Jessica, Class of 2011

I am a Psychology major who just graduated from the Honors College at Miami Dade College with a 3.89 GPA. While I was at Miami Dade, I not only went to class, but participated in extracurricular activities as well. I was the Vice President of Leadership for Phi Theta Kappa (The International Honor Society on campus) and also dedicated hours of my time volunteering at His House Children's Home which reassured me that I was in the right field of study. I worked with kindergarten and first graders who were currently overcoming MAJOR adversity. I was able to help them with their classwork and basically be a role model in their life.

Once I completed my Associates in Arts degree at Miami Dade College, I transferred to the Honors College at Florida International University where I was granted the Eduardo Padron Scholarship that covers full-tuition to complete my Bachelor's Degree. I am currently volunteering for the Child Anxiety and Phobia Program at FIU as as Research Assistant where I get to work with children who suffer from mild to severe forms of anxiety. Part of my job is working with graduate students to help them assess a computer based treatment to the children who have come to seek help from us at CAPP. Since abnormal disorders in childhood and adolescence is what sparks my interest, I couldn't picture myself anywhere else. Once I complete my Bachelor's Degree, my goal is to go on to graduate school and obtain a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology to eventually work with children and adolescents who suffer from different forms of child psychopathology.

*The university experience teaches you how to live in the real world because you are no longer babied and told what to do. We were ALL warned in high school and every warning was true. In college, everything is on your own. You have to turn in assignments without being reminded, you have to manage your time properly and of course study in order to pass your classes so that you can maintain a good GPA and your scholarship as well.

*Unfortunately, I don't have pictures of my work at FIU or His House, due to confidentiality reasons, but I attached a picture from my MDC graduation picture and a picture from when I did a presentation at HGHS on sports safety for Phi Theta Kappa.