Venus Ho
The learning experiences that were the most impactful to me during my undergraduate degree were the ones where I could develop and contribute my ideas to a project or discussion. For instance, I took two research apprenticeship courses (PSYCH 264 and PSYCH 464) in my third year, which introduced me to research in the area of childhood cognitive development and allowed me to gain hands-on experience with study design and data collection. By participating in these courses, I was able to form valuable connections with faculty members, which have been vital in the development of my research skills. Additionally, the honours thesis that I completed in my final year allowed me to lead a research project from start to end and further develop my skills in regards to study design, data collection, and analysis. For my project, I investigated the relationship between people’s goals and their experience of meaning in life during the pandemic. This project was very impactful to me because it gave me the opportunity to contribute to research on mental well-being, a topic that I’m very passionate about. Thanks to the support and mentorship of the professors I’ve worked with throughout my undergraduate journey, I was able to publish two papers as a second author by the time I graduated.
Another learning experience that was very impactful to me was the fourth-year honours seminar I took about bilingualism. I remember being nervous about the course at the beginning of the term because the seminar involved a significant amount of participation and discussion, which I was not used to. However, this turned out to be one of the courses I enjoyed the most in my undergraduate journey. Coming out of the course, my understanding of what it means to be a “bilingual” has completely changed, and I was able to form many connections between the topics we discussed and my own experience as a bilingual. In addition to learning about bilingualism, I also found that the honours seminar taught me how to critically think about research, such as how the methods of a study could be improved or whether the data supports the claims made by the authors. The discussions in this course have taught me how to critically analyze and interpret information, which is a skill that will be useful in many areas of my life. Overall, the relationships I have made with professors and the skills I have gained through the courses at Waterloo have been very helpful to me throughout my undergraduate journey.
Monica Grove
I am honoured to receive the Arts Alumni Gold Medal this year. I had so many wonderful learning experiences in psychology, and I want to express my tremendous gratitude to all of the professors, graduate students, and classmates that I had the opportunity to work with as a psychology student. One of the highlights of my experience was working with Dr. Abigail Scholer and her graduate student Jessica Ross to complete my honours thesis: a study that examined what people know about how thinking about goal progress affects their motivation. I loved using the knowledge and skills that I developed in my courses to conduct original research, and in the future, I’m hoping to continue my studies in social or clinical psychology as a graduate student. I’m excited to see what the future holds!
Alilya McNeil
Many memorable moments come to mind when I reflect on my undergraduate experience at the University of Waterloo. The faculty and graduate students here are incredible, and I’m grateful to have worked and studied in such a supportive environment. Working as a research assistant was a great opportunity to apply what I was learning in my courses and get a sense of what I can expect throughout graduate studies in psychology.
The upper-year research methods courses were very application-focused, and it was exciting to start my honours thesis knowing that I had the skills necessary to succeed. I completed my thesis with Dr. Allison Kelly, and I examined whether self-compassion prevents extreme fluctuations in feelings of state self-esteem following success and failure across different domains. Presenting at lab meetings and getting feedback on my research questions, hypotheses, and study methods also helped me to grow as a researcher, and I always felt supported during the meetings.
Starting this fall, I will be continuing my studies at the University of Waterloo in the Clinical Psychology program. I will be studying anxiety and obsessive-compulsive and related disorders under the supervision of Dr. Christine Purdon.