Personal Statement

My interest in psychology began with crime television, mystery books, and documentaries about things that most people would consider taboo. It was not until my senior year of high school that I really considered this curiosity as a career option. For my senior project, I decided to study mental health. To accompany that I was able to job shadow psychiatrist, Dr. Hany Elia at Serenity Behavior Health System. I sat in with many patients and it showed me how I could turn my interests into a focused career and how I can impact the people around me. My literature teacher was very uncomfortable with my choice of topic and attempted to persuade me to change my focus to something more acceptable. This made me wonder why people were not talking about

For example, my research with Dr. Miller exposed me to neuropsychology. This is something that I’ve learned is not my passion. This discovery was very important in shaping my decision to apply for the Masters of Science in Clinical Psychology. I learned that I want to work directly with people and abnormal psychology rather than neurological aspects. My goal is to become a practicing psychologist through the program at Augusta University. As of now, my main interests include personality disorders as well as adolescent care; however, I have not yet decided what direction I want to take my career. I chose to apply to Augusta University because I believe the program will allow me to discover my true passion and path as it has done with me thus far. My lab experience has also shown me that I would like to continue to do research in my career. In the future, I want to be able to continuously contribute to the field of psychology. I plan to do this through research as a university professor after my career as a practicing psychologist. I can think of no better way to give back and continue the cycle of learning. I hope to be able to impact students as my professors have impacted