Health Professions

What made you choose Lake Forest College? 

It’s hard to separate the original motivations for doing something from the aspects you can only see in retrospect; I got more from Lake Forest College than I ever could’ve predicted while I was touring campuses during high school. What initially drew me to Lake Forest College was the energy that I felt on campus. The tour guide himself seemed so happy to be there, and as we walked around campus, I felt like I belonged there. Classical scholarship was in the air when I saw the ways that Lake Forest College continues to pay homage to its 1857 roots, yet I could sense the ongoing development and growth that our school prides itself on. Academia has always been important to me, and I could immediately tell that I would be supported as a budding scholar by not only the beautiful library and classrooms, but also by the outstanding faculty. At my first campus visit, Chris Ellertson (VP for Enrollment) introduced me to Professor Kelley (Psychology) and Professor DebBurman (Neuroscience). Meeting with them made me realize that these professors—and many others at the College—would support me every step of the way through my undergraduate career. I had a hunch that they valued scholarship, career growth, and passionate learning as much as I did, and over the years, this hunch was confirmed time and time again.

How did a liberal arts education make a difference for you? 

A liberal arts education is a three-dimensional education. My understanding of my chosen field (psychology) is much more nuanced because of the classes I took in other disciplines. Liberal arts allowed me to view my education from numerous perspectives, and I was encouraged to think with more complexity than any one class or major of study would allow on its own. I gained an appreciation for inter-professionalism and multi-perspectivism when I was given the chance to observe the disciplines and professors come together to fully examine a topic. This was particularly evident at our symposia and research presentations; every field was equally respected and understood as necessary to have truly complete scholarship.

What experiences outside of the classroom do you think helped prepare you for PhD in Clinical Psychology studies?

Completing a senior thesis really made research come to life. The methods and statistics courses that we take are invaluable in building our understanding of the process of research, but it can feel far-removed. When I was in the research, using statistics to meet my ends, it gave me a completely different perspective and got me excited about graduate-level research. I came to view methods, statistics, and analyses as tools rather than as difficult chapters of a textbook. Dr. Vivian Ta played a huge role in helping me view statistics in this way, and she was the first person who truly got me excited about the power of research.

When we think of “the classroom,” we think of textbooks, papers, and exams. However, to me, “the classroom” is defined by the professor—the textbooks were just the beginning. Every professor at Lake Forest College illuminated class material with rich discussions. We were given the opportunity to interact with the material and consider the topics we were studying in a real-world context. Professor Kathryn Dohrmann was particularly excellent at creating such a dynamic classroom environment. She treated us as though we were already psychologists, ready to deal with and discuss the topics we were excited about. The ways that she and other amazing professors got us to interact with the material prepared me to deal with complex and real-world content in graduate school.

How did your time at Lake Forest help you prepare to apply to graduate school? 

I don’t mean to sound like a broken record, but I cannot emphasize enough how influential the College’s professors are. Dr. Guglielmi used a full class period of his 300-level classes to discuss graduate school and options in psychology. Dr. Ta, Dr. Kelley, and others reviewed my personal statements and application essays, and Dr. Ta ran practice interviews with me. Dr. Ta and Dr. Brekke wrote my letters of recommendation, along with Dr. Ed Neumann from Health and Wellness. They key for incoming students who are interested in graduate school is to ask. It is your job as a student to advocate for yourself and ask professors or staff to help you achieve your goals; the people we have are incredible and helpful, but we as students are responsible for reaching out to them.

Similarly, students who are interested in pursuing graduate school need to seek out and take advantage of the amazing opportunities that Lake Forest College provides. From the beginning, work to stand out as a first-year student to get your foot in the research door with Richter. Present at symposia, complete a senior thesis, take internships, and build your resume. The opportunities at the College are endless, and I am so grateful that I was able to build such a strong arsenal of experiences during my time at undergrad. At every graduate school interview, I participated in, the interviewer commented that my record was far more diverse and dynamic than most other undergraduate applicants—that’s not because I did anything magical—I just took advantage of every opportunity that I could.

What do you think of the new Health Professions Program between Lake Forest College and RFU? 

I am thrilled that Lake Forest College is partnering with Rosalind Franklin University Medical School! So many students, like myself, know that graduate school is their dream from day one, and a program like this can help to streamline the process and prepare you for success. This is an amazing opportunity for students to take advantage of, and being in HPP gives you access to incredible resources.

What skills and experiences at Lake Forest do you believe will help you be successful? 

Being a strong student takes stamina. The beginning of a new schoolyear is always easy—you’re motivated, it’s fresh and exciting, and you have a new notebook. What sets some apart from the others is the ability to continue working and pushing toward the bigger goal even when you don’t feel like it. I started to build this discipline muscle back in high school, and I’ve continued to strengthen this skill during my time at Lake Forest College. Graduate school is a long haul, and I know that there will be moments where I just won’t feel like doing the hard thing—and that is the most important time to keep on going.

Another important lesson that I’ve learned at Lake Forest College is that everything is figure out-able. In higher education, we come to roadblocks. A project is too big, data collection will take too long, the analysis is too complex. It is easy (and normal!) to feel overwhelmed. However, we have to keep in mind that there are always resources to help us and that the solution exists—we just have to find it. This was something I learned through experience, and it has made me a better problem-solver overall—for graduate school and beyond.

What advice would you give a high school student looking to pursue health professions and is considering Lake Forest College? 

With some practice, you’ll discover the fine line between taking advantage of every opportunity and knowing when to say no, that’s not for me. Take some time to identify what your goals and values are and which experiences align with them. Many opportunities will present themselves to you, and I encourage you to pursue as much as you can. At the same time, though, make sure you have room to excel at every component, rather than stretching yourself too thin. It’s better to be a strong student academically who did one amazing internship than an okay student who put in the bare minimum at three internships.

On a more tangible note, be intentional about your course sequencing. Prioritize taking courses that graduate schools require before you dive into electives. For example, most clinical psychology programs required Abnormal Psychology. At Lake Forest College, Abnormal Psychology is presented as an elective, alongside Motivation and Emotion, Sensation and Perception, and others. However, if it comes down to choosing between two classes for a semester, prioritize the ones that your graduate schools require. It’s better to squeeze in just-for-fun electives as an upperclassman than to squeeze in your requirements. Put simply: graduate school requirements don’t always align with Lake Forest College requirements—take both into account.

Start learning about graduate school as early as you can, and collect perspectives. During my second year, I met with every single person on the Psychology faculty to hear what they had to say about graduate school. At the time, I was still noodling between applying for Masters, PhDs, and PsyDs—all I knew was that I wanted to go into clinical psychology. Starting my research early and learning about the different programs and the careers they lead to gave me time to reflect and consider what I wanted to do. By the time application season rolled around, there was not a question in my mind about what I was going to pursue. Everyone that I talked to had a unique perspective and added to my understanding of graduate school. If you know that graduate school is something you want to do, start growing your knowledge base and plan ahead.