Essay on I Would Like to Work as a School Psychologist

My goal is to become a psychologist and help improve children’s learning abilities by developing ways for them to overcome academic challenges. I wish to develop and apply effective interventions to promote their psychological, social and emotional wellbeing. I want to become familiar with the major concepts, theoretical perspectives and historical trends in psychology. Through this, I would be able to apply psychological principles to personal and social issues and use creative thinking to solve problems related to behaviour and mental process. I want to gain the idea of how to implement psychological knowledge, skills and values in my occupational

I am passionate about keeping black youth out of the justice system, and I believe school psychologists are perfectly situated to disrupt the system. This is why I’m applying to school psychology program. Furthermore, that passion informs my desire to study alternatives to suspension and expulsion with Dr. Pamela Fenning and addressing trauma in schools with Dr. Rosario Pesce. I think that finding alternatives to suspension and expulsion would help prevent students from dropping out of school by ensuring that they do not unnecessarily miss any in-class time. And addressing trauma in schools continues to be important as mass shootings continue to become more commonplace, especially in Chicago.

During high school, I was a member of the New Visions program; through the program I was able to observe and volunteer at Monroe Community Hospital and Strong Memorial Hospital. I spent four days out of the week at Monroe Community Hospital and one day at Strong Memorial Hospital. I was placed on many different floors. For instance, I was on a geriatric PT floor of Monroe Community Hospital where I watched therapist work one-on-one with patients. I went on room calls with therapist to observe care outside of the PT facility and watched how they set up patient care plans. Also, I was on multiple nursing units at both hospitals, where I would push patients in wheelchairs to their desired destination and help feed patients at lunch time. I was

I have some quality volunteer experience, such as rebuilding houses in New Orleans after Katrina and rebuilding houses in Joplin after the tornado. These experience helped me gain further insight on how to comfort and restore confidence in individuals who are in great need. In addition to these volunteering experiences, I have shadowed various doctors and nurses throughout the Saint Louis area. During each experience, grow more confident as well as more anxious in becoming a nurse. These shadowing occasions have granted me better understanding of how to maintain a balance between professional composer and care giving. Currently I am working at a summer camp for kids. This experience has taught me about responsibility and leadership. All experiences have contributed to an overall understanding of the medical field as well as human

Joni Enriquez, School Psychologist, didn’t start off learning to be a school psychologist. She first began her career as a teacher teaching mostly middle school children and it wasn’t until recently, within the past 6-7 years, that she’s been a practicing school psychologist. She mentioned that she had been recommended to be a school psychologist by her mentor, whom she met sometime in her academic career. When she first started her career as a school psychologist, she was a member of both the National Association of School Psychology and the California Association of School Psychology. She did mention that that she dropped being a member of CASP due to the fact that she felt it helpful anymore and wasn’t as informative as it used to be, but

I have worked as a volunteer in a clinic in Miami where we were dealing with HIV prevention.

In college, I volunteered for several organizations, including Outreach 360 and Urban Ministries’ Open Door Clinic, and, after graduation, I joined the Red Cross as a member of the Preparedness Education team to teach disaster preparedness and to aid disaster recovery around Los Angeles; in all of these positions, I enjoyed facilitating the services we provided. A few months into my Red Cross job, I began shadowing at the free clinic for recovering drug addicts, which allowed me to compare the two career paths. Although both are service oriented positions, only medicine demanded the synthesis and application of extensive scientific and cultural knowledge and this pushed me to become a

Over the years I have been introduced to the field of psychology in many different ways, from going to therapy as a child, seeing friends in high school struggle with mental illness, taking a class before college, eventually choosing it as my major, and to eventually working at a therapeutic summer camp. It is an amazingly diverse field of study and having personal experience in so many aspects of the field has only made me more interested in learning more and working towards my goal of one day becoming a therapist. To be successful in this endeavor I know that having a doctoral degree is what will help me be able to have my own practice one day and who specialized in children’s therapy. This dream of mine has only been encouraged by the

When looking for a school psychologist to interview, I decided to look for a school psychologist who had experience in health settings. I interviewed Dr. Lisa Ahern who earned her Ph.D. in School Psychology from N.C. State. She completed her post-doctoral program at Duke University and continued to work there for about a year. After she and her husband decided to move closer to family in the northeast, Dr. Ahern accepted a position at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia (CHOP) where she worked with children with ADHD.

To help my aunt save money from hiring a nanny, I took care of her 6-year-old daughter when I had breaks from school. Throughout the time being with my little cousin, I enjoyed being a kindergarten teacher, who fed, tutored, and conversed amicably with a little child. Sometimes, it was a challenge for me to make her obedient,

My elementary school in Boston, the Beethoven, gave me afternoon tutoring responsibilities, because I was doing so well in school that I could support my peers in reading, writing, and math. I was in 2nd grade, and everything was finally beginning to go well. I started feeling good about myself and my

Child psychology requirements are high and expected. Patience is key, especially dealing with children. They’re sensitive and require time and effort to get them the best help they deserve. I contain many of these qualities associated with this career. Growing up, my interests fluctuated constantly. Lawyer, veterinarian, investigator, everything. Finally, sophomore year of high school, I decided what I wanted to pursue. The inspiration of helping others was always in my mind,

Since then, I have tutored students of all ages, and I have also volunteered as a concierge with the UC San Diego Health System, run charity events for the Boys and Girls Clubs of San Dieguito through United Way, was president of Vista High School’s Visual Art Honor Society where I led community beautification projects, and volunteered at Scripps Memorial Hospital in Encinitas as the secretary’s assistant, while also participating in Scripps’ Young Leaders in Healthcare program for 3 years where I was exposed to prevalent healthcare issues and potential careers.

My goal to pursue a career in the field of education has been a part of my plans since my early teen years. From my first summer job to my current position, the majority of my work and volunteer experience has involved counseling and children. To know that I can make a positive impact on a child’s life is rewarding for me. I was enticed to choose school psychology as my career by its varied and challenging nature within an educational setting. The responsibilities of the profession involve, but are not limited to, counseling, testing and assessment, behavioral intervention, and classroom observation.

My first and most set career I am planning on pursuing in the future is a psychologist. For the longest time, I have had my mind set on becoming a psychologist and studying psychology as much as I can in the future. For those who don’t know or aren’t very informed on it, a psychologist is someone that evaluates and studies human behavior and all mental processes, such as emotional, cognitive, and social processes. Usually, they study this through observing and recording how individuals relate to one another and their environments. Psychologists don’t only study single people at a time, but groups of people as well.