

Health psychology is an important and growing area of psychology, and parallel to this view I feel a personal responsibility to extend research in this area, extend knowledge to future learners, and to advocate for better acceptance in the general public. I already have strong connections to research (as later noted) and teaching, as I tutor both anatomy and statistics, as well as mentor my university’s football team. I feel a strong bond and deep satisfaction from this experience and feel a progression in teaching on a larger scale is an appropriate means of extending myself toward my goals professionally. In connection to my underlying career, academic, and overarching research interests I feel this program is an appropriate match to allow me the maximum ability to excel and explore these specific avenues. More specifically, I feel that working with Jesse Stewart, Ph.D. permits the greatest opportunity to flourish in my desired career path. His focus on the influence of psychosocial factors on health-related processes and outcomes, primarily with heart disease, directly relates to my interests in research

In psychology, I have closely worked with an array of tools including fMRI analysis software, EEG analysis, and eye tracking technology. In addition to a strong foundation in psychological/neuroscience research, I have a firm grounding in exercise physiology research. Primarily, I have worked on two separate studies examining blood pressure. In both cases, these studies have allowed me to become familiar with assessing blood pressure measurements (along with measuring 7-site skin folds), and blood pressure literature as a whole. My research thus far has allowed me to explore the expansiveness of psychological and physiological tools and I feel apt in my ability to grow in my experience with these and similar tools. To expand further, I feel it important to note the depth to which I have been involved with each study. An advantage to attending a smaller university is that I had the opportunity to be intimately involved with each study I worked on. Two studies are entirely of my own design and serve as research capstones (the EEG and eye tracking studies), and most other studies I have been involved with since inception. Additionally, I am the first person at my university to use EEG and eye tracking, and I am only the second student to have worked with fMRI, and as such had to learn and help establish protocols from scratch for all. Likewise, I have had the opportunity to present research through both poster and