Senior Honors Student Prepares to Apply for Graduate School in Clinical Psychology

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Heather House is a senior Honors College student graduating with a major in psychology with a concentration in child psychology and a minor in Autism Spectrum Disorders. Originally from Tallmadge, Ohio, Heather credits the Honors College for helping her find opportunities that related to her professional interests. The Honors College faculty and staff informed Heather about the Summer Undergraduate Research Experience (SURE) program. Thanks to her connections in the Honors College, Heather applied and was accepted to the SURE program, where she researched a specific measure of emotion regulation in pre-adolescents during the summer of 2020. Heather worked with Dr. Kathryn Kerns of the Department of Psychological Science to evaluate the measure’s validity. As part of testing the measure’s validity, Heather examined the association between the aspects of emotion regulation the measure focused on and “other predictors of children’s adjustment.” Part of Heather’s research also included altering the measure’s questionnaire. The measure was originally used for German adolescents and adults, so Heather had to alter the questionnaire to be more applicable to pre-adolescents. Heather explains, “This program allowed me to gain in-depth research experience and strengthen my research skills, which makes me a better candidate for graduate school.”

Other benefits of the Honors College, such as early registration and honors scholarships, were the main reason Heather became interested in the Honors College. She also recalls being interested in the Honors Living-Learning Community and the free printing in the Honors College library. Heather’s main concern about applying to the honors program was if there would be enough honors sections of her major courses to fulfill honors graduation requirements. However, Heather says, “The Class Project Agreement and various honors classes that satisfied Kent Core helped me avoid this issue.” Looking back at her time in the Honors College, Heather encourages any incoming students who might be unsure about applying to the honors program, “Definitely apply! The benefits are worth it.”

Heather’s fondest memory of the Honors College was her Freshman Honors Colloquium. She explains, “I got to spend time with some really awesome people. I feel like the nature of the course really helped us bond; our section was way more intense than any of us anticipated, but I think we got out of it what we put into it. When I was living on campus, it was always fun to run into people from that class, even after that class was over.”

 When asked what advice she could offer incoming honors students, Heather says, “Ask questions and actually talk to your advisor about your interests. They can help you find awesome opportunities, but if you never ask what is available, they can’t help you! If they don’t have knowledge regarding specific opportunities, they can point you in the direction of someone who does have that knowledge.” Heather also encourages current honors students not to be too rigid with their expectations. She explains, “I think a lot of students (especially in the Honors College) tend to place heavy expectations on themselves and beat themselves up when they don’t meet every expectation perfectly. My advice is to STOP DOING THAT. Reach out for help if you are feeling overwhelmed – ask for a break, extension, or whatever it is that you need, regardless of what you think the answer will be, because you may end up surprised!”

After graduation, Heather hopes to work directly with children with Autism Spectrum Disorder and volunteer to work in a research lab for a year. In the fall, she plans to apply to graduate programs for clinical psychology. Heather is excited to see what she accomplishes after graduating from Kent State and she feels confident in her mindset to “Keep pushing (in a healthy way!) and it will pay off.”

For more information about the SURE program, please contact Ann Gosky, Director of the Division of Research and Sponsored Programs.

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PHOTO CAPTION 1: Heather House sitting at the Cuyahoga Falls boardwalk overlooking the Cuyahoga River.

PHOTO CAPTION 2: Heather wearing a mask at the Kent State University fountain in front of the Kent State University Library.

Media Contact: Stephanie Moskal, smoskal@kent.edu, 330-672-2312