CHSS Connection: A Podcast by Students for Students

Transcribed by TurboScribe.ai.  
 
EMMA:  
Welcome to CHSS Connection, a podcast where we interview different students about all things CHSS, from academics to careers to everything in between. What exactly is CHSS? That's the College of Humanities and Social Sciences here at Mason. This is a student success podcast for CHSS students by CHSS students. However, if you're not a CHSS student, welcome! We're so glad you're here. 
I'm Emma Howard. 
CADIE: 
And I'm Cadie Junker. 
 BOTH: 
And we're your hosts. 
CADIE: 
Today is the chance for you to get to know us and get a feel for the vibe of the podcast. This is a brand new project that we're both so excited about. And in this episode, we will be interviewing each other and explaining a bit about the podcast structure. That way you guys know what to expect going forward.  
With that said, shall we get into our questions?  
 EMMA: 
Yes, Cadie, what's your grade and major? 
 CADIE: 
So I am a junior Communications major with a concentration in Public Relations. What about you? 
 EMMA: 
I am a senior English major. I have my concentrations in Literature and Screen Cultures, which is kind of like video and media studies. I'm also studying Theater Education in the School of Theater. 
CADIE: 
Very cool. Very cool. And why did you choose your major? 
 EMMA: 
Okay, it's a little convoluted, but I will summarize as best as I can.  
 CADIE: 
That's okay.  
 EMMA: 
Okay, so before I came to Mason, I was actually a student at NOVA. 
I transferred here beginning my junior year, and I was really undecided at NOVA. I was not sure what I wanted to do. I mean, I was looking at like psychology, business. 
Never once did I consider English, actually, but I knew that I was leaning towards theater and I was really drawn to theater education. Now, NOVA did not have a transferable associates for theater. They only had like a 15, 18 credit certificate. 
So my advisor and I landed on the closest subject with the most intersection with theater, which was English.  
 CADIE: 
Ah. 
 EMMA: 
And again, to be clear, I never thought I would be an English major.  
CADIE: 
And now that you are, do you like it? Do you enjoy it?  
EMMA:  
I do! I do. I took my second year of NOVA, of taking some really great literature classes and just getting more comfortable with finding my voice in my writing, and also just rediscovering my love for reading and reading academically. 
CADIE: 
Yes.  
EMMA: 
I really do love the English major, and coming to Mason has really only continued to enhance that passion.  
CADIE: 
Mm-hm.  
EMMA: 
Now, why did you choose your major? 
CADIE: 
Wouldn't you believe it? It's also kind of convoluted. So, I went into high school really wanting to do film, right? 
And so, I wanted to do writing, and I've always loved writing since I was very, very little. So, I looked up, you know, what would be the best programs to go into screenwriting, and everything was telling me do English, not film, actually, specifically with creative writing, because that's going to essentially flesh out your craft, right? However, because I liked writing so much, I also considered journalism, and I really enjoy talking to people, and I really enjoy getting to hear so many different perspectives on so many different things. 
And it kind of came down to either doing film back in my home state or doing Communications here at Mason. And I chose Communications here at Mason.  
So again, I never really saw myself as a Comm major, but I love it. I wouldn't change it. I'm really excited to discuss it on this podcast because I think we get a bad rep, and I am grateful for the opportunity to knock that reputation down a few pegs. 
 EMMA: 
Yeah. No, I hear you. English majors are always hit with the question of, oh, so you want to teach? 
CADIE: 
Yeah.  
 EMMA: 
No, stop, please.  
I'm curious how you got into your PR concentration. 
CADIE: 
So I still wanted to be involved in the film world, and I got an internship my senior year, and it really made me realize the parts about film that I enjoyed the most was the marketing, the branding, and the relationships that actors and people behind the scenes form with their audience. And that's not writing. That's PR. 
That's not actually film production like that at its core is public relations.  
EMMA: 
Yeah. How fun. 
And so, leading me into my next question of, it sounds like the program here at Mason is what drew you to come here. So why did you choose Mason? 
CADIE: 
One hundred percent. So, I actually get this question a lot because fun fact about me, I'm from Albuquerque, New Mexico. And whenever I tell people that they're always like, how did you find George Mason? 
What are you doing out here? And I always tell them the same story was that one day I got a letter from GMU inviting me to their Washington Journalism and Media Conference. And I thought it was a scam. I thought these people were trying to get my money, telling me “you could go to Washington! Wow!”  
And so I go inside, and I show this letter to my mom, and she's like, “No, this isn't a scam. This is this is a very much a real thing. Do you want to go?” And I went, “Yeah, I want to go!” 
So that's how I found Mason. And, you know, I got a fee waiver. So, I decided to apply. 
They gave me a really good scholarship. And, you know, we're right here, really close to D.C. And being from Albuquerque, there are so many opportunities out here that I would never really even dream of getting. So, it was just kind of the best of all worlds. 
Location I enjoyed. Very good program. Good scholarships. 
Just kind of made the most sense.  
EMMA: 
Yeah. 
CADIE: 
What about you? 
EMMA: 
So, opposite situation. I have been aware of George Mason all my life. My entire family has attended and graduated from George Mason literally going back to like the 1980s. 
CADIE: 
Oh, wow. 
EMMA: 
Yeah. 
So I'm sure...  I don't know if you're aware, and listeners maybe maybe know of Buchanan Hall. Yeah. So apparently, my dad interned for him in the 1980s. 
CADIE: 
Oh! 
EMMA: 
I know. I learned about this this past summer. So like, yeah, like my mom and my dad got like business degrees. 
And my sister graduated from the nursing program in 2020. My brother graduated with a degree in criminology. And then I'm the arts kid. 
I'm doing English and theater and film. 
CADIE: 
Yeah, yeah. 
EMMA: 
But I wanted to come to Mason because one, I'm already familiar with the place. I remember literally living with my sister or visiting her in President's Park and sleeping on her futon when I was 12. And another thing too is also opposite to your situation. 
I'm from Woodbridge, Virginia, which is like 30 minutes away here from George Mason. So, it's close to home. The summer before I had transferred into Mason, my sister just had her first daughter. And it was the first grandchild of the family.  
And so, I was like, oh, there's so many new and exciting things happening. Now's really not the time I'm ready to leave and to go far away from home. 
Another thing too is that just as you said, DC, North Virginia, Fairfax, so many opportunities for the arts and humanities. I also just didn't really know of any other place to go. I did do a tour of VCU, like my first year at NOVA. 
CADIE: 
Yeah. 
EMMA: 
And I visited. I was like, you know, this is cool. But I remember visiting and seeing that, like VCU, is literally embedded into the streets of Richmond, which in so many ways has its own advantages. 
But I remember them saying that, like, for example, the college library was also a public library for like the for the city, which is very neat and I think really great for like accessibility reasons. But I don't know. I really like how George Mason offers its own little bubble. 
It's its own little active world within the active world of Fairfax, within the greater world of Northern Virginia. So, I kind of like that George Mason has its own bustling environment going on. 
CADIE: 
Yes. It's a very traditional college experience, with the exception of not having a D1 football team, but that's neither here nor there. And speaking of college experience, what's the best class you've taken here at Mason? 
EMMA: 
My gosh, so many, so many. A few that I have really made sure just to note in my mind. So my very first semester, I took American Women Writers in Movies, taught by Dr. Lisa Koch. I had a media criticism class; it was actually a communications class, taught by Dr. Timothy Gibson. This last spring, I had 19th century British novels with Dr. Kristin Samuelian. And then class that actually resulted in me gaining a really fantastic mentor here at George Mason is it was a Shakespeare literature course where we focused on non-normative Shakespeare taught by Dr. Jennifer Wood. Those are just some of the classes I've taken. Honestly, I feel like every class I've taken, especially since I transferred in going into like coming into like the 300s, 400s, you know, they get a little more specific. 
CADIE: 
Yeah.  
EMMA: 
I mean, I feel like I've taken something from every class that I've attended.  
CADIE: 
Nice. 
EMMA: 
What about you? What have been some of the best classes you've taken? 
CADIE: 
So in full transparency, I'm also a sort of transfer student. 
EMMA: 
That’s right! 
CADIE: 
But we can get more into my experience with that later in this interview. But I've only taken one full semester of classes here at Mason. Because last semester I was in Spain. 
But even then, like there are some very significant standouts in my mind. So, COMM 203, which is Introduction to Journalism. If there are any newly incoming journalism concentrations, take that class with Brenna Maloney. 
She is fantastic. She is an amazing professor. I loved her class. 
And it broke my heart when I realized I wanted to go into Public Relations and not journalism because I wanted to take more of her classes. As far as my fellow PR concentrations out there, any class you can get with Dr. Diddi is going to be fantastic. I have her for my Intro to PR this semester. 
And she is so incredibly supportive. I love her class. The way that she really presents things to you really makes it make sense. 
And it gives you a much better foundational understanding of what public relations is. Because if you're going into this field, you are going to hear a lot: “Well, how's that different from advertising or marketing or this or that?” 
Not unfair questions.  
But it's important you know how to answer those questions. And Dr. Diddi will give you a fantastic way to answer those questions. So those are my recs. So favorite project that you've done here at Mason? 
EMMA: 
Yeah. Okay. To clarify, when you say project, are we talking academic projects, creative projects? 
CADIE: 
Just I would say overall.  
EMMA: 
Overall, okay. 
CADIE: 
I would say something that you have done for Mason. So that's normally an academic project, but...  
EMMA: 
Of course, one academic project that comes to mind, it was for my American Women Writers course, my very first semester here. It was the final project.  
We had to pick a topic, and we essentially had to create this sort of like very short graphic presentation of whatever we were doing our topic on. And to provide a little context about like what the class was actually doing was we were essentially looking at the four waves of feminism in the United States. And we would watch a movie or read a text that was representative of that wave. 
And so, I for my final project, I hope I can remember this properly, because things just move so quickly in college. But my final project was I took the what is it the 2019 and 1990s something film, and the original book of Little Women.  
I took those adaptations of Little Women. And I kind of connected them to each wave of feminism. And I was like, this really was a perfect intersection of like my Literature and Screen Cultures concentrations.  
CADIE: 
Yeah. 
EMMA: 
And it was like, that was a project that like I was thoroughly remembered. Like, I'm actually really enjoying going through this process and like writing about this and researching this, and then getting to talk about it. But no, I just really love that because I love the story of Little Women. 
And then also getting to take the context and knowledge from what we covered in that class. And that was just a really unique project that just stands out to me. 
CADIE: 
Yeah.  
EMMA: 
What about for you?  
CADIE: 
So, really one comes to mind. I'm also part of the Honors College. And your first semester in the Honors College, you take 110, which is the research class. And you create a selective literature review for that class,  and I did mine on dopamine and social media algorithms, and how algorithms are created to trigger our dopamine receptors.  
And that's why we become so addicted to social media. The way that it affects our dopamine receptors is incredibly similar to the way that alcohol or drug use does. 
So that was really interesting. Kind of scary, but really interesting. And I was just very grateful for how that project came together. 
I'm so grateful for my teacher, Maoria Kirker, who is absolutely excellent. She's a great 110 teacher. Just that project overall. 
Like I said, I haven't really been here at Mason physically for that long. So, but that is still something that really stands out to me. 
EMMA: 
Yeah. That sounds like a really incredible project to get to work on and learn about. Backpedaling just a little bit. 
CADIE: 
Just a tad.  
EMMA: 
Tell me about your transfer experience, Cadie. 
CADIE: 
Okay. So yes, I am technically a transfer student, although that title seems weird to me because I am transfer through dual credit. So my high school, and I'm very lucky that this was the case, was incredibly supportive of me going and taking dual credit classes at the local community college. 
So I went to Central New Mexico Community College. I did two years full-time and then an extra year of just doing Spanish classes there. And I was able to graduate with my English Associates about a month before I graduated from high school, which was absolutely amazing. 
I'm so grateful for that. And because of that, I was able to get a lot of credits to transfer in. Surprisingly, pretty much all of them transferred. 
The only one that didn't was my Spanish 102, because George Mason just doesn't accept 102 transfers. They want to make sure that you take either 102 or 115 here at Mason before you go on to that intermediate level. Or you can take like placement tests and things like that if you really don't want to take it. 
But I was fine with that. So, it was actually very easy, very smooth. And like I said, I think my transfer student experience, in quotes, is very similar to any other high schooler's experience coming into college. 
Except because of my background in dual credit, it didn't really feel like a huge shock to my system because I had been taking college classes since I was 15. 
EMMA: 
Yeah, wow. My transfer experience was, I started college in 2022 after I graduated from high school. And again, I was just, I'm just going to go to NOVA. 
I was not really sure about where I wanted to attend. And then I've already shared the story about how I landed on getting my English associates. Going into my second year at NOVA, I learned about the ADVANCE program. 
I was going to NOVA under the impression that, oh, I'm just going to do the guaranteed admissions program. But then I learned that there were a lot of technicalities and nuances to that where if you missed a step, oh, now you have to apply competitively or not all of your credits are going to be transferred over. So that just gave me a lot of anxiety. 
And so I joined the ADVANCE program, which was really neat. And I highly recommend, I mean, I think anyone listening to this podcast is already here at Mason. But if you have friends who are considering joining the ADVANCEprogram, encourage them to do so because I joined the advanced program, I became a non-degree student here at Mason.  
So, I actually had access to all of Mason's utilities, facilities, like career services, financial aid, advising, even sometimes like I had a coach. And so I really had all these great opportunities to start interacting with Mason. 
And then also just made the matriculation process seamless. Every credit I earned at Nova transferred here. 
CADIE: 
Yeah. 
EMMA: 
Which is splendid. 
CADIE: 
I have a question for you.  
EMMA: 
Yeah.  
CADIE: 
So, when you applied to Mason, you applied as a transfer student, correct? 
EMMA: 
Because of the advanced program, I don't even think I did a technical application to Mason.  
CADIE: 
Oh, you were just in.  
EMMA: 
I was because I was already in. I was already in as a non-degree student.  
CADIE: 
Gotcha. 
EMMA: 
And my coach handled so much of the paperwork and making sure that everything was smoothed over for me. I didn't have to fill out an application, no essay, no nothing. 
CADIE: 
Wow. That's great. See, I applied as a first year, not a transfer student. 
And that is something I asked my advisor about. I was like, hey, I have all these classes. Like I technically am a full time college student. 
What do I apply as? And she said, just apply as a first year. On this podcast, we do want to hear from transfer students who applied to Mason as transfer students. 
EMMA: 
Yes 
CADIE: 
So if you are a CHSS student who's also a transfer student, come on the podcast. 
EMMA: 
Cadie,  
CADIE: 
Yes.  
EMMA: 
We've already talked a lot about classes we've taken, some of the connections we've made. But so far in your experience here at Mason, what's been your favorite memory? 
CADIE: 
If I'm sticking to physically on Mason campus, it has to be the spooktacular last year. So, this was my freshman year.  
EMMA: 
Tell me more. What?  
CADIE: 
I can see you holding back your laughter. The audience can't see that, though. So, I'm telling it to them. You're holding back laughter right now.  
And it sounds kind of ridiculous, but it's Mason's Halloween party that they do. 
And this was my first time being away from home for an extended period of time. It was my first time being away from my parents, my friends. I'm in a long distance relationship, right? 
But going to that spooktacular with my friends was such a core piece of freshman year because it is one of the standout moments, and it wasn't the first time that I thought this, but it was one of the most prominent where I truly felt like, yes, this was the best decision I could have made. This is why I chose Mason to be able to have this time with my friends, to be able to enjoy fall out here. 
It was just such an amazing night, and getting to meet people from all over the country was fantastic.  
And it was so different. And it was so new. It just reminded me, yes, this is why you decided to go to school, not just out of state, but across the country.  
EMMA: 
Right. 
CADIE: 
What about you?  
EMMA: 
Yeah, my favorite memory so far has been, it was in my English 301 class. I loved that class because I loved it because I loved the people in that class. And I love the professor.  
Look, let's be real. We all have like our unconsciously assigned seats by like week three in our classes. 
CADIE: 
100%.  
EMMA: 
And my table, we all became a group that semester. Starting around, I think it was beginning of October, my friend, Elias, Elias Collier, I hope you're listening to this episode. I'm about to shout you out. Elias had the idea that, guys, we need to dress up for Halloween. 
We need to do something for Halloween because we were going to have class on October 31st. And so we went as the family from Family Guy. 
CADIE: 
I love that. Oh, my gosh.  
EMMA: 
I have not watched a single full episode of Family Guy, though. I knew of some of the characters. 
I’d seen those like reels on TikTok and Instagram. I was like, I know their names. I really don't know their personalities. 
So, we all like went around and we're like assigning each other like Elias went as  Lois. Which if you know...  
CADIE: 
That's beautiful. That's beautiful. 
EMMA: 
And we all like a month in advance, we're buying costumes and I bought like a pink beanie and shirt and like Amazon ordered it. That was the first time I also figured out how to use like the Hub, which was really exciting. And sothen October 31st came around. 
If you were to like scan the classroom, you would see like students, some of them dressed in normal clothes, maybe some of them wearing like fun costumes. And then right out of the cartoon is the Family Guy family. So it'slike... 
CADIE: 
That’s so funny. 
EMMA:  
And we took so many great pictures. I just remember that moment being so affirming because for so many reasons, it felt like the time I had been spending to make connections and find community here at Mason and within the English program as well, it finally clicked. I feel like I found like I found peers. 
I felt so assured that no, like this is like you were saying, this is why I'm here. I have community. I have a space. 
It was so, so affirming. And I still haven't watched Family Guy.  
CADIE: 
It's okay. Me neither.  
EMMA: 
In addition to that, I've been trying to expand my reach and my interactions here at Mason. And so that leads me to my next question of Cadie, what resources here at Mason have you utilized so far?
CADIE: 
I get to talk about studying abroad now! 
EMMA: 
Oh, yay! 
CADIE: 
Yay! Global Gateway, fantastic program. It is so incredibly rare for a university to have a freshman study abroad program. But GMU does. 
It's called Global Gateway. And if anybody is interested in studying abroad and are very sure about it, like I was, do Global Gateway.  
Because not only does it just get you out there so much sooner than a lot of other programs would, because a lot of other programs are geared towards juniors or seniors, but then you're concerned about credits, which I think is why GMU has the freshman program, because you're a freshman, you shouldn't be that worried about credits yet.  
Two, the second reason why I highly recommend Global Gateway is that your first semester at Mason, you are taking a prep class. It's a one credit hour course. 
This preparation class gives you so much more insight into the visa process, into the culture, into the school you'll experience out there. It also allows you to meet the people you're going out there with beforehand. So, by the time I got to Spain, I already knew who I was going to be hanging out with. 
I knew people who lived right by me. We were already sort of a community. It was great. 
And that really helps with culture shock. I couldn't imagine doing a study abroad program and not knowing anybody from the get go. That would be so incredibly hard. 
So the Global Education Office, GEO, Global Gateway, I love all those programs. I'm so grateful that Mason has them.  
Yeah. What about you?  
EMMA: 
Yeah. Well, a note about study abroad. I've always wanted to study abroad. I should do it. 
I want to, but as you know, it is time consuming and money consuming. Oh? 
CADIE: 
Fun fact about money consuming. You're an in-state student. So, this might be a little bit different. 
Depending on the program, you will pay in-state tuition or less. So, I paid less than what I normally pay. I'm an out-of-state student, so obviously my tuition's a little bit higher, but my second semester was cheaper than my first semester because I was in Spain.  
Now you have to buy flights and things like that. Plus, you know, whatever money you want to use to go travel. 
But... talk to your advisors about specific programs because the cost might be cheaper than you expect. 
EMMA: 
Yeah. That's assuring to hear because I know that a lot of people have found a lot of joy and success in study abroad. When I think about resources that I've used, I actually think about what I've used most recently, we're talking about today.  
I started actually utilizing disability services because this is going to sound super ironic, but I'm an English major. I love reading. I even love writing, but I have writing anxiety. And so disability services, it was just like really helpful in acquiring accommodations. Today I got approved for housing accommodations. 
So, I get to move from a double suite to a single apartment, which is a... that's just something that I don't think a lot of people utilize as much as they can. From what I've observed, they can really help you with anything that you need, or they can at least support you to get the accommodations that you need. And I'll say a lot of people don't know where they're located. 
They're located in sub one, along with a bunch of other resources. 
CADIE: 
Yes, sub one is like a gold mine. And one of the things that we're planning on doing on this podcast is highlighting a lot of these resources. And I think probably eight times out of 10, the resources are going to be in sub one. 
EMMA: 
I will say though, I'm glad I've utilized disability services, but there's still a ton of resources. I have only just started to really get to know. 
CADIE: 
Yeah.  
EMMA: 
There's something called contemporary student services. 
CADIE: 
Yes!  
EMMA: 
It's a great resource, a great office. They're located on the lowest floor, the last bottom floor of the Hub.  
CADIE: 
I know I went into their lounge one day because I was waiting for my friend to get off of work from student media. Nathan, if you're listening to this, I'm talking about you. 
I hope you come on the pod! You're a Comms major! Come and join me. 
We can chat. Anyways, and I walk into the contemporary students' lounge, and it is so nice.  
EMMA: 
Right? No, it's very nice. When we say contemporary student services, that literally includes everyone.
CADIE: 
They're for transfer students, first gen. If you're a college student who has a child, they are for you. I forget what other students they service. 
But honestly, like going in there, I didn't even know. And they didn't even check like what type of contemporary student I was. 
EMMA: 
No, they don't. 
CADIE: 
Which even calling myself a transfer student is still kind of meh because I was basically the 18 year old fresh out of high school going into college. But I digress. For people who have more untraditional college experiences, gocheck them out. 
They're great. 
EMMA: 
Another thing that everyone should check out is how to get jobs and internships here at Mason. 
CADIE: 
Excellent segway. Excellent segway, Emma. 
EMMA: 
Thank you, Cadie. Yes. How have you found your jobs and internships here at Mason? 
CADIE: 
So I got really lucky. One, I found this internship through Handshake. Love Handshake. 
If you're not on Handshake, get on it. Especially if you need an on campus job, because I need an on campus job.  
And LinkedIn is nice. But a lot of the jobs that you find on there are not going to be on campus. They're going to be much more like traditional career focused jobs. If you want something on campus, get on Handshake. 
EMMA: 
Yes.  
CADIE: 
So, I found this internship through Handshake. I applied for it, you know, wrote my resume, cover letter, got the interview, got the next interview. 
And now I'm here. Yay. And then there is another scholarship slash internship thing that I have. 
That is for my on-campus ministry. And essentially, that kind of just fell into my lap where they were like, hey, you're doing a lot of work for us. We want to give you a scholarship to kind of compensate for that. 
EMMA: 
Yeah.  
CADIE: 
So yeah, those are kind of the two programs that I'm with. Of course, this one is the more formal, like actual internship. 
But that one is also something that I found here at Mason that I'm very grateful for. Yeah. Emma, what about you? Your jobs and internships.  
EMMA: 
Oooo ok! So all right. So my very first semester at Mason didn't get a job. 
I was behind on finding a job because I will say. 
CADIE 
I don't think that's behind, actually.  
EMMA: 
Okay.  
CADIE: 
I think now, obviously, this comes from a place of financial privilege. 
But if you can afford it, don't get a job your first semester of freshman year. Because you are taking a plunge into the deep end of sorts. And you are reexamining your life. 
And you're learning how to be an adult on your own for probably the very first time. I know that was the case for me. 
Plus, you know, I was going to Spain. And on my student visa, you can't work. So it just didn't really make sense for me to get a job.  
And I know that comes, again, from a place of financial privilege. But if you can't afford it, I would recommend not getting a job your first semester freshman year. 
EMMA: 
Yeah. 
I will say I was very lucky that I worked a lot that summer before coming into Mason, and so I had a nice cushion of money that protected me from literally going broke. I will say by the end of that fall semester, I think I had like$11 in my account. I really needed a job, guys. 
CADIE: 
Now you have a job! 
EMMA: 
I have so many jobs! 
CADIE 
So many jobs! 
EMMA: 
Yeah, I also utilized Handshake. My very first job was working at the Corner Pocket, the Hub. Love the student centers and the whole team there. 
I really recommend anyone who wants to go to the Corner Pocket, go. It's like the campus' arcade and game room. Super fun. Also, just a fun job.  
Then I worked as a Patriot leader, which is like the orientation leader where I worked over the summer. Through that, I've actually been promoted to student coordinator for orientation. 
And then over the last few months, I've also applied for, interviewed, and gotten offers for, one, this position. So the CHSS podcast production internship. I also am taking a university class right now to be a student strengths coach for the Center of Well-being here at Mason. That will be starting in the spring.  
Something I also want to highlight about Handshake, and this will lead me into the next really incredible position I have, is Handshake can also help you find internships and jobs outside of Mason. So, it's a really great resource to use for on-campus jobs. 
Cadie and I can absolutely attest to that. I am now an intern for scholarly programs at Folger Institute. It's the Folger Shakespeare Library in DC. 
I got that position through Handshake.  
CADIE: 
We love Handshake.  
EMMA: 
We love Handshake, guys. Please download it.  
CADIE: 
The other pro to Handshake that doesn't apply to LinkedIn, there's a lot less people on Handshake than there are on LinkedIn. So, you're competing against a lot less people. 
EMMA: 
It's also, I also feel like it's more organized in a way because especially if you link it to like your GMU account, it recognizes, oh, you're a George Mason student. Here's a whole collection of organizations and partnerships that George Mason has. So, it's like you get on Handshake because you will actually get to physically see the numerous connections that George Mason can offer you. 
CADIE: 
Yeah, for sure. 
EMMA: 
We did talk about the podcasting internship, which, this is a terrible segway,  
CADIE: 
It’s ok! 
EMMA: 
But kind of trying to transition into the next set of questions. This is a podcast. In order to get this job, we had to have some sort of experience with podcasting. Cadie, what's your background with podcasts?  
CADIE: 
So, you remember that film internship that I mentioned earlier? So, instead of doing a TV show, I decided to do podcasts. Honestly, I should have realized that I was always destined to be a Comm major and not a Films major way earlier than I actually did. 
So, I ran two different podcasts, the Peculiar Things podcast with my very good friend, Allegra. And that the tagline for that is where we discussed oddities, horror, and all things peculiar. So, we did episodes on like The Exorcist,and we did episodes on different creepypastas. 
So that was that podcast, right? We talked about a myriad of topics. I also love the word myriad.  
The other one that I did was called XYZ Dictionary. And that was where me, and my good friends, Melissa and Toni got together and we talked about different topics. And I am Gen Z, Melissa was Gen X, and Tony was Gen Y, hence the XYZ.  
And the dictionary part, each topic we covered, corresponded to a different letter in the dictionary. So, the goal was to eventually have like a huge catalog of different advice and multi-generational reflection on a bunch of different outlooks.  
And we got I think we have seven episodes with the internship because we recorded just for one semester. Because that was all we had the time for, unfortunately, but I loved those two projects. I look back on them very, very fondly. And I'm so excited to be here and doing yet another podcast.  
Emma, what about you?  
EMMA: 
My jump into the podcasting world only happened this year. 
I have been a listener, though, since I was 12.  
CADIE: 
Oh, yeah.  
EMMA: 
So, I've listened to podcasts for many, many years. 
I've kind of built my taste over the years, I came to Mason loving podcasting, and I want this to be a skill. I want this to be something that is meaningful, makes an impact, very similar to the shows that I love to listen to. I learned that George Mason actually has workshops and classes focused on radio and podcasting. 
So, this past spring, I took Podcasting and Radio Workshop 1 taught by Roger Smith. And that was a one-credit class. It really taught me the hands-on foundations of podcasting.
And I already had a little bit of understanding of sound because I done a lot of tech for theater and working with sound equipment and editing. But this was really neat because I was at the helm of getting to make my own podcast. I started a podcast called the Green and Gold Curtain that was tended to focus on showcasing the brilliance of the School of Theater of talking to people who were either affiliated with their work or even students and faculty in that program. 
CADIE: 
Very cool.  
EMMA: 
Then I learned about this podcast and or this this opportunity. And I will say guys, like when Cadie and I came on this project, this thing, it wasn't even a like a fetus. 
It wasn't a fetus. It was like a cell.  
CADIE: 
It was like it was the concept of conception. 
EMMA: 
Yes.  
CADIE: 
So we are a student success podcast. And I don't want that to come off as we must only talk about students who have experienced nothing but success in their entire life. 
And to be successful, you must be the best at whatever you do. That is not what I think of when I think of student success. When I think of student success, I think about you are achieving your goals, no matter how small or how mighty those goals may be. 
And we want to particularly highlight what resources have helped you achieve those goals along the way. And by resources, you know, we will have a specific episode highlighting on-campus resources, but that could be things like teachers, classes, your major, your education, but also your careers, internships, how you got those careers and internships. Anything that has helped you work towards your goals, whether that be academic, professional, personal, creative, et cetera, et cetera. That, to me, is student success. 
EMMA: 
Yeah. 
CADIE: 
What about you? 
EMMA:  
Yeah. You know, I echo everything that you've said. 
I feel like student success is not, I don't want to say temporary, but it's not always permanent. It's going to feel like it comes and goes. You know, I feel like we all have our highs and lows, especially in our education. 
You know, maybe we didn't get the grade we wanted. Maybe, you know, we weren't able to put in so much effort into a project or an essay that we wanted to, but you still did the thing. And I think that for me is what success is, is that you're still showing up or you're still trying to show up and do the best you can. That in so many ways to success. 
And then like, in additionally to, if we think about like our listenership and how you guys are college students and, you know, getting to college itself, not easy,  
CADIE: 
No! 
EMMA: 
Not easy! So already, yes, you may not know what you want to do in 10 years. I don't know what I want to do in five years. 
You may not have everything figured out, but you already have done so much with your life. Success is... I like to think of success as like a work in progress.  
CADIE: 
For sure. 
EMMA: 
I think that's my best definition of it.  
CADIE: 
And I think success and what that looks like changes for each and every person and it changes each and every day. To me, success yesterday meant finishing my homework in time. 
For me, success today means getting to be able to record with you. EMMA: 
Yeah. 
CADIE: 
And success tomorrow might look like something completely different. And that's okay.  
EMMA: 
Right. I know sometimes I feel this way where it's like success is what has is what drives me. 
But I drive my own success. If that makes sense.  
CADIE: 
Yes 
EMMA: 
I hate feeling like success is a bar that I have to reach. 
But I realized that I actually set the bar for my success. And so, there's so much, even if it doesn't feel like it sometimes, you have so much control. And I would say here at Mason, you have so much support to help you get in control of finding your own success. 
CADIE: 
100% because I can understand how you're in charge of your own destiny can feel really overwhelming for people.  
EMMA: 
Daunting. Oh my gosh, yeah.  
CADIE: 
And there are so many resources here that will help you with that. And you...   
It's nice because at the end of the day, you're the one who gets to call the final shot. There are people to help you to figure out what that shot should be.  
EMMA: 
Right. And speaking of, you know, taking your shot, what is one goal you are working towards this year? It could be academic, it could be professional, or even personal.  
CADIE: 
This is a really good question. And honestly, not one that I've been thinking about. 
This is a goal that I'm working towards this year, but is probably not a goal that I'm going to achieve for a very long time. And that's okay.  
EMMA: 
Yeah. 
CADIE: 
But working towards building a life that I can look at and genuinely be proud of. I spent a good amount of time in high school, and I don't want to come off as saying like my high school experience was awful, because it wasn't. It had its ups and downs, as I think everybody's did.  
But I spent a lot of time always rushing to get to the next thing or imagining what if my life could be better in this aspect, or this aspect, or this aspect, without ever really actively working towards it. And now that I'm in college, I feel like I have the agency to finally work towards it. 
I want to go do this thing. Great. How do I get there? I want to make these connections. 
Great. How do I make those connections? Just kind of working towards building a life that I can look back on in five to 10 years, where I'll be then I don't know, but one that I can genuinely be proud of. 
And I am proud of my high school life. But one where I no longer feel the need to just daydream about the life that I can build one day I want to actually start building that life.  
EMMA: 
Yeah, I hear you. 
There's one goal I'm working towards this year is, and I will say this has been a goal I've had for pretty much the entirety of my college career. And I really resonate with what you said about you're working towards something, but you may not achieve it in a year. And that's okay. 
If one thing I'm working towards is just finding clarity and what I want to do and where I want to go. That's partly why I take on so many opportunities and commitments and responsibilities, all of which I'm grateful for. That'sanother sub goal. 
And for myself of learning how to continuously balance the academic, the professional and personal, because it's all part of who I am. And I mean, and all of them are a part of the equation that equate to success for me.
CADIE: 
For sure. 
EMMA: 
Of building towards feeling happy and fulfilled in what I'm doing and the impact I'm making. And so yeah, that's one goal I have this year of just finding clarity and all the opportunities I'm doing, of where do I see myself? Just continuing to give myself the grace to learn about myself. 
CADIE: 
Yeah, for sure. And on that note, our final question for this interview segment. And this will be the final question for all of our interviewees. What's one piece of advice you'd like our listeners to hear? 
EMMA: 
So many, but one is, the biggest one that I've really held to in my moments of indecision on uncertainty, is if you feel stuck, just keep moving somewhere. I really imagine my journey as like walking in a forest and it's foggy. And I know I'm on a path, 
I don't know where it's going, and sometimes there's crossroads, but I can either choose to stay amidst that fog and uncertainty, or I can keep moving forward. And every once in a while the fog will clear and I'll gain more clarity and it'll come back sometimes but...  
All that my life has just reinforced within me is if you're stuck, just keep moving. Because if you're stuck and you choose to stay stuck, it won't change. So just keep moving. 
What about for you?  
CADIE: 
If you want to do something, but you don't have anybody to do it with, do it alone. Be safe when you're taking in that advice. You know? 
But going abroad and traveling alone, traveling to different countries where I knew maybe three words of the language alone, it teaches you so many different things about yourself, and it'll be out of your comfort zone, and it will be uncomfortable to spend that much time with yourself, but...  
The only relationship that you know for sure that you're going to have for your entire life is the one you have with yourself. And doing things alone, especially if you're in college, away from home for the first time, is a great way to form and heal, honestly, that relationship with yourself. And it's a great way to discover different aspects of your personality and to be like, you know what? Yeah, no, I actually do really like doing this stuff alone. 
So if there's a new cafe that opened up, but nobody wants to go with you, go alone. If there's a concert in town, be safe, be safe, but if you're able to go alone safely, go alone. 
Don't let others stop you from achieving the goals and doing the things that you want to do. Now be safe.  
That's my big asterisk, because I am a young woman. And you know, going to a concert late at night in DC probably isn't the safest idea, unfortunately. But like, in a perfect world. 
EMMA: 
Right.  
CADIE: 
And again, if it's something like a cafe, an event, something where you know that you have built in things in place, go do it alone. 
EMMA: 
Yeah. Well, with that said,  
CADIE: 
Let's hear about some advice from some other people. Woo! Segway!  
EMMA: 
Segway! Bulletin board things. Okay, now play the music.  
CADIE: 
Don't skip this! This isn't an ad break! 
Emma: 
This is the Bulletin Board. In every episode, this is where we will announce upcoming events and opportunities in CHSS.  
Every so often, we will also have a correspondent piece where we will hear from experts on the topic we are covering that episode. Expect to hear from advisors, faculty, and campus resources.  
Lastly, the Bulletin will include special shout-outs to the entities that make this show possible. Speaking of,  
CADIE: 
Welcome to the Mason Innovation Exchange, also known as The MIX, George Mason University's marketplace, media lab, and entrepreneurship incubator. 
Located in Horizon Hall, Rooms 1408, 1410, and 2100, the Mix gives you access to cutting-edge tools like 3D printers, laser cutters, CNC routers, textiles, and electronics. We also offer pathways into advanced opportunities through our micro-credential courses in blimp prototyping, drone prototyping, robotics, and the NSF iCorps program for student entrepreneurs. 
The Mix is always collaborating with student RSOs, academic departments and courses and events for the Mason community. Open Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., the MIX hosts rotating workshops to help you kickstart your creative ideas. Learn more at themix.gmu.edu or find us on Mason360 under the Mason Innovation Exchange. 
Explore your potential at the MIX. 
CADIE: 
So what exactly will this podcast look like? Every month we're going to highlight a different program with each program getting five episodes in total.  
EMMA: 
Our first episode, Major Matters, will discuss everything about the major including concentrations and minors. Cadie, what are you excited about when it comes to the Major Matters episodes?  
CADIE: 
You know, I'm really excited for the opportunity to learn all about programs that I know nothing about, especially when it comes to some of the really popular programs we have here in CHSS. So, like Psychology, I've only ever taken one Psychology class, and it wasn't here at Mason, so I know very little. Same thing for Crim. 
I've never taken a Crim class, but it fascinates me. It sounds so interesting. So, I'm really excited to learn more about those programs, and those are also our biggest programs here, but also the smaller programs that I don't know that much about. 
What does it look like to be an integrative or individualized studies student? What about you?  
EMMA: 
Same thing, truly. I mean, I'm grateful that in my work as a Patriot Leader this past summer, I got to work with CHSS for virtual advising registration and get to work with students from different departments. The biggest takeaway was how much I actually don't know about the College of Humanities and Social Sciences because, I mean, I know some things going on in the English department and the various concentrations and minors that we have, but there's so many departments and majors that people don't even know are a part of CHSS. 
I'm also just really excited for us to get to learn, along with our listeners, about what CHSS has to offer.  
CADIE: 
For sure, 100%.  
Our second episode type is the Resource Roundup, which it will focus primarily on a resource that, really all CHSS students should know about, but may be particularly helpful for students in a certain program. 
Emma, what are you excited about? What do we want to learn?  
EMMA: 
I just want to learn more about CHSS-focused SROs. For instance, I only just learned very recently that the English department has an honor society. How many other majors in the college have fraternities, and honor societies, and clubs, and organizations that I think students would really be interested in getting involved with? I think a common theme amongst a lot of RSOs and organizations... and just resources. I will also add resources. They're all very accepting of being welcoming to everyone. If you want to go to an event and you're an English major and you want to learn more about sociology, go ahead. 
That's what I'm picking up on, but I just don't know where to find those events and those opportunities.  
CADIE: 
No, I definitely agree and resonate with everything you said. This year, I joined PRRSA, which is the Public Relations Student Society of America. 
Very exciting, very cool, but I had no idea that existed until this year. Granted, they did a great job. They came straight into the Intro to PR class. 
It was like, “Hey, we exist. If this is a career path that you want to pursue, then you should join us because we are a great organization.”  
EMMA: 
Moving on, our third episode, Halls to Horizon, is where we share how to go from academic halls to your career on the horizon. In other words, this episode will talk about careers, internships, and anything professional.  
Cadie, what's something that you're looking forward to with our third set of episodes?  
CADIE: 
I think, and this isn't to say that our other types of episodes aren't important, but this one is so essential if you are a current college student because I think all of us can relate to feeling some sort of post-grad employment anxiety. I know I definitely feel that. 
I consistently feel like I am falling behind and that there's no way I'm ever going to get a job or internship, but that's not true.  
And I'm really excited to hear from students. We will hear actual student testimonies of, here's how I did this, here's how I got into the career I want, into the field I want, and here's how you can do it too. 
EMMA: 
Right.  
CADIE: 
So yeah, I think if there's any episodes of this podcast to listen to, you should listen to all of them.  
EMMA: 
Please. 
CADIE 
However, if you don't have that time, this is the one you really do not want to skip out on. 
EMMA: 
Yeah. I'll also add the third type of episode is where this podcast itself also becomes a resource to you because we plan to have a chess career-specific advisor, Rachel Lindsey, on with us as a correspondent of sorts who will be able to offer tips and advice and insight into whatever industry we're talking about that episode, which in many ways can also be applicable to what you, the listener, are studying or want to study or the industry you want to go into. And so, we hope it's a through line through every episode that you'll be able to take something away, no matter what major or club we're covering. 
Third type of episodes, Halls to Horizon, you want to tune in for that.  
CADIE: 
For sure. Then we have our fourth episode type, the Green and Gold Guidebook, where we will discuss a certain topic that may not fit with the other three. 
Expect topics like study tips, the transfer student experience, highlighting the BAM program, et cetera, et cetera. Emma, this is our kind of like wildcard topic.  
EMMA: 
It is.  
CADIE: 
What do you want to highlight? What are you excited about delving into?  
EMMA: 
Anything and everything, to be so for real. Whichever guest we have on, they're going to get to be with us to kind of steer what that conversation is going to be like. What is the topic of the episode? What do you feel qualified? What do you feel you have such passion to speak about and to give voice to? And I'll say Green and Gold Guidebook will be another episode type that I feel like will be applicable to a lot of people. 
CADIE: 
Yes. 
EMMA: 
And if it's not applicable to you, well, then it's a great opportunity to get to learn about some different perspectives that you may not be aware that are living and thriving here at Mason.  
CADIE: 
Yeah. For sure. No, I agree. 
I'm excited for the opportunity to kind of break from the format that we've had and talk about topics that our guest really wants to talk about and are really passionate about, because there might not be things that you and I think of as we go through this process. But there may be something that our guests bring up, and that is such a great idea and will be such a great opportunity for other CHSS students and other GMU students to learn about, to hear about.  
I'm also excited to highlight the BAM program because I think it's just a fantastic program, especially for people who want to go to grad school. 
So, that's my excitement. I really want to make it clear like, this podcast is for you guys. It is for you who is listening to this episode right now. 
If there is something that you feel like you want to know more about, if there is a resource, if there is a thing in your life that you feel needs clarity, like academic wise, then please let us know. The purpose of this podcast is to highlight student success, yes, but to also show others how to be a successful student and the help and resources that are here for you to be that successful student. And if we're not highlighting those resources and that help that you can get, then we're not doing our jobs correctly.  
EMMA: 
Yeah. Let us know.  
I will step up from that and say that if you want to take a step further than just letting us know, we'll have a form for you guys to fill out if you want to be a guest on the podcast and actually get to talk about what you're passionate about, what you feel needs to be shared to share your Mason story. And so, with that, going into our fifth episode type, which will be like a rotating spotlight episode that will also take place the....  
Cadie 
The fourth week. 
EMMA: 
So, in the fourth week of the month, you'll get two episodes. The fifth type will be a special spotlight episode highlighting the work of either a faculty member or an alumnus.  
CADIE: 
The fact that alumnus is the singular of that. 
EMMA: 
Yeah.  
CADIE 
Because I always hear it as alumni.  
EMMA: 
Right. 
CADIE: 
I just I never hear it as alumnus. But that's who that's who we're interviewing. We're interviewing somebody who used to go to GMU and don't anymore because they do fantastic work. 
And they're another great example of how you go from where you're at right now to somewhere where you want to be five years down the line.  
EMMA: 
Exactly. And so, this could be research-focused or career-focused. 
It's going to depend on who we have as guests. But I know that I'm just really excited to really hear from voices that either work here, and that'll be a really great opportunity for listeners to know what their faculty and staff are doing, because, you know, that's a great way of you hear a faculty member talk about something that they're working on or want to research... we'll ask them to leave their email in the episode and then reach out to them.   
Or we have an alum and you hear about the work that they're doing, you know, reach out to them. We're going to try and make sure that every guest they'll leave their contact information so you can always follow up and ask questions to the more experienced figures. 
CADIE: 
Yeah, for sure. I'm so excited to be able to sit down and interview with everybody who was once a part of CHSS or who is maybe a part of CHSS in a not-student way.  
EMMA: 
Yeah. Yeah.  
CADIE: 
For CHSS faculty, you know, because I think that is a great way for listeners to, again, hear about research opportunities, yes, but if faculty are shouting out their classes, then that might give you a good example of the classes you'd like to take, even if you're not in the College of Humanities and Social Sciences.  
I know for Mason Core, you still got to take some humanities and social sciences classes.  
EMMA: 
Yes. 
CADIE: 
So really, everybody at GMU is a CHSS student.  
EMMA: 
Yes. Well said. 
CADIE: 
Thank you. Thank you.  
EMMA: 
Of course. 
CADIE: 
And speaking of those humanities and social sciences programs that everybody has to take.  
EMMA: 
Yeah.  
CADIE: 
For our very first season, we will be covering CHSS's wonderful psychology, criminology, and global affairs programs. 
If you want to be on the podcast, please, please, please email chsspod@gmu.edu, and we will send you the form to apply. I cannot emphasize this enough. You guys, the people who we have on make the podcast. 
EMMA: 
Right.  
CADIE: 
Emma and I are simply here to ask you questions.  
EMMA: 
Right. 
CADIE: 
This is your guys's podcast through us and through CHSS.  
EMMA: 
Yeah. From day one of building this podcast from the ground up, we knew that this would be student focused, student centered and steered by students. 
So when we tell you that you guys are a pillar for this podcast, it's no joke.  
CADIE: 
Exactly. And I say that because even if you're like, oh, well, I don't have any podcast experience or oh, I just I don't know if I'd be good at it. 
Doesn't matter. If you're passionate about what you're studying, come on the podcast. We'd love to have you. We'd love to talk with you.  
EMMA: 
Right. Even going further than having experience in being in podcasting, even if you're just starting here at Mason, if you're a transfer student, no matter what your background is, even if you just had a terrible semester, but you want to talk about how you've come back from it. 
That's a story that we'd love to highlight on the podcast. So it's like... 
CADIE: 
100 percent.  
EMMA: 
We just want you to come as you are, because that is already enough for us. 
CADIE: 
Exactly.  
EMMA: 
And so with that, I think we're ready to close out on episode zero.  
CADIE: 
I think we’re ready for the outro! Whooo yay! 
EMMA: 
Oh, my gosh! 
OK, so Cadie, you had to be here, but thank you for being here because....  
CADIE: 
Emma, you had to be here. But thank you for being here.  
EMMA: 
Listeners, thank you so much for listening to this episode of Chess Connection. 
CADIE: 
Hey, thank you for listening to this episode of Chess Connection. This podcast is hosted and written by Emma Howard and Cadie Junker. Our audio engineer is Dennis Gabitov. Our supervisor is Eleana Velasco. This podcast is produced by George Mason University's College of Humanities and Social Sciences, Undergraduate Academic Affairs. Special thanks to the Mason Innovation Exchange for their recording studio. 
The podcast could not happen without them. This project was developed in collaboration with Career Services and the On-Campus Internship Program. If you love the show and want to interact with more of our content, follow us on Instagram @chsspod or check out the CHSS website, where there is an ongoing library of our episodes. You can also be a potential guest on our podcast!  
EMMA: 
If you enjoyed the show and would like to express your support, there are a few things you can do: you can leave a review wherever you are listening to this podcast, you can help by word of mouth, either by telling someone directly who might be interested in the show, or posting about it on social media, tagging @chsspod. All these things help support the show, and we appreciate anyone who has done it or will do so in the future.  
Again, thank you for tuning into this episode. We hope you will tune into the next episode, where we are joined by Donesha George to discuss our Psychology program! 
But until then, stay curious... 
CADIE: 
Stay creative! 
BOTH: And stay connected. 

---

Transcribed by TurboScribe.ai.  

EMMA: 

Hello, welcome to CHSS Connection, a podcast where we interview different students about all things CHSS, from academics to careers to everything in between. This is a student success podcast for CHSS students by CHSSstudents. However, if you're not a CHSS student, welcome. 

We're so glad you're here. I'm Emma Howard.  

CADIE: 

I'm Cadie Junker. 

BOTH: 

And we're your hosts.  

CADIE: 

In this episode, we're discussing CHSS’ psychology program. Of course, we could not do this alone. 

So we are joined today by Donesha George. Donesha, thank you so much for joining us. How are you doing?  

DONESHA: 

Of course, thank you for having me. I'm actually doing good today.  

CADIE: 

Good, good. I'm so happy to hear that. 

We're going to go ahead and get into the first part of our interview. These are going to be more general questions that really are supposed to give our listeners a pretty good overview of the psych program, of course, drawing from your own experiences. Very first question for you, the classic. 

What is your class and major?  

DONESHA: 

Yes. So I am a clinical psychology major. I changed that over the summer and I just found out I was a senior not too long ago, so, shout out to me.  

CADIE: 

Ooooo. 

DONESHA: 

Yes, I am a senior, so I will be graduating in December 26th of fall.  

CADIE: 

Very cool. 

EMMA: 

Very exciting. Congratulations. 

DONESHA: 

 Thank you. 

EMMA: 

So tell us about your experience in the psychology program.  

DONESHA: 

My experience here at Mason honestly has been the best because I was a transfer student from a college in Harrisburg, Virginia, and our psych department was very small. It was about 10 students in the department for psychology. 

CADIE & EMMA: 

Whoa. 

DONESHA: 

Right. So, coming here was very different for me. I was able to learn a lot of new things. I had a lot of hands on experience. 

My favorite class I’ve taken here was therapeutic communication psychology. I learned a lot: how to communicate, how to be there for people, especially in the psychology realm. So more of like being there emotionally for them. 

I feel like taking that class has changed a lot for me. So yeah, psychology here was the best.  

I had opportunities to work in different places like clinical spaces. I got my certificate as a mental health aide.  

So yeah, psychology in this department has, I would say, opened up many doors for me to prove that psychology is more than just, you know, if I think, oh, you are able to read someone's mind. It's more than that. 

It's more just actually being, to me, I say as being an advocate for someone who struggles in mental health.  

CADIE: 

Yeah, for sure. That sounds like it was such a valuable experience, you know, switching over from a school with very few psych majors to a school where in the CHSS College, psychology is our biggest program here. 

Kind of on that, what drew you to major in psychology?  

DONESHA: 

Honestly, I always had a heart for people. I love communicating, right? I love listening. And those two together, I was like, hey, why not psychology? 

It's funny because my first psych class was in high school. It was AP psychology, and I struggled. It was so bad. I was like, too many terms, too many definitions. It was too much going on, but something really drawed me.  

And I think it was just understanding, when I  was an athlete, and knowing that a lot of us had dealt with mental health as a team, and not having people to really correctly understand what it's like to be an athlete and have mental health issues, and to not have anyone there to talk to you. So I felt like psychology would be a great fit for me. 

And I trust myself, even though I didn't have the best experience with my psych class, I knew just giving myself a chance to take a psych course again in college would definitely be better than my psych course that I had taken in high school.  

EMMA: 

As someone who also took AP psych, I really liked it, but I commiserate with you on the amount of just terms and busy work. Yeah, totally get that. 

CADIE: 

I did not take AP psych. I took a psych class over at a dual credit college, and I wish I'd taken AP psych instead because my professor, this is like one of the first college classes I ever took, by the way. I was still in high school, and my professor was a guy who showed up with a stained shirt. I never saw him in an unstained shirt. And I think I learned more about his familial drama than I did about psychology that year, because what he would try to do is he would try to teach us these concepts by relating it to his own life. 

But he would mention the concept very briefly and then go into a whole spiel about how like his brother is afraid of dogs or something like that. 

EMMA: 

 So he made his family like the case study for the class?  

CADIE: 

Yeah, essentially. 

EMMA: 

Donesha, can you tell us a bit about your concentration? Do you have a concentration? Did you say that? Am I making that up?  

DONESHA: 

Clinical psychology. 

EMMA: 

Okay, great.  

DONESHA: 

I mean, what can I say? I just added it this summer. I'm excited, like, very excited for it because I feel like clinical psychology is definitely going to give me much exposure in the clinical aspect versus when I was just a psych student. 

Well, psych major, it was just mostly focused on, I would say, again, like the therapeutic communication being more a field of therapy, right? Clinical, same thing, but you get to see how they take their notes. You get to see how they diagnose their patients. And that's something I'm definitely looking for with clinical psychology. So yeah.  

EMMA: 

What is something about your concentration that people may find surprising? I know you only  

just got to it this summer, but what's already sticking out to you?  

DONESHA: 

It's definitely the diagnosing part. I did not know as clinical psychology you had the opportunity to, well, just like a clinical psychologist, you have the opportunity to diagnose a client. 

I'm thinking it's just the same thing. You sit down, you talk with your patient and you just have that conversation, but you actually get to say, “Oh, this is what I want. This is what I want to diagnose this patient with.” 

And I feel like for me, that was like, yes, I definitely want to do this.  

CADIE: 

Can you tell us a little bit about the core classes that you've taken for psychology? I'm not entirely sure how it works for the program, but I know for COMM you have your core major courses, and then you have your concentration core, and then your concentration elective, and then your major electives. Specifically looking at that major core, what is that like for psych students?  

DONESHA: 

Yeah, I love how psychology is very broad because the core classes help students to figure out what path of psychology they want to take. 

The first basics is, well, there's two of them. There's Introduction to Psychology, which came to my mind, and Developmental. Introduction is basically the creator of psychology, right? You have the theories and different, you know, people who came up with those theories. 

Don't make me quote any names because I cannot remember, but that's mostly the classes that people had told me that's boring, but I kind of liked it. It helped me understand, oh yeah, psychology is a great thing. So yeah, you have Introduction. 

Developmental basically hops right into the lifespan of a human. Adolescence, adulthood was also my favorite one to understand the nature versus nurture. That was my favorite theory. 

So those two are definitely the basics for psychology. I was, I would count Social Psychology as the core as well, but that can also be an elective here at Mason, which I didn't know.  

Cognitive Psychology was more focused of different techniques of the brain. So, like your memory, your focus, different type of diseases of the brain. I like to pair Cognitive with Neuropsychology.  

Neuropsychology is mostly focused on the brain, but different parts of the brain. So you get to understand the structure. I would say if you're very big on anatomy, then you might consider Neuropsychology.  

But for me, I felt like it was too much focused on the brain and not really understanding what this had to do with, you know, me wanting to be in therapy. Well, of course you get to understand the parts, so it's helping you to better understand the person, but the lab part was a bit too much, you know, looking at different random parts of a sheet. It was just a lot for it to be Neuropsychology, right? 

 Social Psychology was good. It was mostly the broader part of understanding why people behave the way they do. 

I think that was the whole summary part of Social Psychology, nothing really big about it. Trying to think if there's anything else.  

Therapeutic communication, that wasn't a core, it was more like an elective that teaches you therapy, basically.  

You was the client or you was the therapist. Very fun class. I enjoyed myself. It could be a little bit nerve-wracking because it's your very first time and the professor's like, okay, I need someone to be a client, need someone to be a therapist, and now you're sitting there and asking people questions about their life. So, it was very nerve-wracking, but at the end of the day, like, I really enjoyed myself. 

So, it was just a lot of different cores and electives.  

EMMA: 

Yeah, I mean, I think you covered a really wide scope, and it certainly sounds like the core classes offer a really excellent trial run of sorts or taste testing, palate, appetizer, whatever, of the psych program. But yeah, sounds like you've taken a lot of a lot of classes. 

Going more into that, which professors do you recommend other psychology students take?  

DONESHA: 

I would say I haven't had any bad professors here at Mason, so that's a good thing. I really can't say a name on top of my head.  

EMMA: 

Okay. 

DONESHA: 

But I would say it's all how you make the class to be, right? Because again, there are bad professors, but some of them you really just have to grow with. And so far, my psych class here, all of them has been online. So I really haven't had that personal connection besides the Therapeutic Communication psych core, I mean, psych class. 

And even with her, she was the best teacher. I just don't remember her name.  

EMMA: 

Oh, that's okay. 

DONESHA: 

Yeah.  

CADIE: 

That's so real, actually. Going back to your classes, what is the best class that you've ever taken within the psych program?  

DONESHA: 

I would say therapeutic communication. 

EMMA: 

Yeah.  

DONESHA: 

That's not only because that was my only class in person. Research methods I haven't taken yet. 

But there's another thing, Data Analysis. That was another psych core class. It was fun, but it wasn't my best. 

And like Introduction in psych and other psych courses that I mentioned, I didn't really take here. I took my other school. So Therapeutic was my first class I've taken here at Mason, and I was in person, and it was the best. 

I liked how it was hands on. As soon as you got in there, we was already working. I was the therapist or I was the client. 

It was helpful to understand what it's like to be a therapist, what it's like to be a client. It was also helpful to build connections. As me being a transfer student, I was able to walk out the class knowing that this is something I want to do for the rest of my life. 

And I had people who also want to do the same thing as me. So it was definitely my best class.  

EMMA: 

That sounds really validating, to be quite honest. 

And it sticks out for me that does the psychology program offer a lot of like online or asynchronous classes?  

DONESHA: 

Oh, yes. I want to say the farther you go up in your year, they will offer you a lot of asynchronous or online courses. But for me, I would say majority of my psych core classes was online. 

EMMA: 

I love online classes. The English department does not.  

CADIE: 

Really?  

EMMA 

No! Okay. There's a handful and a lot of them are like in like the lower levels or some maybe like 302 or 308. Sorry, this is not the English episode. But yeah, no.  

Really wish they had more. Anyways, can you share a very memorable moment? I feel like it might be your therapy class. 

But that's what I'm calling my head. But can you share a memorable moment from one of your  

classes or a lesson that you have taken away from them?  

DONESHA: 

Yeah. So it was a first session to do their therapy, a client. This is Therapeutic Communication.  

And I remember all of us just being so nervous, because the goal was for us not to put our life problems out in the air, we had to pretend to be someone else. So, we could be a family member, we could be a friend, we could be anyone who we wanted. 

So, I remember, because recently in my past years, I did like acting and playing. So, I act as someone in my family. And I remember the girl who was my therapist, I caught her off guard because I started to cry. 

She just froze and looked at me. And I was like, “Aren’t you supposed to be my therapist?”  

And I just remember just like, she tried not to laugh. And she started laughing. 

I was like, “Are you my therapist?” And from there, I just realized like how fun the class could be. And I took away because after you know, we got done, we started talking, and she was like, I didn't know what to do. And it made me go back with my teacher. 

Well, my professor, she was saying, you know, “It's the point of doing this not to be perfect, right? It's just to do it. Because no one is perfect.” Basically what she was trying to say. And for some reason, you know, because this was my major, I just wanted to feel like I had it all together. 

But it was times where I would get a client, I had a friend and he hit me with a story that I really could not help him through.  

And I was just like, this class can only be hard when you just want to feel like you got it. And my professor made it known that you're not gonna get it until you take this class and you leave from this class. 

So yeah, those were the best memories. 

EMMA: 

That's a really good memory.  

CADIE: 

Well, I feel like that kind of shines a light on how important this class is too, because you're gonna have clients that cry in therapy, like that's probably actually gonna be a thing that you run into quite often. 

You're going to hear a lot of very hard stories or stories that like, just make you want to go, what? And I'm so grateful that Mason kind of gives you the opportunity to show that on your face to be in those moments where I don't know what to do in a safer environment, so that way, when you are put in front of a real client, and they start crying, then you know, you're not laughing. Because I can only imagine. 

DONESHA: 

That happened before. That's the way I respond when I'm nervous. I just laugh. 

CADIE: 

But on the same note, what's the best story that you have involving your major?  

DONESHA: 

That's actually a good question. It makes me just think back. All the psych courses I've taken over the years as being a psychology major. 

My best story about psychology, when I took the Developmental Case Study Psych, which was at my old school, we actually had to go out and be with kids. And I remember just being with this family and playing with the kids and everything. And I just felt like this was something for me. 

And the mom, she was so sweet. She made sure that we was comfortable there being with her kids and being able to use what I learned in class made me felt like I was actually doing something right. And I felt confident as being a psych major, because a lot of times, you know, a lot of people think that it's just not the best major. 

But me looking back at that moment with kids, I felt like it was everything to me. And it was the whole reason why I took psychology, because the daughter, she sat there and we had a whole conversation about her school, about her friends. And what she wanted to do. She had her life planned out before me. And she was like six. 

 So, to know that like, I'm just being, one, just being human, right. 

But, two, just also listening and just hearing her out made me felt like there's other people who also need that. And yeah, I would say that was probably my best story. Just being around those kids just made everything to me. 

It also made me switch my psych because for the longest I was a sports psychology, and I changed from sport to clinical. So yeah.  

EMMA: 

That sounds I mean, I know I keep saying this, but like, that just sounds really affirming and validating. And what a wonderful story, especially since it motivated you to change your concentration. 

Continuing on, and looking into your journey in the psychology program. I know Cadie, and I have alluded to this. It's a really big program. 

It's close to like taking up 50% of the students in CHSS. So they do, I'm sure that they do a lot of events. What's the best psychology event that you've been to?  

DONESHA: 

Well, probably, I'm gonna be honest, I didn't know we had a psychology event. 

EMMA: 

It's okay. It's okay.  

DONESHA: 

Now CHSS events is something different. 

CHSS has a lot of great events. I've been to majority all of them. But the best one is the back to school event that they have in the front. 

But psychology wise, I have not been to a psych event.  

CADIE: 

What about CHSS events? The back to school one?  

DONESHA: 

Oh, yes, that was my favorite. I like the tie-dye. 

The food is always great. And I love the connection because you get to meet people that's part of chess and always end up being the same major as you. That always happens to me all the time. 

EMMA: 

Oh, well, I bet cuz there's 2000 psych majors. I'm curious if I mean, because I also don't know what events psychology does. But as a psych student, what's an event that you would like to see your department do?  

DONESHA: 

Something in the career field for psychology. 

I had a talk with a student, and they was unsure about continuing psychology only because they felt like they couldn't get anywhere with their psych degree. And I hear a lot of students that talks about psychology like that saying, “I don't know where to go.” But for me, I love that psychology just has such a huge aspect to it, right? There's so many things and so many paths that you can take with psychology. 

So if the psych department had an event, it would probably be event hosted to explain the career paths of psychology. Like there's so much that you can do with just a psych degree and, you know, just the things that comeswith it, right? You're helping people. You're making connections. You're not only just diagnosing, like you're doing more than that. If they held an event like that, I feel like a lot of people would probably would not want to change their major, but want to pursue it and actually have a desire to do something with it.  

EMMA: 

Certainly. 

I feel like a lot of college students outside of the psych program also share that sentiment of wanting to learn more about what they could do with their major. And I'm going to take this quick moment to plug that CHSS also is going to have career and internship-focused episodes. 

We're going to have one dedicated to psychology. So that'll be episode three. Please tune in. 

CADIE: 

Yeah. I'm so grateful you brought up the word connection when talking about the CHSS Back to School event.  

EMMA: 

Perfect segue.  

CADIE: 

Because our very next question for you is what connections have you made within the psych program?  

DONESHA: 

So far, connection wise, mostly with just like job wise connections. 

I mean, I come across a lot of students and we're like, oh, we're both psych majors, but we haven't had that connection of like going past the stage of meet and greet with my job career base.  

I'm an RBT, if I haven't mentioned it, but yeah, I'm a Registered Behavior Technician. That's also part of the ABA side of psychology, Applied Behavior Analysis. 

And that was a great connection. The job is so great. I'm working with kids again, but this time it's kids on a spectrum, so with autism, but it's the best thing that ever happened to me working with them. I also was working in a clinic before for mental health. Again, I'm a mental health aide. 

I got certified for that.  

CADIE: 

Oooo, very cool, very cool. 

DONESHA: 

So I'm able to use that. So there's so many connections job wise that is, it sounds little, but it's just like, man, I'm a mental health aide, so something would happen, I can really use the skills that I worked for over the summer to, you know, put it to reality. So yeah, I would say those are the connections so far I made. 

I mean, I came across a lot of great people, professionals wise outside of school, but in the psychology major that also motivate me to do a lot with my degree. So yeah.  

EMMA: 

I will say, I think your accomplishments so far aren't small at all. 

They sound very impressive and very useful.  

CADIE: 

I think that mental health support is so invaluable and so important in our world. I'm sure this is no news to you being a Clinical Psych major and concentration, but Gen Z, we do have disproportionately higher rates of depression and anxiety than previous generations, or at least reported rates because of the opinion that we're probably seeing higher reports because it has been less stigmatized, which is a good thing. 

And I'm so grateful that Mason sets you up for success. So that way, you know, whether it's through the classes that you're taking through your Therapeutic Communications class or through the internships that you have, that you're getting this experience and you're able to help people, I just think that that is so cool that you're able to do that even before you graduate, because honestly, I think all of us need a little bit of help.  

I'm of the opinion that everybody should go to therapy at some point in their lives.  

DONESHA & EMMA:  

Yes. 

CADIE: 

Whether or not you have some mental illness, just go. 

Because you probably do have something that's weighing on you, something that's stressing you, something that you need advice in. That's just my little soapbox, as my mother so lovingly calls it though.  

EMMA: 

Just as Cadie says that therapy is a resource that everyone should use, what is one resource you think every psychology student should use?  

DONESHA: 

I would say a mentor because therapy is great and I tell people to use it, you know, use it all the time. But sometimes a lot of people have a hard time finding that right match and it takes longer than expected. 

So having a mentor, those two are definitely not the same. You have someone like in therapy, someone is actually sitting down and talking to you and you come whenever you see them, right? Let's say you want to see them once a week, twice a week, who knows. 

With a mentor, they're there all the time, 24-7. They help you career-wise, they help you, you know, mental-wise, they just help you with anything that you need help on. And I have a mentor and she's been great to me. 

So for psych students, you know, who's probably taking therapy or not considering therapy, I would definitely consider mentorship.  

EMMA: 

I think some students might possibly struggle with finding like a mentor and differentiating that between a professor or an advisor. What tips do you recommend for students to locate a mentor that is right for them and maximize that resource?  

DONESHA: 

Yeah, of course. 

So the first thing what helped me was understanding that a mentor, you know, they don't need special license, they don't need a special degree. You just need to be able to trust this person with your life, right?  

You want to be able to know you can learn from this person because many times, mentors come in different ways. Someone might be a mentor, they might be younger than you, right? They might be a year younger than you, and you might be older than them. But because of what they're bringing to the table, they have so much wisdom, they know everything, they're able to help you out.  

The second thing I would say is, you know, don't rush it because it takes time to find the right mentor. A lot of times you find someone, and you ask them to mentor you and they be like, well, it's just too much work. 

That person is not a mentor, right?  

When you go to someone, you ask them to be their mentor, the very first thing is ask, you know, oh my goodness, thank you because you're trusting them with your life, basically. And I feel like a mentor is just someone that you can really trust with everything because there's going to be moments you're going to have to be vulnerable. 

 Again, they're not therapists because you're going to be vulnerable with them, and they're going to be like, well, I recommend you to go to therapy, right? But they're just going to appreciate the fact that you chose them to help you and join you. 

And the last thing, of course, you want to find someone who's kind of walking in the same shoes as you are, which again could be hard. That's why I say it's a long process to find the right person because you don't want to find someone who's in a completely other world and you're trying to, you know, have them mentor you. So you definitely want to find someone who's been in your shoes before, you know, they've been through college, they've been, they don't have to be through the same major, but they've been exposed to the same exact lifestyle you are currently walking in. 

I feel like that's the best takeaway when it comes to finding a mentor.  

EMMA: 

Certainly. And I think that's the best way to close on act one. 

So now we're going to go to our bulletin board where we're going to make some chess announcements, do some shout outs and share some resources.  

CADIE: 

We're also going to hear from Dr. Mike Hurley.  

EMMA: 

Correct. 

TRANSITION MUSIC PLAYS 

CADIE: 

Don't skip this. This isn't an ad break.  

EMMA: 

This is the bulletin board. 

In every episode, this is where we will announce upcoming events and opportunities in chess, hear from correspondents and give shout outs to the resources that make this podcast possible.  

DR. HURLEY: 

My name is Michael Hurley. I am an associate professor in the psychology department at George Mason. 

My email address is m-h-u-r-l-e-y-2 at gmu.edu.  

The psychology department is located in David King Hall on the second floor, the main floor of the building. The advising office is in room 2086 of David King Hall, and the faculty offices are mostly on the second floor, but there are additional faculty offices upstairs on the third floor.  

In terms of a summary of the psychology program, we only have one major, which is psychology in our department, and we have several majors- excuse me, minors, and concentrations. 

The minors that we have are in Brain, Body and Behavior, Clinical Psychology, Developmental Psychology, Forensic Psychology, Health Psychology, Industrial Organizational Psychology, and then we have our General Psychology minor, which does not focus in on a specific area.  

We also have concentrations and those concentrations are Clinical Psychology, Cognitive Behavioral Neuroscience, Developmental Psychology, Educational Psychology, Forensic Psychology, Health Psychology, Human Factors Psychology, and Work and Organizational Psychology.  

Students can reach out to me by email or phone. Email messages for me should go to the Undergraduate Advising Office at UGPSYC at gmu.edu. That's UGPSYC, U-G-P-S-Y-C, at gmu.edu. The main phone number to the psychology department is 703-993-1384. So those are the best ways to reach me here in the department. 

And then other things to know about our undergraduate program in psychology, or the psych department, is that we have several graduate programs. In addition to our undergraduate program, we have graduate programs in Clinical Psychology, Applied Developmental Psychology, Human Factors Psychology, Industrial Organizational Psychology, and Cognitive and Behavioral Neuroscience.  

In the undergraduate program, oh, and by the way, in those graduate programs, the Clinical Psych program is only a Ph.D. program, but the other four programs all have both master's degree programs and Ph.D. programs. 

And then at the undergraduate program, we have an honors, psychology Honors program, for students, particularly for students who are interested in graduate school. That program is a really great opportunity. And we also have a chapter of PSYCHI, the International Honor Society for Students in Psychology. 

And we also, because of our graduate programs and our graduate students and faculty who do research, there are opportunities for undergraduates who would like to get research experience to be able to do that while they are working on their undergraduate degree in psychology.  

EMMA: 

The GMU Psychology Club is a student-run club open to all majors. It's a place to grow your knowledge of psychology while meeting others who share a similar passion for the field. 

For more information, contact Dr. Mike Hurley or visit their Mason 360 page.  

George Mason's Counseling and Psychological Services offers free, confidential mental health support to enrolled students, both in person and online. Whether you are seeking short-term counseling or need assistance in connecting to community providers, CAPS can help. 

They are open Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday, 9 a.m. to 4.30 p.m. and on Wednesdays from 12.30 to 4.30 p.m. Stop by Sub 1, Suite 3129 or call 703-993-2380 to get started.  

CADIE: 

And welcome back. We are now going to enter into our Act 2, which is going to be a little bit deeper, nothing too serious, but these questions will draw even more from your thoughts, your motivations behind your experiences within the psychology program here at Mason. 

And our very first question for you is kind of a two-in-one, but you have already sort of answered the first part.  

DONESHA: 

Okay! 

CADIE: 

Why did you choose psychology? And what was that experience of choosing your major like for you?  

DONESHA: 

Yeah, again, I chose psychology because of just my personality. Let's just go with that. 

I just love surrounding myself by people. I love helping people and being there for people, especially when I was an athlete. Many times having that leadership role of supporting my teammates, talking to them when they need someone to talk to, really plays a role of the psych. 

But I feel like psychology helped deepen my understanding with understanding the process of someone emotionally. Many times I was speaking to people, I wasn't emotionally there for them. With being a psych major now, I'm mostly there for people. 

And I would say choosing a major, it wasn't hard. My very first time in college, I was a sports and rec and psychology as the minor. But I feel like understanding what I really, truly want to do with my psych was the hardest part. 

Because again, there's so much that you can do with psychology. I feel like as long as I'm doing something with people, like helping them, talking to them, that's all that really matters. So, I wouldn't say it's like the reason why I gave up sports psychology, only because I wanted to be somewhere in the sports field. 

I realized there was a lack with people being there for athletes in times that they need someone. So my focus is, oh, I want to be this person.  

I'm really good for that. I see a problem, I'm automatically going to put myself as like a savior type aspect. Like, oh, I got to do this.  

But I feel like as I got older and transitioned from the private school to public, and had my very first experience where I pretend I was a therapist and having clients every other day in class made me realize maybe I can get an athlete walk in into a center where I am a therapist for them. 

So let me focus more on that aspect. And I think from there, that's where everything started to change for me for psychology.  

EMMA: 

For students who are maybe still grappling with what major they want to go in, what factors do you recommend that they maybe keep in mind? You talked about, well, what do you want to do? What industry do you see yourself in? That's a factor. Are there any others that you recommend that others keep in mind that you kept in mind?  

DONESHA: 

Oh, yeah. My private school, I had a professor who made us write a paper about having a passion and working in that passion for the rest of your life or just having a job and just wanting to make money from that job. And what made me take away from writing that paper was knowing that if I want to spend the rest of my life doing something, it has to be something I'm passionate in. 

And that's what helped me make my decision for psychology and what I wanted to do in my major.  

I'm very passionate with people, so my advice for people who's having a hard time looking for what they want to do in life as far as job and major-wise, just go after something you know you're passionate about, something that you're going to wake up and you're going to be glad you chose to stick with this job because many times we're working jobs and we're like, man, I got to go in here. But, you know, working somewhere that you know this is something that you want to do, like no questions pundit to it, like this is something that you really want to do. 

So I feel like that's what's going to help you make that decision for that major, that decision for what you want to do when you get that major degree.  

I feel like many times we overthink the process. I know me, I overthink this so much because I was so focused on everything else, X, Y, and Z. How am I going to do this? How am I going to pay this? But the real question is how am I going to stay in a job that I don't like, right? If I am pursuing something that deep down I know I don't want to pursue. 

So my best advice is definitely finding that major or finding a field that when you are passionate to, it fits your personality. You can't be somewhere and you can't be yourself, right? You have to be able to be yourself in a field that authenticity is good. Nothing can change it because that's something you love to do. 

CADIE: 

I find it really fascinating that your reasoning for going into psychology and my reasoning for going into comms is actually very, very similar.  

That like, humanity element of I love people, I love talking to people, I love listening to people. How do I study that?  

So, I just think that's so cool that you can have the similar motivations and choose two completely different life paths. It really does boil down to like you're saying, what's a job that maybe you don't love every single day of the week, but a job that you can look at and genuinely be happy with and glad that you're doing.  

EMMA: 

Moving on, kind of coming back to George Mason itself and your transition here a little bit. I know you've talked about your experience at your previous school and it sounds like it's been very rewarding, but when you were finishing up there or when you were looking to, I know we've talked, sorry, Donesha and I have worked together in another position. I remember we had this conversation about, did you get your associates at Mary Washington or?  

DONESHA: 

No.  

EMMA:

No, you left. 

DONESHA: 

I just left.  

EMMA: 

Okay.  

DONESHA: 

Yeah. 

EMMA: 

Why did you choose to come here at Mason versus another school to pursue psychology? 

DONESHA: 

Oh, well, my sister came here and I remember visiting the campus and how big it was and a lot of activities was going on. You see a lot of orgs on campus. So that was the first thing that caught my eye. 

Then it was a little birdie seeing how the psychology department was the best department here at Mason. And I was very determined to like, yes, this is what I need. I need something to, you know, match my energy because that's how I am as a person with anything, I just need something to match me. And I feel like being at my psych department at my old school, pretty much wasn't matching it. Like it felt like more of like take the classes and graduate. 

And I need something more, right? I need experience. I need shadowing. I just need something. 

So hearing that Mason had a good psych department, I did my research and it looked really good. It looked great. And I trust my gut. I would say, you know, this is something I want to do.  

It's going to be different going from a private to a public school. But I made it work and it was the best decision. 

EMMA: 

Sounds like it was.  

DONESHA: 

Yeah.  

CADIE: 

It sounds like part of the reason that you left your old school was for the variety of opportunities here at Mason that kind of goes away even from your traditional coursework. 

On that note, have you done research, internships, clubs tied to clinical psychology? And if you have, what have those experiences looked like?  

DONESHA: 

Yeah. So, I've done a lot. I'm actually still doing research. This is tied in because though I'm a clinical psych, I'm also in the pre-med track.  

CADIE: 

Oh, very cool.  

DONESHA: 

Thank you. 

So I had an opportunity to do research on holistic medicine for depression and anxiety. And I had a chance to present that at a medical school, UVA.  

EMMA: 

Oh, wow. 

DONESHA: 

Yeah. And because in psychology you learn to understand the difference between someone who has mental health issues and someone who's mentally ill, right?  

CADIE: 

Yeah.  

DONESHA: 

And a lot of times mental health, especially in health care, is looked as a one-size-fits-all. 

And I had a chance many times to go to conferences to speak on behalf of students at school and what we need here for people who struggle a lot. I recently just went to a conference that was in Richmond, and they're trying their best to lay a foundation for students to have what they need because many times it feels like mental health is more of like a push, like, here you go, you got your resources now. Go on about your day. More than understanding that this is something that people face every day, right?  

So, I had plenty of opportunities to sit down, advocate on behalf of mental health and athletes, first-year students in college. I know my paper is about first-year students in college, and experiencing depression and anxiety for the first time. I also did research in understanding depression and women's health and understanding how depression doesn't typically can come on to a person just naturally. 

That's the difference of me dividing someone who's mentally ill and someone who just had mental health issues. Sometimes someone is going through the lack of vitamins. So I did research on vitamin D deficiency, and side effects is depression in women. 

I also did different things that is towards women's health with mental health. I did so much with that because of my psych major and understanding what it's like to know the difference between, oh, this person is dealing with mental health issues versus this person is mentally ill, right? They need something.  

And also looking at it as the holistic outside view because a lot of times in health care, there's no alternative for someone, for a person who wants to take care of themselves because sometimes someone who's facing mental health, they just need a routine. They just need something instead of just constantly misleading them with medication. So my paper was also about that.  

CADIE: 

Yeah, that's so valuable. 

Again, this is a topic that I'm very passionate about. I've had a lot of experience, a lot of firsthand experience with mental health.  

And to me, it angers me the way that we treat mental health support as, well, at least we offer it. 

What do you mean anxiety and depression still happen? What do you mean? You're on antidepressants. What do you mean you still go through depressive episodes? And I hate how I know people where they were put on antidepressants and then that didn't work for them.  

And then they tried therapy, and the therapist just wasn't a match, which does happen. They weren't willing to go again, try and find somebody who might be a better match.  

What do you do then? I feel like, as much as mental health has become destigmatized, and that's a good thing, and as much as it is becoming more of a norm to be like, oh, yeah, I go to therapy, or oh, yeah, I have these meds, that's still the only two options we sort of have. 

So shining a light on more options and other coping mechanisms I think is so, so important. 

EMMA: 

It sounds like, I mean, I know we've already talked about it a lot throughout this episode, but just to go a little deeper, you've had a lot of really valuable and memorable experiences and opportunities outside of the classroom.  

DONESHA: 

Yeah. 

EMMA: 

Specifically here at GMU, outside of the classroom, what is one of the most valuable experiences you've had as a psych major?  

DONESHA: 

I would say definitely, outside of the classroom experience or outside of Mason, was advocating for mental health and being able to do that correctly. A lot of times people advocate, and they're not doing it right. But sitting in those classrooms and being able to know and understand different parts of mental health and different parts of the brain and different parts of why a behavior is happening for my person had helped me go out and advocate in a way that, one, of course, like a lot of people sleep on psychology thinking, you know, psychology is me understanding the brain. 

But now, no, psychology has helped me understand that, oh, if someone is having issues, you know, they're not ill, they just need X, Y, and Z, right? Or someone who's mentally ill, what is something that we can do for this person? And I feel like just having the chance to advocate was the biggest thing I took away from my experiences. And I think it pushed me. It made me draw even more close to my major because now half of my research opportunities is around my major. It's not outside.  

It's always something with behavior, something with mental health, it's something with just like women's health, of course, the pre-med side. But I feel like it helped me to be more confident knowing that my major is great. So, yeah.  

EMMA; 

I appreciate how you highlighted that there is good advocacy and then there's harmful advocacy. And I think that a lot of people do very well from taking a moment to learn about... because I think it's great that so many individuals and groups have the willingness and the desire to advocate for others, but especially if you're coming from an outside perspective or a beginner's mindset, it's good to take those educational opportunities to learn how to advocate effectively.  

CADIE: 

Yeah.  

You spoke about how your research really encompasses what you want to do. 

It's in your career field. And on that note, what research would you like to contribute to the field of psychology?  

DONESHA: 

The research I'm doing now, mental health and academics, is so good. It's so good, you guys. 

It helped me as a person because it goes back to the advocacy, like the way how I advocate for people is going off of people experiences. That's what helped me to advocate. And recently, my fall semester, I just had a rough patch because it was my first year here at Mason. 

It was hard for me to balance going straight to private, public. Trust me, it is different. To me, it might be so much different. 

From there, I watched my grades slip, and it made me want to do a study on it because a lot of times you will see someone's grades slipping. You just think this person just don't know anything or they got a lot of stuff going on at home. But sometimes it's more than what you think it is, right? There's your social factors, your environmental factors, it's the changes of life, it's you being, you know, I like to call a premature adult, for the very first time. 

So my research is basically focusing on what mental health does to incoming students and their academics. Comparing it from the first day, first start on campus, versus after midterms or, you know, after the semesters and how a lot of times using resources the wrong way can affect them. And I go in talking about how the over-reliance of medication can affect the patient. 

You know, it's nothing wrong. I don't want people to come and think I'm bashing medicine. There's nothing wrong with medicine, but sometimes it can be used wrongfully. And sometimes medicine just numbs the symptoms. It doesn't really correct or it doesn't really change the actual thing that's wrong with the person.  

So, my paper focused more not to bash anyone, but just focused more of how can we make it correctly? How can we understand the difference between a student who just experienced mental health for the first time, depression for the first time, anxiety for the first time, going to therapy and saying, “Hey, this is my first time experiencing these symptoms, what can I do?” Versus someone who has chronic depression. 

Because at the end of the day, who would you give the medicine to? Would you give it to a student who just experienced this stuff for the first time? Maybe they need to build a routine. “Hey, let's try X, Y, and Z. Let's try doing this,” instead of just saying, “Okay, let me put you on these medications.”  

Because now the student got a lot to worry about. They got to wake up early, take their medicine. They got to study. They have to do X, Y, and Z. Versus someone who actually suffers from chronic depression. 

I think that's probably one of my best papers I would like to push for psychology is to understand mental health and academics.  

CADIE: 

Yeah, and also understanding that once you are put on that medicine, that doesn't work for everybody. What do we do then? What coping mechanisms do we use to help and to aid? Because unfortunately a lot of people with chronic depression, chronic anxiety, the reason why it's chronic is that it cannot be healed. 

DONESHA: 

Right, yeah. 

But it can be helped, and it can be aided, and there can be coping mechanisms so that way when you are going under a depressive episode, when you are having an anxiety attack, you're able to pinpoint these are thoughts that I am indeed having, but they are not valid thoughts about myself. They are not good examples of who I am, of what people think about me, of what life is, what are grounding techniques that you can use, things like that.  

Sorry, I'm wondering how vulnerable do I be on episode one? This is episode one. 

DONESHA:: 

Yeah, I'm the same way. Me and mental health, it's like starting a fire. Once you put wood in, I'm just going to keep burning, okay? It's just going to be that way. 

EMMA: 

I will add some of my thoughts, because I'm also in therapy, and I've been on that journey for a while, I remembered one of my psychiatrists a couple of years ago was, because I will say, I think if you're starting this journey of mental health and trying to get a grasp on yours, it can be easy to fall into the idea that medicine is a catch-all, and it's like, we'll just fix everything, right?  

I remember my psychiatrist was saying, no, it can help, but you'll still have this diagnosis. You'll still have these things to deal with.  

And that's why, Cadie, like you were saying, it's important, and like you were saying as well, it's important to have these other resources and strategies to cope with mental health.  

You know what? We've had so many tangents on this podcast so far, or we will as listeners, we'll go on to listen, but this could be a Global Gateway podcast, this could be a psychology podcast. This is fantastic. 

CADIE: 

I just want to say to anybody who is listening who may have struggled with mental health, have mental health issues, have been diagnosed with a mental health illness, you are valid, you are loved, and please take up space. 

DONESHA: 

Yes. Take up space. 

You're not making an excuse.  

CADIE: 

Yeah, if the reason why you're unable to do something is your depression or your anxiety or whatever else it may be, because depression and anxiety are not the only mental health issues that exist. It is not an all-encompassing list. 

I want to make that very clear. They are some of the most common, and they are the two that get thrown around a lot, but if your mental health is the genuine reason why you're unable to do something, then it is not necessarily an excuse.  

DONESHA: 

Right. 

CADIE: 

Now, if you are harming another person, then that is something you need to apologize for. Again, we're going back to what are the coping mechanisms, what are the things that we can do to try and aid this, to try and help this, so that way I am not harming people again. But also understand that you are not a terrible person because you are going through these things. 

DONESHA: 

Right.  

CADIE: 

I think I'm done with my soapbox. I might get back on it later. 

DONESHA: 

I'm going to start saying that “I'm done with my soapbox.” 

EMMA: 

Before we go to the next question, I do also want to add, and Donesha, please join me in this patriot leader mindset, but George Mason does have a lot of resources to help students with their mental health, or even because there's counseling and psychological services, or CAPS, but we also have, if you're struggling with your academics and you need help with some resources, you can go to Success Coaching. They take a very holistic view in their approach. 

You can always talk to your advisor. If you have a mentor here out on campus, reach out to them. There are a lot of resources and individuals here who are more than happy to help you. 

Continuing on, Donesha, what are some common misconceptions about psychology that people have?  

DONESHA: 

That's a great question, because honestly, I could go all night about it.  

EMMA: 

You can go on your soapbox.  

DONESHA: 

Yes, I can go on my soapbox. 

The most popular one is psychology, you don't make money in it. That's the most famous one I heard, I've seen on TikTok, social media. You would go through the comments, they're like, oh, psychology is a bad major, can't do nothing with it, can't get nowhere with it. 

They would say, I mean, at least you have, like you have to get a master's. Well, of course, of course you want to, probably want to pursue a higher education, but I feel like that was the biggest thing I took away from it. Other, you know, places or words and things people talk about psychology was saying how it's really nothing you can do in psych. 

That was another thing, but all of it is a lie.  

I know a lot of people who's making great money with their psych degree. I know a lot of people who've done a lot of things having a psych degree, but those are my most famous takeaways because I know sometimes it did trouble me. I was like, dang, I'm going to get this degree and then I'm going to live in a box.  

It made me very upset, but I wouldn't trade it for a world. So I was like, this degree is going to do something because there's a lot. 

I tell people all the time, I always tell people there's so much you can do. You get your PhD.  

There's like a psychology doctor. There's like, they call it like psyche. You can be a clinical psychologist. You can work in professional care. 

And so like the marketplace as a psych major, you could go farther and pursue medicine. Like I'm doing, hey, MD in psychology. Yes. 

You could do something in ABA. Also I'm doing as a part-time job. They make great money, RBT. 

You can do so much. And those are just like the little things, you know, there's a lot that you can do in psychology. You got ABA. You’ve got, what is it? I can't think of the top of my head, but Neuropsychology, Cognitive Psychology, there it goes. 

You can work more with understanding different techniques of the brain and the matter. So, I would just tell people who's a psych major, don't feel like psychology is the worst major ever or there's nothing there to do in psych. There's so much you can do. 

You just have to look at psychology in a broader concept. That's what I do. Never keep it small because there's so much you can do in psychology. 

EMMA: 

Yeah.  

That brings to mind one of my friends at Nova, before I transferred to Mason, she was also a psychology student, but she was getting, she wanted to get her BA in psychology. And she actually wanted to go into like the FBI or go in, because it made me think how like there's also like organizations and companies. 

There's like, isn't there like Organizational Psychology?  

DONESHA: 

That's what I was trying to mention when I said a market. So yeah, Organizational Psychology, people that works and like they could do health professions. They could do anywhere, you know, helps to bring everyone together. 

That's what I like to call it. They're more like the glue for the pieces.  

EMMA: 

But you're right. 

There is so much. I want to ask you the field of psychology as broad as it is, what do you think it can do to change people's minds and the misconceptions that they hold?  

DONESHA: 

I would say just more advocating about what psychology is. A lot of times where there's no advocating for something, a lot of people will start to put their opinions on it and start to think that this is something when it's not. 

You can ask someone, you know, what they know about psychology and some of them probably say, well, I know that there's therapy. They're like, you could be a counselor, right? They probably don't know about organizational, probably won't know about a psyche. I didn't know about it till I did my research. 

Or you would hear people say, you know, a lot of times they get a PhD, but sometimes they just, you know, fall around those two categories. But if psychology start to advocate itself about these are different jobs that you can do having a psych major. There's a lot of things that you can do in the process of being a psych major. 

You don't always have to be a therapist for a psych degree. You can do so much more.  

CADIE 

For students who are interested in learning more about the psych program and its offerings, what do you recommend that they do?  

DONESHA: 

Definitely reach out. 

I tell people as hard as it might sound, I know sometimes that it's hard to talk and build connections, but that was the only way for me to make it to where I am now was networking and connections. 

Doing my own research too, sometimes it's hard to depend on people because everyone is doing something right. So being your own guinea pig, trying it and testing it, researching and understanding what psychology can bring to you and what can it help you with, right? I will definitely recommend for students to try, but it's just connections for me. Going out, building connections, asking questions, don't be afraid to ask those questions, would definitely help you to know more about your major. 

EMMA: 

Okay, I know we've asked this question in like it's five different variations and maybe that's a thing Cadie and I need to revisit with script, but what has been your most fruitful experience in the psych program?  

DONESHA: 

It's okay, I'm trying to think of other experiences. Okay, so my most, I did, I mentioned research, I'm mentioned the kids and development, I'm mention my RBT job. Okay, I never mentioned about my mental health aid. 

EMMA: 

Oh yeah! 

CADIE: 

Yeah! 

DONESHA: 

Som I am right now currently applying to be an EMT. I'm waiting to get my fingerprints and all paperwork done, but one thing I mentioned to the chief there, I told him that I had my mental health aid, and he mentioned a lot of times how as being an EMT, you experience so much traumatically when it comes to just being out on the road and helping people. And he looked back at me he said that's where a mental health aid would come in, to be able to help and sit down and talk to people and walk it through. 

And I feel like that was one experience for me. I was like, yes, I get to use my certificate.  

Other times is when I'm talking with people around me, my job as a peer academic coach here. I know sometimes we're not allowed to go too far with our clients, but I always tell my clients that I'm here for you to help you find a balance between academics and your well-being. I don't say mental health, I just say well-being. Because it's definitely important to know that you matter and to know that you're not in college by yourself. 

I feel like having that certificate has made me feel legal to now address a situation with a person and not feeling like I'm overstepping. Unless I have permission, it's all about asking before doing. But yeah, my mental health aid certificate has played a tremendous role with now kind of being there and being able to talk to people and help them through whatever they're going through. 

CADIE: 

Yeah, absolutely.  

Donesha, I can't believe that I'm even saying this because this time has flown by so fast, but we've come to our very last question. And we like to ask all of our guests the same final question. 

And as you are the first guest, you're the first one to hear it. Our question is, what advice would you give for our listeners, specifically any freshmen who are majoring or minoring in the psych department right now?  

DONESHA: 

Wow, nice question.  

CADIE: 

Thank you, thank you. 

DONESHA: 

I guess to make it short and sweet, just know that your journey is always going to look different from others. 

Your path is your path. Your walk is your walk. You don't have to feel like you have to rush or run when you see someone else running. 

You can wait and you can do it at your own pace. Didn't want to make that rhyme, but it's the truth. I learned that the more I looked at other people's lives, the more I got lost in mine. 

But the more I stay on track of my own life, the more I started to figure out things that I want to do. And I started to feel confident in the rooms and places and jobs because now I'm not doing this for other people, or I'm not doing this to feel accepted by the world, but I'm doing this because I chose to do it. So my advice is just whatever you want to do, be happy if you like doing it and your journey is yours. 

EMMA: 

Thank you for saying that. I think that is very good advice to share and very good advice to close out our, my goodness, our very first episode, official episode. So thank you, Donesha, for joining us. 

DONESHA: 

Of course. Thank you for having me.  

EMMA: 

You offered incredible insight and you've just been lovely to talk to. 

Is there anything you would like to shout out or promote? Anyone you'd like to shout out or promote? Where can listeners find you on social media or in CHSS?  

DONESHA: 

Oh, yeah. Well, shout out to my professor at Therapeutic Communication. Because of you, I know how to sit down and not laugh in a client's face when they're telling me about their problems. 

Shout out to my Patriot leaders over the summer.  

Yes, I was able to break my shell. I'm not introverted. I'm actually, what is it? Extroverted. Yeah. You can follow me on my socials is love Donesha. 

Just simple. Love Donesha. It's two extra E's for love. 

And then it's just Donesha, D-O-N-E-S-H-A. TikTok is the same thing. Love Denisha. 

EMMA: 

Do you have a LinkedIn?  

DONESHA: 

Oh, my LinkedIn? Yes. Please follow me on LinkedIn. It's Donesha George. 

So D-O-N-E-S-H-A and George, G-E-O-R-G-E.  

EMMA: 

All right. Well, once again, Donesha, thanks for being here. 

Listeners, thank you so much for listening to this episode of CHSS Connection.  

CADIE: 

Hey, thank you for listening to this episode of CHSS Connection. This podcast is hosted and written by Emma Howard and Cadie Junker. 

Our audio engineer is Dennis Gabitov. Our supervisor is Eleana Velasco. This podcast is produced by George Mason University's College of Humanities and Social Sciences, Undergraduate Academic Affairs. 

Special thanks to the Mason Innovation Exchange for their recording studio. The podcast could not happen without them. This project was developed in collaboration with Career Services and the On Campus Internship Program. 

If you love the show and want to interact with more of our content, follow us on Instagram @chsspod or check out the CHSS website where there is an ongoing library of our episodes. You can also be a potential guest on our podcast.  

EMMA: 

If you enjoyed the show and would like to express your support, there are a few things you can do. 

You can leave a review wherever you are listening to this podcast. You can help by word of mouth, either by telling someone directly who might be interested in the show or posting about it on social media, tagging at @chsspod. All these things help support the show and we appreciate anyone who has done it or will do so in the future. 

Again, thank you for tuning in to this episode. We hope you will tune in to the next episode where we are joined by CeCe Keen to discuss different resources that CHSS students can utilize. But until then, stay curious, 

CADIE: 

Stay creative! 

BOTH: 

And stay connected. 

. 

 

---

Episode 02 Transcribed by TurboScribe.ai.  

EMMA: 

Hello! Welcome to CHSS Connection, a podcast where we interview different students about all things CHSS, from academics to careers to everything in between. This is a student success podcast for CHSS students by CHSS Students. However, if you're not a CHSS student, welcome! We're so glad you're here. I'm Emma Howard. CADIE: I'm Cadie Junker. BOTH: And we're your hosts. CADIE: In this episode, we're discussing a variety of resources inside and outside of CHSS. Of course, we could not do this alone. So today, we are joined by Cece Keen. Cece, thank you so much for joining us. How are you doing today? CECE: I'm good. How are you guys? CADIE: I'm doing great. We're so glad that you're here. CECE: Yes, thanks for having me. EMMA: So we're going to kick things off. CECE: Okay. EMMA: Just a very basic question. Cece, what's your class and major? CECE: Yeah, so I was originally the class of 2027, but I am now the class of 2026, and will be graduating in May. EMMA: Ooh, congratulations. CECE: Thank you, guys, yeah! And the second question was, what was my major, right? CADIE & EMMA: Mmm-hmm CECE: Yeah, so my major is psychology with a concentration in clinical psychology. CADIE: Why'd you choose GMU? And more specifically, what drew you to study psychology here? CECE: Yeah, so that's a great question, actually. So when I was a upcoming junior in high school, I came to a conference here. I used to be interested in journalism. CADIE: WJMC? CECE: Yes. EMMA: Oh, my gosh. CADIE: Oh, my gosh. Yes! CECE: Yes! So, I met Elena, and I met all of the supporting staff for that. And I enjoyed it very much. And this was 2021, I want to say. So, none of the newer buildings were here. So it wasn't the scenery that drew me in, but it was really the staff. We had an opportunity to speak to the president and also the vice president of the university as well, which really drew me in. They were really nice. They were willing to answer questions. And really, they just made me feel seen, honestly, as a high school student. And so this became the top choice I had, and it was my top choice until I was a senior in high school. I actually found out I was accepted during an exam in high school. CADIE: Oh my gosh! CECE: Yes. And I told my teacher, I go, “Hey, I just got the decision for the college that I wanted to get into. Is there any way I can check this?” She said, “Yeah, go, go, go.” And so I go into the kitchen. There was a kitchen in this classroom. And I shut the door. And I literally start screaming, jumping up and down that I got into the school. I was celebrating GMU like it was Berkeley, Harvard. No, it was literally the best thing ever. And when it comes to me studying psychology, I was interested in journalism for a very long time. But it wasn't until my senior year of high school I realized that that's not something, well, what I wanted to do with my journalism degree is something that I could have done with a psychology degree. And so what I did was, I've always been told I'm really good at giving advice and just making people feel seen and heard when they're coming to me about their problems or the things that they're going through. And I realized that that's something that I really enjoy doing. And so I've decided to study psychology and then hopefully go the social work route to be licensed as a therapist in a few years. And then become a therapist and help people. I feel like if I'm good at it, like socially, I can be really, really good at it professionally as well. CADIE: Yeah, that sounds great. The reason why I reacted that way for WJMC, that's who also reached out to me. And that's why I'm here at Mason. CECE: Yes! CADIE: So it is a very efficient recruitment program, actually. CECE: Yes, very much. CADIE: It's such an enjoyable conference. EMMA: Yeah, the only affiliation I have with, it's WASJ, right? CECE: WJMC. EMMA: WJMC. Did I say the Wall Street Journal? ALL: *laughter* CADIE: No, it's the Washington Journalism and Media Conference. CECE: Yes, get it right, Emma. EMMA: My bad. Yeah, my only affiliation with that is when I worked at the Corner Pocket, they had their little welcome ceremony there. CECE: Yes, that's exactly what happened the first year I did it. And then, of course, they switched up some things. It really opened up a door to opportunities for me because I got to meet Donna Bash. I think she's a really popular news reporter. She came. We went to the, I can't remember exactly what it's called, but it's a very popular place in DC where a lot of news reporters were there. We met Brian Lamb, who was the former CEO of, what, CNN, I believe, or something like that. Yeah, it was a really cool experience. So I really enjoyed it. CADIE: I went the year after you. I was in the 2022 conference. And I know we went to, like, Planet Word as a museum. CECE: Yes, we went there too. CADIE: And then we went to, oh my gosh, I think it was, like, the National Press Office or something like that. CECE: Yes, that's what it is, the National Press Club! CADIE: Yeah, National Press Club. That's what it is. CECE: Yeah, and it opened up the door to a lot of opportunities. I served on the Youth Advisory Board, so I was able to go into the planning committee for the next year's conference. So it was actually a really cool experience, and I really enjoyed it. So yeah. CADIE: That's great. EMMA: Well, I can't remember the acronym. WXYZ. Listen up, because this is a very effective promoting and recruiting opportunity. CECE: They're great. EMMA: Cece, coming back to what drew you to GMU. It's incredible to hear your story about your excitement in coming to GMU. And I will just say for listeners that I've worked with Cece in one of the capacities that she's going to talk about this episode. And going into that, it sounds like you've really made the most of your experience here at George Mason. And I'd love to hear from you, or, well, we'd love to hear from you, of in what resources and offices are you affiliated with? CECE: Yes, so that is a great question. There is a lot. I was, I used to be affiliated with the admissions office where I worked as a Mason ambassador. And now I am affiliated with the office of NSFP, which is New Student and Family Programs. Emma knows! I am also affiliated with the office of University Housing and Residence Life. I work there as an RA. And I want to say I am also affiliated with the office of the College of Humanities and Social Sciences as well. I am saying this now because I want to keep a joke from a previous episode. So I'm making this disclaimer now is that we've been recording our episodes out of order. So because I made a reference in an earlier episode. I don't know why I'm taking this time. But I made a reference earlier that like listeners, you will find that as you go along and listen to the episodes, there's a lot of references to Patriot Leader, NSFP, Global Gateway. CECE: And you have to do the thing! You have to do the thing. EMMA: Yes. CECE: Do the thing! Do the thing! You have the power to do it! Do it! EMMA: The chant? CECE: Yes! EMMA: Great. Just to make sure. EMMA: NS-. EMMA & CECE: FP! EMMA: Okay. Sorry. Anyways, so-. CADIE: Guys, I've never done NSFP. I've never done NSFP. EMMA: Let's-, wait, let's take this time to teach you how to do the chant. For some background, the NSFP chant, it's what everyone in NSFP, but really like the Patriot Leaders and the student coordinators do it. It's kind of how we just get everyone's attention. It's also just a really just fun, like unifying moment. And so how it goes is that one person, usually like a pro staff or a student coordinator would say NS, and then everyone else would say? CECE: FP. EMMA: And then there's a clap. CECE: Yeah. A little clap. EMMA: Yeah. CADIE: Okay. EMMA: Are you ready, Cadie? CADIE: Yeah. EMMA: Try it. Okay. NS-. CECE & CADIE: FP! CADIE That reminds me of my high school chant. We're getting so off topic this episode. EMMA: Tangent town! We love it here! CADIE: Yes. So I went to a high school called Eldorado High School. And what we would always do, our chant would start out the same way. Somebody in the crowd would always call E-L, and then the crowd would chant back E-L-D-O. And then we would all go E-L-D-O, R-A-D, Eldo, Eldo, Eldorado. CECE: Were you a band kid? CADIE: I was not. But I was friends with a lot of band kids. CECE: Okay. Because I was a band kid and we had a chant similar, but it was like our school mascot or something. EMMA: So the reason I think we've gone on this tangent initially was, listeners, you will find a lot of references to the various things that Cadie and I are affiliated with. And you'll find that our guests are affiliated with those things both intentionally and sometimes unintentionally as you listen along. Just a neat little inside look. Well, great. You're affiliated with so many things, Cece. CADIE: Can you give us a rundown of some of the resources that you'd like to highlight specifically? CECE: Within those or? CADIE: Yeah. Within those offices, even with outside of the offices, just whatever you think that you would like to talk about today. CECE: Yeah. So, I listed, what, four or five offices, I want to say. I will say that if you're into just talking to people, and if Mason is really something that you enjoy and you want other people to kind of take part of that enjoyment, I would highly suggest becoming a Mason ambassador or a Patriot Leader next year. I think the sign-ups are closed at the moment. However, I do think that you should take those typical job or positions into consideration. It gives you a chance to give tours to on-campus students and families, or incoming students and families, and just share your own personal Mason experience with them. I know it's a job that I did for about two years, both of them. I was a Mason ambassador for two years or a year and a half, and then I was a Patriot Leader for two years and still ongoing. And those are two jobs that I actually really, really enjoyed. Another job or just position on campus, leadership position on campus, I'd like to shout out is the RA position, which is through the Office of Housing and Residence Life. This role is basically you living in the dorms, first-year, upperclassmen, wherever you're placed. I mean, you serve as a leader to the students that are living there. This gives you the opportunity to just lead them, give them resources, kind of like I'm giving you guys at the moment. You get to do programming. You get to decorate bulletin boards, decorate the halls, throw events. It's a really, really fun opportunity and gig, in my opinion. I've enjoyed it very much, and it's opened the door to a lot of opportunities and a lot of future jobs that I will be taking a look at soon. And then the last one would probably be the CHSS mentor job or role that I'm currently in as well. So this gives me the opportunity to participate in CHSS events. I know we did a tie-dyeing event, our Back on the Block Party earlier this semester. And so we were able to come out, get students' shirts tie-dyed and also just play games and offer snacks and pizza and things like that. I had a really great time there. And then I also do some other programs as well, work with administrators within the office as well, one-to-one on certain projects and things like that. So if you're into management or admin or just like planning, I do feel like thatall of these roles are pretty much good for you. So, yeah. EMMA: Mm-hmm. How did you first get involved in these resources? CECE: I was a very involved student in high school, and I kind of, life kind of hit me in the face when I got to college because I tried to do all of these things at one time, and it just was not working. And so I kind of just took some other things off the plate, my plate, and realized that I have three more years here. I have plenty of time. And so I just took a moment to really focus on the one thing, and that was being a Mason ambassador my first year. And I did that the entire time, and it offered, and it opened the door to me becoming an RA because at the time, Mason ambassadors still did housing tours. And so I got very acquainted with the housing staff and the pro staff members, and every chance I got, I expressed, because I loved my RA. My RA was great. And so I was like, “I'm going to do this. I'm going to do this.” And so every time I gave a housing tour, I would always tell one of the housing administrative people, like, “Hey, I'm interested. I want this job. What do I do?” And they're like, “The application's open here.” And I went and I applied the first day it opened because I was that passionate about it. And the next thing I know, I'm in there, I'm in the interview, and then the next thing I know, I've been accepted, and here I am. So yes, I would definitely say that's how I got involved at first. And then kind of doing those two things kind of opened the door to everything else. When I got accepted into the RA position, I also became a Patriot Leader at the same time, kind of the same scenario and situation. I loved my Patriot Leader, which is an orientation leader, if you guys haven't picked up on that yet. But my Patriot Leader was amazing. I loved him. He was very understanding. He made me feel seen and heard. And I was like, I want to be that for other students as well. And so I also applied for that at the same time I applied to become an RA. And I found out at the exact same time that I was accepted into the roles. Yeah. So it was really, really great. CADIE: Oh my gosh. CECE: Yeah. And so now I've been doing both jobs for two years, and I couldn't be happier. EMMA: What inspired you to work with these resources? CECE: I honestly would say because they were very supportive to me. And I kind of feel that working with these resources or working in these offices were my way of paying them back for their kindness to me and making me feel seen and heard. And these offices also gave me an opportunity to kind of look into my future, like because of these offices, they're pretty much who I'm going to be working for in the future, like through grad school, they're going to be getting me through grad school. So it's like, yeah, like these offices granted me opportunities and even opened the door for more opportunities beyond that. So this is my way of saying thank you to them and just showing my appreciation for what they've done for me. And taking advantage of the opportunities so that I can influence other students so they can fill those spots when I'm gone or when other students are gone as well. EMMA: I'd love to make a note about what you said a little bit ago about how you want to take on so much your first year and then you realize you had so much more time. And then I appreciate how you kind of laid out your career path here at Mason. And I hope that's relieving to our listeners that you can really take it one step at a time because I'm someone who likes to take on a lot of things at a time because I'm certainly someone who does not like to let opportunities go. And it's good to be reminded that you don't have to do everything at once. One thing will lead to another. Just trust the process. CECE: Yeah, definitely. Because during that time, like when I tried to do everything at one time, I got burnt out very, very quickly as a freshman. Like I kept trying to overload myself with classes and then trying to find a job and then doing all of these extracurriculars. And it's OK to not do it all at once. In high school, I did everything under the sun, but I also had my mom there to tell me, “Hey, Cece, you have to go here.” And she was also the one taking me to these places. But when you get to college, you're very independent and your mom's not here to take you to these places or to remind you that you have this due and that due and your professors aren't going to track you down. So I really had to take a moment, take a step back and really look at what I have going on and understand that, hey, I can't do it all right now. Once I get this under control, once I'm more matured within my schooling journey or within my degree journey, then I can add more things to my plate. But until then, I can't do it right now. That was probably the best decision I made in terms of school and my academic journey, because if not, I still would be burnt out. And I'm not. So, yeah. CADIE: And I also feel like there's so much anxiety within different career fields within CHSS because I think one of the most common pieces of advice that we get is don't let any opportunity pass you by. Like always say yes. Always take what opportunities you can because you never know what that opportunity might lead to. And on one hand, that might sound like good advice on paper, right? Take the opportunity. See if you can get a job. See if you can do this. You never know what it might lead to in a positive sense. But also, it might just lead to you getting burnt out. Yeah. And I think it's really powerful to say, like, it is OK to not be involved in everything all at once. You can “put it off”, and I'm using air quotes when I say that, for a year or two. It's OK. You've got time. EMMA: Thank you. CADIE: Yeah. EMMA: We're able to follow these threads because of you just being here and offering your insight. CECE: Thank you. Thank you. CADIE: Going back, what sort of work do you do for each of these resources? I know that we've talked a lot about NSFP and also being an RA. I'm also curious about your CHSS Pop and Talk that you had mentioned. So what does that work look like? CECE: So for the CHSS Pop and Talk specifically, basically, me and Gabby, my colleague, she's also a grad within the CHSS department as well, we sit at a table. It's basically sitting until we're approached. And we have some advertisements out. We have some flyers out. We have snacks. And we also have a question jar, just asking them kind of like a little trivia thing to keep them engaged. So this is just us. They pick a question out of the jar, and it's like, how many majors are within the CHSS department? Or how many minors are in the CHSS department? Kind of just getting their brains working a little bit just to see how much they know about our department. And if they don't know it, that's fine. We'll just educate them on what we have to offer, basically, when we're approached. Other than that, we're just sitting there. We're talking. We'll probably grab some students that are walking by like, “Hey, have you heard of the CHSS Pop and Talk? Would you like to have a conversation with us? Would you like to spend a few minutes here?” You know, just things like that. I will say that a lot of students that we're approached by are not CHSS students. CADIE: Interesting. CECE: A lot of, yeah, a lot of these students are not within CHSS at all. They're actually, most of them are IT students or either within the College of Engineering and Computing. They're also always considering adding this as a minor, which, you know, and I, this is the thing that I really like about Mason is that no matter what your major is, you can add any minor you pretty much want to. So like you can be an engineering major and be a psychology minor. You can be a music major and be an education minor. Like it's really, really cool. I mean, that's what I really like. And them knowing about these possibilities or these chances, they approach us and they talk to us about, you know, what we have to offer. You know, a lot of people, especially in a lot of my psychology classes, a lot of them got a degree before in business and they're back now getting a degree in psychology. And I find that to be really, really cool. Some people, sometimes they don't want to do it at one time and they kind of just want to get one out of the way and then come back and do another. But I just find it really cool that they're able to do that. In other terms of being a CHSS mentor, we just kind of mentor students that need it. Honestly, any student that comes up to the table and they have like a personal question or if they just have questions in general about our lives specifically within CHSS, then we'll also answer those as well. It's just being a mentor to students, any CHSS student. EMMA: It's very neat to hear about how non-CHSS students are so drawn to this opportunity to learn more about the college. We have a question about that, or on that line of thought later on, but we're going to follow up on that because that's really neat to hear. CECE: It is very interesting. EMMA: So how can these resources, whether it's RA, Pop and Talk, CHSS Ambassador, what have you, these resources that you're involved in, how can they help students? CECE: Honestly, they can help them just in terms of gaining the experience, not any specific experience or maybe leadership experience, right? Because in all of these roles, you're being a leader, right? And so in each of the trainings for these roles or just the experience of working in these roles, you learn and develop as a leader basically. And this allows you to be a leader in pretty much every other aspect of your life. There is not a year that I've gone by inGeorge Mason that I haven't been a leader in some aspects. And I really appreciate that. I love leading people. I love helping people. And I love helping them grow and develop to be leaders as well. Seeing our generation grow up, seeing the freshmen grow up and become leaders and doing the things that I once did as well, it's very exciting to see and it's very heartwarming because it's like I remember you when you came in as a freshman and you were back and forth on a lot of things and now you know exactly what you want and you're doing and you're taking the necessary steps to get there. So honestly, just gaining leadership, leadership experience is what they gain from these. And maybe social skills as well. Public speaking is a really big one because it's a lot of, it's a really big part of pretty much all of these jobs, especially being a Patriot Leader. That's basically what the entire job is in itself. It's yelling and giving tours and telling them where to go. So it's pretty much the entire job. So probably public speaking, social skills, and then leadership skills. CADIE: Which students could really utilize these resources? CECE: Any students. Any student in any department. I will say for the CHSS Ambassadors position, specifically CHSS students, it'll help them develop and just being educated on what our college is, how many majors and minors that we have to offer, different resources within our college that we have to offer, not just to psychology students, comm students, but to all CHSS students as well. Yeah, just pretty much any student, honestly, for the other resources. NSFP is made and created for all students, any incoming, any current students, anybody can benefit from these resources. CADIE: And ain't that a beautiful thing to hear? CECE: Yes. EMMA: Yes. How can students get involved with these resources? Either by using them or working with them or in them? CECE: Yeah, both actually. Yeah. So if you're wanting to become an RA, I suggest talking to your RA. I know sometimes things get busy, but your RA, there's an RA on duty every night somewhere in your community. Don't be afraid to stop by and ask your RA. Applications are still open. They're still accepting. Actually, I think they closed yesterday. Did they close yesterday? CADIE: Well, by the time this episode airs. Maybe our applications will be open for the spring. Who knows? CECE: Yeah, hopefully. Yeah. We don't know. But yeah, just like if you see your RA, whether you're an upperclassman, freshman, whatever, and you're interested in this role, talk to your RA about it. Talk to your CDs. They're always in your buildings. Get involved. Help your RA set up an event. Ask them questions. That is what we are here for. In terms of NSFP or becoming a Patriot Leader, those applications have also closed. But also, if you see a student that you recognize from your orientation, or if you see an ongoing orientation session going on on campus, whether it's in the winter or the summer, feel free. I mean, some Patriot Leaders are on break sometimes. So if you see one just chilling, vibing by the elevator, don't be afraid to go up and ask them, “Hey, what is this job? And tell, what do you like about it? And how can I get involved?” And in terms of becoming a CHSS Ambassador, get involved and get connected with your CHSS professors, as well as just the CHSS office in general. I will say that the CHSS department is always throwing an event. We're having one tomorrow, actually, where we get to decorate cookies as well. And it's kind of like a networking event. Yeah. So just getting involved, going to those events. They're always posted on Mason 360. So there's always an opportunity to gain information there. And that is pretty much it, I'd like to say. CADIE: Beautiful! EMMA: Very thorough. CADIE: You say that is pretty much it, after giving a very comprehensive, well thought out, knowledgeable answer. No, that all sounds great. I think a beauty in a lot of the resources that we have here at Mason is that you can both use them, but also become involved in them as well. Our next question for you. CECE: Okay. CADIE: Out of all the resources you're a part of, which one do you feel is the most underutilized by students? CECE: Oh, that is a great question. I'd say getting involved with CHSS mentors in the CHSS program. I will say that we always try to outreach students. We send emails and things like that. But we really want students to actually come and stay and really see what we're all about. But yes, CHSS is a really great college. Us as an office and us as CHSS Ambassadors, we always try to get students' attention. We always try to be there for them and things like that. But getting involved with that is going to be very beneficial because that's what I did. I'm going to be honest, as a freshman, I literally ignored these events. I did not go to one because I didn't become a CHSS Ambassador until my second semester of my sophomore year. So literally, I'm coming up on a year right now. I would skip these events. I wouldn't go. And then my sophomore year, I stopped by one, and I was like, “Wow, who are you guys?” And like, “Oh, we're CHSS Ambassadors. We work for the office. We do events. We do student outreach and things.” And then they had a networking event where they had CHSS alumni here. So there were a lot of professionals here who do what I wanted to do. And so I was like, let me go to this event. Let me get connected. Let me get some LinkedIn connections. And let me learn about what clinical psychology is and what the job actually entails. And so I go and I see Erin and Eleana. And I'm like, I know them. And so I go up to them. I'm like, “What is this event? I didn't know you guys were hosting.” “Yeah, we have our CHSS Ambassadors.” And I go, “CHSS Ambassadors? What's that?” And then they explain it to me. And I was like, “Wow, I think I would be really interested in that.” They're like, “Really? We didn't know that you would be interested.” Yes, absolutely. 100%. And so they go ,and they're like, “OK, we'll send you an email.” And I get an email about all of the information. And next thing I know, I'm signed up and I'm working in an event. And my first event, I got to speak in front of the students. And a few months ago, I actually hosted a panel for the CHSS Ambassador, well, for CHSS, I think it was a fall visit day or just a networking event for high schoolers to come and see what our university was about. And I hosted a panel where I got to ask people questions. And then we got to answer questions from the audience as well. So in the CHSS Ambassador realm in the world, I've kind of come up as well as a leader. So I've been able to lead a lot more of events and speak at these events and things like that. So it's been great. EMMA: I want to ask you, in all of these resources, what is your favorite memory? CECE: Oh, wow. EMMA: Which I know might be hard. CECE: Wow, I didn't know you were going to ask that. Probably becoming a Patriot Leader. Only because I met you. And then also, I got to make an impact on someone else's life. And I feel like that's one of my passions is being an impact to someone else and helping someone else. And literally, we're the first faces they see when they come to the university, the first students that they meet that already go here. So you're already making an impact just by being present and just by being there. And especially with the roles that we were assigned with in the morning, check-in and your directional support. And so literally, you're literally the first face they see when they step on this campus. So you're already making an impact there. But also just through that, I've made a lot of friends. And again, it's opened the door to a lot more opportunities to work for other offices on campus, as well as just be a voice on campus. And allow for people to know your name. Do you know how good it feels to walk by? “Oh my gosh, you were my Patriot Leader. Or you were a Patriot Leader. I saw you dancing on the stage.” And I'm like, “Yeah, that was me. You should do it too.” But yeah, probably becoming a Patriot Leader was probably my favorite. EMMA: Yeah. I mean, there's so many things I've been a part of here at Mason in the limited time since I've transferred. But I mean, I think, I mean, a Patriot Leader is definitely the one that has, I feel, opened up the most doors for me. It's amazing. I mean, it's the office that I've stuck around the longest with and have advanced in. And so, no, it's, be a Patriot Leader, guys. Change your life. CECE: It changes your life. CADIE: And speaking of changing lives, what connections have you made through your many resources? CECE: I've actually found a way to get my grad degree paid for, actually, through... CADIE: Oh my god. CECE: Yes, through that. Yes. So once I actually apply to the program that I'm going for, and actually, like, once I apply to the job that could possibly pay for me to go to school, then I'll be set. But it's through the housing job. So they have graduate CD positions, graduate Community Director position, which is what I'm going for. And basically, you're a graduate RA, but not really. So we have Community Directors who supervise the RAs. And then you have a graduate Community Director, which helps the community director do the same thing, basically. And then they'll pay for my degree up to a certain amount of credits per semester. And then I'll go from there. And I'll work here or be in that department until I finish my grad degree. And then we will go on from there. So super exciting. And yes. And then also, again, from my admissions job that I worked freshman year, it allowed me to become a Patriot Leader as well as an RA. So literally, the jobs I'm holding now is pretty much because of my admissions job my freshman year, which really wasn't a job. It was a volunteer opportunity. Like, I really wanted to do it. And so it led to me kind of to where I am right now. CADIE: That's a great way to finish out Act 1. EMMA: Yeah. Listeners, stick around. We're going to head to the bulletin board now. You are going to hear from our correspondent for this episode-. CADIE: Erin. Erin's going to be our correspondent for this episode. EMMA: It's Erin. Woo. CADIE: We love Erin. CECE: Yeah. EMMA: You're going to hear from our correspondent, Erin, as well as some shout outs and CHSS announcements. We'll see you in Act 2. CADIE: Don't skip this! This isn't an ad break! This is the bulletin board. In every episode, this is where we will announce upcoming events and opportunities in CHSS hear from correspondents, and give shout outs to the resources that make this podcast possible. Today, we're hearing from Erin McSherry, who is the Assistant Dean for student success at CHSS's Academic Affairs. If you could please share with us your name, your position, and your email. ERIN: Absolutely. My name is Erin McSherry. I am the Assistant Dean for student success in the College of Humanities and Social Sciences. And my email address is emcsherr at gmu.edu. I can also actually be reached at our advising email, which is chssadv at gmu.edu. CADIE: And for anybody who doesn't know, where is CHSS located? ERIN: Oh. So we're mostly located in Horizon Hall. Our departments are in Horizon Hall. Our academic affairs office is in Horizon, up on the sixth floor. We are in suite 6300. The Dean's Dean's office is in suite 6100. But our departments are located either in Horizon or other buildings across campus. So some of our bigger units may not actually be in Horizon, but you can find undergrad academic affairs up on the sixth floor of Horizon Hall. CADIE: Perfect. Can you summarize what CHSS does as far as events, resources, things that you provide students in the College of Humanities and Social Sciences? ERIN: So in our college, in CHSS, we have many, many different resources and opportunities for undergraduate students. And when I try to frame what my job responsibilities are, I like to center it on thinking about where are our opportunities throughout a student's journey at Mason to be able to embed different opportunities and different levelsof support. So those include a couple big student groups. So we have a group called the CHSS Ambassadors. This is a group of undergrads who work with our office on everything from prospective student events to current student events.They are the voice of CHSS for us when we know our audience wants to hear the voice of CHSS instead of a staff member like myself. So the CHSS Ambassadors is an open group that any CHSS major can join. There is a little application they fill out and then once they are accepted they just become part of a group that we connect with regularly. We provide training and they participate with us on a variety of events. Another group of students that work in CHSS are our peer mentors for a program called the PASS program. This is the Path to Academic Student Success program. It is open to all CHSS undergrads who might want to participate in a semester-long program to boost their academics, connect with a peer mentor, a lot of different ways that they can sort of focus in on, “How do I get better academically?” And these peer mentors are students who maybe have gone through PASS themselves or are just students who like connecting with others on like a support level. So the PASS peer mentors and the program itself is another opportunity that students can do. Connected to PASS is something called the Pop and Talks which may be familiar to the audience. These are opportunities to chat with a peer mentor every Thursday from 2:30 to 4:30 in the Horizon Atrium. So Pop and Talk is a place to just come and connect around anything that happens to be going on in a student's journey or during that semester. Other resources that we have and a lot of these are sort of, you know, tied to students' academics. So there are things like a Learning Assistant program. The CHSS Learning Assistant program is one of our newer initiatives. Right now we have three different courses in the college. They tend to be bigger entry-level courses where we have students who are majoring in that subject area who act as an LA. So not a TA, but a Learning Assistant. So we actively invite applications to be a Learning Assistant. So majors in history, majors in criminology, majors in psychology, this is an opportunity for them to get in the classroom to learn teaching and again to support their fellow students. That's one that's very closely tied to academics. We have big events that we do. We have small events that we do. Some of the bigger events include our welcome reception, Back on the Block, every August, typically the first week after the semester starts. That's just a nice big welcome event for new students, continuing students. Typicallywe're tie-dying shirts, we're having pizza, we're having popcorn, a cool opportunity to connect. Another big event that we'll do once a semester is called CHSS Link Up. So the Link Ups are a really great career and networking focused opportunity where we bring alumni back to campus. So we have alumni from different industries, different fields, all CHSS majors, all George Mason graduates who come back for an evening of talking with current students about their journey, what it was about their CHSS degree that they're really utilizing right now, and to kind of give an edge into, “How do I break into a certain field?” It's just a really good chance to form a professional connection and spend an evening thinking about, “What do I want to do after graduation?” Another opportunity that we'll have is called the CHSS Leadership Lunches. So every spring for our graduating students we have a lunch where we invite all students graduating in the spring and the summer to come and have lunch with us and meet with members of the CHSS leadership to talk about how their experience was, to share their lessons learned. It's just a nice celebration in advance of graduation to come and talk with folks in the Dean's office. So other events, programs that we do in CHSS have developed sort of organically over the last couple of years as we understand what do undergrads need and at different parts of the semester, what really is helpful during midterms, what really do students maybe want to attend at the end of the semester. And so we've sort of focused in on events that center on just a chance to de-stress, a chance to think about well-being and something as simple as come have some donuts and would you like to paint a picture? Would you like to do a little bit of crafting? Would you like to just kind of manipulate some play-doh for a little while? So we will have midterm de-stress events. We have end of the semester de-stress as well or a little picnic outside. So this is just recognition of just come by, hang out, see, you know, grab a snack, take a break. We know things are busy. We know students don't have a lot of time. So we set up these events that are easy to drop by, easy to just come in, pick up something that is our way of saying we're thinking about you, we care about you. Just come for a minute and then move on with your day. So those are some of my favorite events to do honestly because they're fun for us to put together and I like to see when students do hang out for a little while, make connections with each other or you can just see it's working.They're kind of relaxing. They're sitting on a picnic blanket. It's a good opportunity for that type of thing. Other opportunities for a CHSS student. I'll talk a little bit about, so we have every spring, a lot of our events are centered in the spring, the CHSS Undergraduate Research Symposium. This is another big one. This is a great academically connected, career helpful, grad school prep helpful type of event. So this spring, 2026, April 23rd, we already have the date, it's Thursday, in the atrium of Horizon Hall. We'll clear out all of the chairs, all of the space and it is an event where students can come and showcase their research and we know that in pretty much every major students are doing a research project and these projects fit well with doing a poster. So the entire event is poster presentations, can be video recorded presentations throughout the atrium where faculty come, staff come, fellow students come and students have a chance to showcase the work that they've done in a course or on a project with a faculty member. It's another just really great event to highlight hard work and upper level courses, a chance to talk about your skills, develop that expertise and talking about what you've learned, what you've gained and we will feed you as well. CADIE: Perfect, yeah. So I know you already shared your email but if students want to reach out with you, make an appointment with you to talk about whatever it may be, how can they do that? ERIN: So any student who's interested in learning more about getting involved in any of our events and programs is welcome to reach out to our office's general advising account. It is that chssadv@ gmu.edu that reaches me, that reaches our entire student success team in undergraduate academic affairs and if it's a question we can answer, we will. If it's not, we will make that referral to to another individual. CADIE: Perfect and thanks so much for that information Erin. Now on to some resources for you guys. Welcome to the Mason Innovation Exchange, also known as the MIX, George Mason University's marketplace media lab and entrepreneurship incubator. Located in Horizon Hall rooms 1408, 1410, and 2100, the MIX gives you access to cutting edge tools like 3D printers, laser cutters, CNC routers, textiles, and electronics. We also offer pathways into advanced opportunities through our micro-credential courses in blimp prototyping, drone prototyping, robotics, and the NSFI core program for the student entrepreneurs. The MIX is always collaborating with student RSOs, academic departments, and courses and events for the Mason community. Open Monday through Friday from 10 a.m to 8 p.m, the MIX hosts rotating workshops to help you kickstart your creative ideas. Learn more at themix.gmu.edu or find us on Mason 360 under Mason Innovation Exchange. Explore your potential with the MIX. If you're a CHSS student who wants to pop in and chat with a CHSS Ambassador, check out CHSS's Pop and Talk, a weekly event held Thursdays from 2:30 to 4:30 in the Horizon Hall atrium. Whether you want to explore the CHSScommunity, grab a snack or just say hi, Pop and Talk is here for you. EMMA: Welcome back listeners! We are now here in Act 2 where we're going to do some deeper reflection. So just to start things off, Cece, what do you think, in your time and experience in the various resources that George Mason offers, what do you think George Mason does particularly well when it comes to offering accessible resources to a wide range of students? CECE: Being considerate of everyone, we're already a very diverse and inclusive university and that kind of just adds to that, that's really reflected in all of their resources. I will say that this university allows it, like fixes it to where anybody can be anything, and when I mean it doesn't matter what your race is, ethnicity, sexuality, any of those things, they will allow you, you have an equal opportunity to everyone else. Not saying that there's not an equal opportunity anywhere else, but it's just like there is an equal opportunity here. There's no discrimination, there's no one above anybody else. If you want it, you go for it, right? And you're treated just like everyone else, which is what I love the most. So very, very, very good when it comes to diversity and inclusivity in those things. EMMA: Yeah! CADIE: Emma had mentioned earlier that we were going to have a question about non-CHSS students and Pop and Talk and CHSS resources and we have come to the time. CECE: Yes, let's go. CADIE: So our question to you, Cece, is in what ways do CHSS Ambassadors benefit students outside of CHSS, perhaps through events, support, or community building? CECE: Through sharing our personal experience, I will say, because a lot of the work that I do as a CHSS Ambassador is that. Like I stated earlier, that we have a lot of students that approach us at Pop and Talk who aren't CHSS students as well. I will say that the events that I work also as a CHSS Ambassador, so we do work a lot of admissions events. Sowe have our own station during those. And so we do have a lot of high school where some have declared their major, some haven't. And then there's also some events to where the high schoolers don't even know if they're coming to Mason yet. So we do have a lot of students with a lot of different thought processes in terms of what they want to do in college. So a lot of them want a psychology degree or a comms degree or any major within the CHSS department. And then some of them kind of want to go somewhere else, right? So a lot of it is just sharing my personal experience and I'm trying to make sure it's as real as possible because I don't want to lie to them, right? I share my good and I share my unpleasant experiences, but I also allow them to know like just how passionate I am about the program and the major that I'm studying with the department. So yeah, we just share as much of our personal experience as we possibly can. And we also just enlighten them on our program and what we have to offer. Like we have what over 70 majors and what 50, something like that. We have a lot of majors and we have a lot of minors, so we have a lot to offer. Sowe do share that information with them and we do make sure that they're informed on those things, but mainly just personal experience. EMMA: And it sounds like that's been very beneficial to the students who have come your way. CECE: 100%. Yeah, we have a student that actually comes to visit us every Wednesday. He's also my former resident from the first year that I was an RA and he's an IT student. He just comes by and he sits there and he chats with us. CADIE: I love that. CECE: Yeah, he's very interested in the things that we have going on. And sometimes we don't talk about CHSS things, we just talk about how his day was and what he's studying and his major. But you know, yeah, he comes and he sits with us and he, yeah, he just vibes. Kind of, yeah. EMMA: We love that. In your roles, how do you navigate being a leader and a peer when students come to you with concerns, questions, or personal challenges? CECE: I kind of think of the advice that I received my freshman year when I would approach people who were of authority or who were leaders in my life. And I kind of, I use my personal experience there as well. I've been through quite a few things, similar challenges in terms of education and kind of figuring out exactly what I want when it comes to being a student or trying to see where I want to be in the future. But honestly, yeah, I just give them the best advice that I possibly can. And I try to be as honest as possible, but also be as encouraging as possible as well. Yeah, it's a lot. That's a very, that's a very complicated and complex question because it depends on the situation, honestly, and it depends on exactly what they're asking me to do or what they're wanting as well. Sometimes you just want someone to listen to them, right? And so sometimes I do nothing except for be there, and I sit with the,m and I support them. And then sometimes they want to know, have you ever been in a situation like this? And that's where I can share my own personal experiences. And then other times I can just give them some tips on how to be better or how to go about a certain situation too. But that's like, it just depends on the scenario. It depends on the situation at the time. And it's kind of complicated when it comes to that, but I do try to be the best that I can possibly be in those moments for them. EMMA: And that's all you can do. And it sounds like that in your time here and your time in these roles, you've definitely have established that balance and that have honed that ear for figuring out when to tune up your leadership and when to tune up your peer. CADIE: The nuances within being a leader and like a guidance person. I don't want to say guidance counselor because that's like a different thing. CECE: Yeah. CADIE: You know, there is a certain nuance and navigation that you need to have within those relationships. CECE: Yeah. EMMA: Yes. CADIE: Our next question for you from any of these positions or resources, can you share a moment that you're particularly proud of or when you knew you had made an impact on a student? CECE: Oh, okay. I guess when a student had came to me with some concerns because the RA role is a very competitive job on campus, as you know, like it's one of the higher paying jobs and a lot of perks come with it. You get free housing, you know, just a lot of perks that come with it. And a lot of students want this job. A lot of my residents, they're like, you know, “Cece I don't know if I'm going to be good enough for this. I don't know if this is good enough. Like, like, what do I do? What do I do?” This is my first year and a student of mine, I was like, “You're going to do great.” I said, “Just be yourself. That's all they want. They just want you to be yourself.” And I always tell my students and I tell anybody I talk to this that like, no matter if you know a person or not, they can always tell when you're doing something you don't normally do or when you're not being yourself, like something's off already. Like, I know that you don't normally do this, even though I don't know you, you know, you don't do this. I know you don't do this. Because when I try to do something that I don't normally do, I mess up really bad. Um, or either I stutter, or I just mess up, I mess up, I really do. And so I just say, just be the best version of you that you can possibly be. And we will go from there. And my student became an RA. And now they're an RA. Yeah, they were accepted. And now they're an RA in another community on campus. So I guess in that moment, I guess I can say that I've truly made an impact as a leader because my advice helped them get to where they wanted to go. EMMA: Yeah, thank you for sharing. CECE: Yeah! EMMA: Can you tell us how working in these resources has impacted your college experience? CECE: I will definitely say that it has helped me out financially. I will say that when I came into college finances were definitely a struggle for me. Just do like college is it's expensive. I mean, it is like, you know, you have to pay bills, you have to pay for textbooks, you have to do all of these things. Right? But with the jobs that I have through these offices, I get scholarships, and I get stipends, and they helped me financially, to be able to afford textbooks, or to afford tuition, or, you know, like I like the work that I've done, pays off through them giving me scholarships, basically. So they've definitely helped me financially. But they've also made a way in my life in terms of just helping me develop as a leader. Like I said earlier, I am a leader in pretty much every aspect of my life because of these roles, and because of the things that I've been able to do within them. So yeah, financially, in terms of in leadership, and also just friendships as well, connections, networking, things like that. CADIE: How do you think these resources can supplement or provide academic success and college experience for students? CECE: Oh, that's a great question. I will definitely say that the roles that I'm in, they do definitely hold students accountable when it comes to their academics. And a lot of jobs on campus, I'm pretty sure you guys have heard that you're a student first. Like they always say that you're a student first. So if your grades are not together, if your GPA is not at a certain point, you cannot work the job, right, because you have to prioritize your academics. That is why you're here. If you flunk out of George Mason, you can't still work the job. Right? So I will say that they help students academically in terms of encouraging them to prioritize their academics, and if they don't do well, then they can't work the job. You know what I mean? As a Patriot Leader, there's a certain GPA that you have to maintain as a Patriot Leader. As STUCO, there's a certain GPA that you have to maintain. As an RA, there's a certain GPA that you have to maintain, and if you don'tmaintain it, then they provide resources for you to bring your GPA up. And then, of course, you can't work the job if you don't do the work, basically. They have a great way of holding students accountable, and then they also offer resources if a student is really struggling in terms of academics, because that is why and how they're here. We can only work these jobs if we have good grades, we can only stay in the school if we have good grades. If you flunk out, you can't do anything. So just in terms of holding us accountable is how they provide support academically and encouraging us to put our academics first. EMMA: And I would say that I think a really nice thing is, in my personal experience of working in NSFP student centers and CHSS, is when... I'm a person that tries to be intrinsically motivated, but I've just noticed that when, because like you said, George Mason has these standards of your student first, and that when you are in these positions, you are already inherently surrounded by individuals who want to help keep you motivated as well. So it's not even like, I mean, of course, it's your supervisors and your professional staff who are going to support you if ever you fall short of making academic requirements, but I also think that there's a level of community of your fellow students and peers around you who help support you in your academic success and your jobs. CECE: Most definitely. EMMA: What would you say to students who are hesitant to utilize the resources you have mentioned? CECE: Do it scared. That's what I did. I might seem like a very confident person, but when it comes to approaching new things, especially, I get anxiety. I do. I get very scared, but I learn that I do everything the when I'm scared. Do it scared. Don't allow your fear or your feelings of anxiety or your feelings of you not potentially being good enough hold you back from accomplishing something that you want to accomplish. Be the best version of you that you can possibly be and go for it, and if they don't accept you for who you are, then it's not meant for you, but there is always something that is meant for you. At the time, you might be focused on something, and you might try it out, and like, this isn't for me. That is okay. That is okay. There's always something else out there that is for you. Just remember that. Don't be discouraged if you get one no. You keep going until you hear yes. Okay, so do it scared. Do it unsure. Do it. Do it. Don't do it unsure. Like, if you're not sure about it, don't do it, but do it scared. That's signs that you're going to do very well. EMMA: If you're unsure, ask for help. Ask for questions. CECE: Yeah, don't do it unsure. CADIE: Well, kind of going off of that note, what's one lesson you've learned during your time here at Mason and being so involved in all these resources? CECE: You can't do it all, and it's okay that you can't do it all. You don't have to be Superman or Superwoman. You don't have to do everything. Take it one step at a time. If you're, especially if you're a freshman, you have three to four years left, right? Take your time. You don't have to do everything at once. You don't have to do five to six clubs your freshman year and continue to do that. You don't have to do that. Take it one step at a time and utilize your resources. We have resources. You have your academic advisors, success coaching. You have your professors. You have CHSS. You have people within these departments that care about you. Utilize them. Go to them. Email them. Blow the emails up. That is what they're here for. Ask your questions, and there's no such thing as a dumb question at all. Ask your questions. Get them answered. Reach out to your professors, and just be you, but you do not have to do everything at one time. EMMA: Looking ahead, how do you see your experiences in these roles and these resources influencing how you support others post-grad? CECE: Very deep reflection, huh? I don't know. Just continuing everything that I've learned, kind of. I've just learned to, in terms of being a leader specifically, I've learned to kind of take into account how others feel and what their ideas may be and consider those ideas, so I guess in terms of being a therapist in the future, kind of listening to people and kind of trying things their way. As a therapist, your job is to not tell them what to do. It's to help them navigate life on their own, right? Yes, you can give them examples of techniques to use, but also it's about working with them and what's best for them and providing advice, but not telling them what to do, so honestly just listening to them, making them feel seen and heard, reflecting with them. Yeah, honestly, just a lot, just hearing people. CADIE: I can't believe we're even saying this, but... EMMA: We're at the end of our episode, actually. CECE: Wow. CADIE: This is our final question. CECE: Wow. CADIE: We like to ask everybody here the same final question, and that question is, what advice would you like to give to our listeners? CECE: Okay, I've said this like 50 times throughout the... EMMA & CADIE: Say it again! Say it again! CECE: Yes, but... CADIE: This is a thesis of the episode. CECE: Be the best version of yourself as you possibly can. Like I said before, they can tell that you're not being yourself just by first meeting you. Don't have to do everything at once. Take it one step at a time, and finally, do it scared. Do it scared. If you're scared, do it anyway, but if you're unsure, don't do it. Ask questions. Ask as many questions as you possibly can, but do it scared. Be yourself and just do it boldly, and that's it. EMMA: And I think that's a great way to close out this episode. Cece, is there anyone or anything that you would like to shout out or promote? CECE: Yes, NSFP. Become a Patriot Leader, and if you see your Patriot Leader, say hi to them. They'd love to hear from you. Become an RA. RAs are great. Become a CHSS Ambassador. If you're interested in that, do it. It's fun. EMMA: Yeah. Where can listeners find you on social media or in CHSS? CECE: Yes, so you can find me on social media at underscore Ciara Keen, C-I-A-R-A-K-E-E-N. You can find me on LinkedIn by the same name. Snapchat, the same name. Email, same thing. Pretty much it. EMMA: And finally, very, very last question. What are your post-grad plans? CECE: Yes, so like I said before, I'm graduating in May of 2026. I finished school in three years. So happy about that, but after that, I am planning to stay here next year and do either the social work graduate program or either the clinical mental health graduate program. And also, like I said before, work as a graduate CD if things go well with that. After that, we're going to see what happens. But that is the only thing I am sure of at the moment. EMMA: Well, Cece, thank you so much for being here. Listeners, thank you so much for listening to this episode of CHSS Connection. CADIE: Hey, thank you for listening to this episode of CHSS Connection. This podcast is hosted and written by Emma Howard and Cadie Junker. Our audio engineer is Dennis Gabitov. Our supervisor is Eleana Velasco. This podcast is produced by George Mason University's College of Humanities and Social Sciences, Undergraduate Academic Affairs. Special thanks to the Mason Innovation Exchange for their recording studio. The podcast could not happen without them. This project was developed in collaboration with Career Services and the On-Campus Internship Program. If you love the show and want to interact with more of our content, follow us on Instagram @chsspod or check out the CHSS website, where there is an ongoing library of our episodes. You can also be a potential guest on our podcast. EMMA: If you enjoyed the show and would like to express your support, there are a few things you can do. You can leave a review wherever you are listening to this podcast. You can help by word of mouth, either by telling someone directly who might be interested in the show or posting about it on social media, tagging @chsspod. All these things help support the show and we appreciate anyone who has done it or will do so in the future. Again, thank you for tuning into this episode. We hope you will tune into the next episode, where we are joined by Lillian Ryskamp to discuss being a research assistant for the psychology department here at GMU. But until then, stay curious, CADIE: Stay creative! BOTH: And stay connected!

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Episode 03: Halls to Horizon -A Glimpse Into Psychology Research  

Introducing Lillian Ryskamp and Her Psychology and Religious Studies Journey. Hello, welcome to CHSS Connection, a podcast where we interview different students about all things chess, from academics to careers to everything in between. This is a student success podcast for chess students by chess students. However, if you're not a chess student, welcome. We're so glad you're here. 0:33 I'm Emma Howard. 0:35 Speaker 2 I'm Katie Juncker, and we're your hosts. In this episode, we're discussing being a research assistant within the psychology program. Of course, we cannot do this alone. So today we are joined by Lillian Reiskamp. Lillian, thank you so much for joining us. How are you doing? 0:50 Speaker 3 I'm doing great, thanks so much for having me on. 0:52 Speaker 1 Of course, we're happy to have you here. So to kick things off, Lillian, what's your class and Major? 0:59 Speaker 3 So I am a junior at Mason. I'm actually a double major in psychology and religious studies and this semester is my first semester with a double major. So I had started off as a psych major and then I declared a religious studies minor and now I do both as a double major. 1:14 Speaker 1 How's that going for you, figuring out the double major? 1:17 Speaker 3 It's going really well so far. I mean knock on wood, it's again only my first semester, but I've been really enjoying it. I really have found a passion for religious studies throughout my college career so I have been really, I feel really thankful and lucky to be able to dive into it a little bit deeper in addition to my psychology major. 1:34 And credits wise it hasn't been too bad so far. I usually take summer classes so it's been definitely doable. 1:40 Speaker 1 We love summer classes, always helps us catch up and stay on top of things 100%. 1:44 Speaker 2 That we do. 1:46 Daily Tasks and Eye-Tracking Technology in Psychology Research Can you tell us a little bit about your position as a research assistant? 1:50 Speaker 3 Yeah, I'd love to. So I am currently working as an undergraduate research assistant in the psychology department. So I work under a PhD candidate in the industrial organizational field of psychology. So that's just kind of like one of the subgroups of psychology and I have been working with her for this is my second semester and essentially we work on a study using eye trackers. 2:16 So we use three different eye tracking machines that track participants eye movements throughout the study session. And then we use that information to see where they have been looking and collect data and information about them on a Zoom call. 2:29 Speaker 1 So you just alluded to that about the eye tracking. So is that the project that you're currently working on? 2:34 Speaker 3 That is the project that I work on as a research assistant under that graduate student. So my own personal study interests are a little bit different. I kind of got into that because I had a connection with the researcher. She was actually one of my professors and we met and she needed a research assistant. 2:51 Does that answer your question? 2:52 Speaker 1 Yeah, yeah. What in addition to that, what are some other tasks or responsibilities that you do? 2:59 Speaker 3 Me personally, I mostly help run sessions. It's basically just meeting the participants, explaining the process to them, making sure they understand how to use the equipment, making sure they understand what's going on throughout the process. And then there's kind of like the technological side of it, which is like the actual setup of the eye trackers. 3:18 And then like the proctoring part, which is where I just give them instructions over Zoom essentially. And then we do have another undergraduate research assistant who is solely in charge of scheduling. So that is another big part of it. It's very hard to coordinate that. Luckily I'm not the one who has to do that, but we have someone who is sole responsibility is to do the scheduling. 3:38 Speaker 2 Very nice. You had mentioned earlier industrial organizational psychology. 3:43 Speaker 3 For. 3:43 Speaker 2 Anybody who doesn't know, what does that branch entail? 3:48 From IO Psych to Finding Your Research Assistant Opportunity That's a great question. So it's basically, I would say it's like workplace psychology from my understanding of it. Again, this is not my specific subfield so I'm not the most well versed, but it's essentially understanding like workplace dynamics, understanding how to improve relationships in the workplace, relationships between people, relationships between people and technology, things like that. 4:08 Speaker 2 Gotcha. And I know you'd mentioned that this was your past professor that needed a research assistant. Is that how you found this position? And then how did you apply? 4:21 Speaker 3 Yeah, that's a good question. I would say that my specific situation is probably a little bit unique. So I guess I'll just tell you kind of what my situation was like and then I'll explain kind of what it's usually looks like for an undergraduate looking for a position like this. 4:36 So as I mentioned this researcher, she was my professor in the spring of this year. So I was taking a class with her and she needed a research assistant. So she just kind of like asked our class like if anyone's interested in this, come talk to me. So it was a very informal process for me personally. 4:53 We kind of just spoke about it and I told her I was interested and she kind of started doing the onboarding. So again, it was very kind of like casual and informal. I would say I'm pretty lucky in that regard. And then as far as like for a typical process for a position like this, it would be more probably like a formal application process. 5:12 A lot of professors at Mason are like running labs all the time and will need research assistance, but it's usually you kind of have to apply at the beginning of the semester. Essentially. You can look on the Mason websites and see like what professors and what undergraduate students are running labs. 5:28 You can look and see what research they're doing and see if it aligns with something you're interested in and then contact them to apply. 5:35 Speaker 2 Very cool. 5:36 Speaker 3 Obviously you've got a lot of experience and passion and research, and what research have you done prior to this? I really hadn't done a whole lot of research prior to this. I kind of found my passion for research a little bit more recently. The class that I met the lead researcher through that she was teaching was actually a research methods course. 5:56 So that semester I was taking research methods in psychology and statistics in psychology, which are both really foundational classes for research in psychology. And I loved both of those classes and just kind of started to develop like a passion for research. 6:12 And then also, of course, I did start the research assistantship that semester, which really helped me kind of get a little bit more familiar with the research process and what it looks like. And yeah, although I didn't really have a lot of research experience before that. I mean, I think it's not because there weren't opportunities. 6:28 It just wasn't something that I had really started exploring until this year. 6:32 Demystifying Research: Embracing Flexibility and Broad Applications Yeah, I will say as someone who, I mean, it wasn't until I entered college that I started to understand even in the most vaguest sense, what is research Because it when I thought of research when I was young and even go in like in high school, I was like research like tests and labs and things. 6:49 And then I'm an English major. So I now I'm getting into research about like archives and things and things like that. It's a very broad word in some so many ways. And if you feel it daunting and intimidating to like approach, what would you say to someone who is maybe hesitant to discover a passion for research or or or get into it? 7:09 Speaker 3 That's a good question. I think one of the great things about research that I really love about research and that drew me to research is that you can just research anything you're interested in. Like you mentioned, Emma, there's just so many areas of research. 7:24 It's such a broad field. And yeah, I think people maybe do have misconceptions about it. Like I guess before I was really getting into research, I would maybe just think of it in like a lab with like a test tube and things like that. But you know, it covers so many areas and I think that's what's so beautiful about it is you can find what's really interesting to you and just really dive into that. 7:43 I do think it can be intimidating, but I also think for me personally, something that kind of made it more approachable for me was connecting with my lead researcher because like I said, she's like APHD candidate. So she's also just kind of, I don't want to say learning the ropes because she definitely has much more experience than me. 8:01 But you know, we're, we're figuring things out on the fly. And I think it just made it feel a lot more human and more approachable, I would say. 8:09 Speaker 2 Yeah, and I don't think that really ever goes away. I'm also taking my capstone class right now, and it's also very research focused, research heavy. And even my professor who's very knowledgeable in research has published a bunch of papers. It's still like, yeah, you just roll with the punches sometimes. 8:25 You still learn things on the fly, you adapt. It's just a part of research, which I think is really interesting because I always thought of research, you know, as a scientific method. You have your hypothesis, you do your background and then you or you do your background and then you form your hypothesis. 8:42 I don't know. I haven't. I haven't been in 7th grade in a long time now. I know lit review and method section background and hypothesis. 8:51 Speaker 3 Yeah, 100%. And I think that's kind of another thing I wanted to say is like, I think flexibility is such a big part of it too, just like being willing to roll with the punches. And because you're going to have to at some point, no, no research project is going to go perfectly and Florida State from start to finish. 9:07 So, you know, it's a little bit of a double edged sword though. 9:10 Speaker 1 Yeah, for sure. It sounds like you've learned a lot about yourself and your interests through this position. How has being a research assistant helped your future career goals? 9:21 How Research Assistantship Narrows Focus to Cognitive Behavioral Neuroscience That's a good question. I have learned a lot about, like I said, just kind of what the research process looks like in psychology. I think that this position has also helped me narrow down my specific subfield of interest. So as I mentioned, my research assistantship is in industrial organizational, which is interesting to me, but it also kind of helped me narrow down my more specific interest in a different subfield, which is actually cognitive behavioral neuroscience. 9:49 So I definitely have gained a lot of experience working with the industrial organizational research assistantship and also learning how to use the eye trackers is a, is a really important skill that can be applied to a lot of subfields in psychology. But I would say it helped me learn a lot about myself in, in that it showed me a lot about what research is like and helps me kind of develop my excitement for research, but it also helped me redirect a little bit, if that makes sense. 10:17 So I now am taking classes a little bit more focused in the cognitive behavioral neuroscience subfield because I've kind of narrowed that down as one of my more specific interests. 10:26 Speaker 1 For our listeners who don't know, can you share with us what is cognitive behavioral neuroscience? Yeah, absolutely. 10:32 Speaker 3 There are so many subfields in psychology that I, I love talking about it. So cognitive behavioral neuroscience, I mean, obviously the cognitive component. So it's, it's more focused on the brain and like the processes that are happening in the brain in, in regards to psychology. 10:47 So for example, like I'm taking biopsychology right now, which is kind of a big one in the CBN field. And that just kind of explains like how biology and how brain structures affect like psychology and behaviors and things like that. So it's a lot of studies of the brain and kind of more of like the structural in relation to the behavioral, if that makes sense. 11:11 Speaker 1 Yeah, yeah, for sure. 11:13 Speaker 2 You had mentioned earlier that this position has helped you learn a lot of things about yourself and kind of going off of that, what is one thing that this position has taught you? 11:24 Speaker 3 I think I've learned a lot. I, I don't want to beat a dead horse because I know we've kind of already talked about this, but I think it was just so eye opening to realize that the research is just such a flexible thing and you, you really do have to just be flexible and be willing to make changes. I think that was just really eye opening for me because I just hadn't really considered that aspect of it before. 11:45 Again, I kind of know, I know I kind of already mentioned this, but that was I think one of the biggest things I've learned. I think I've also just like been able to kind of develop my people skills a little bit more. I really enjoy connecting with people. I also enjoy teaching and things like that. 12:00 And I think the person to person aspect of it has been, I guess instructive for me. It's just kind of like learning how to do that in a more professional setting. 12:09 Speaker 1 If that makes sense. It does, yeah. 12:12 Favorite Moments, Daily Routines, and EEG Technology in the Psych Lab What has been your favorite part of the job? 12:15 Speaker 3 I really enjoyed all of it. I think for me, since I'm just such a big psych nerd, I have really loved learning how to use the eye trackers. It's so cool to watch them back and see like where you know the position of people's eyes and it's just really cool because that can be applied to so many subfields of psych. That's definitely something that they use in cognitive behavioral neuroscience as well. 12:35 So that has been exciting for me just because I know that it's like a skill that can be applied in the future. And I've also just met some amazing people. I love my fellow research assistants and the lead researcher and it's just been really fun. 12:48 Speaker 2 Yeah. I think one of the coolest things about being a research assistant is how intertwined within your program it is and intertwined even within your classes. And I was wondering, have there been things from your classes, perhaps the one that you took last semester that you've applied here in your position? 13:09 Speaker 3 100% I think that probably the most relevant ones have been research methods and statistics, because like I said, those are very foundational for research. So I would say those are probably the biggest ones, especially Research methods, just learning what makes a good research study, even down to things like what makes a good questionnaire. 13:31 I would say that has probably been the most applicable thus far. 13:35 Speaker 1 You have shared a lot about your tasks, your responsibilities, the types of projects you're working on. 13:40 Speaker 2 What does a typical? 13:41 Speaker 1 Day on the job look like. 13:44 Speaker 3 So like I mentioned, I'm usually running sessions, right? I usually the sessions for this specific study are usually about two hours long with the participant portion of it. So for me personally, it's usually about a three hour time block. So myself and usually at least one other research assistant will arrive about 30 minutes before participants do to kind of set up the equipment. 14:06 And then as the participants start coming in, we'll kind of get them set up, make sure they know what's going on, have them fill out informed consent, things like that. And then we just start running the session. So we get each participant set up on their eye tracker and then they get on the Zoom call like I mentioned. 14:22 And then from there and out, we give them instructions over the Zoom. And then after that, we basically just wrap up once the session is finished, have them fill out an exit questionnaire and just put away the equipment, make sure all the data was saved and call it a day. 14:37 Where do you hold or conduct these experiments? Is there a specific place that people go to? Yes, our lab and honestly, most psychology labs are in David King Hall. So that's here on the on the Fairfax campus. A lot of people don't really know what's in that building. 14:53 It's kind of just like randomly in the middle of campus. 14:56 Speaker 2 Yeah. 14:57 Speaker 3 I've talked to so many people who are like, what goes on in there? And it's kind of like an old building, but it has a lot of charm. But yeah, it's in there there. They have a lot of really cool psych stuff in there. Like they have an EEG in there, which I think is really cool. I didn't know that Mason had that until semi recently. I actually was participating in a study with an EEG, so I got to have the whole little EEG helmet on and they made my brain waves and stuff. 15:19 So yeah, they do a lot of cool psych stuff in David King Hall. 15:23 Speaker 1 What is an EEG? 15:25 Speaker 3 You know, I just recently learned what it stands for but I couldn't tell you off the top of my head, but it's basically a brain imaging like system. They put little electrodes on your head and it measures electrical activity off of your scalp. So it basically is measuring the electrical activity of your neurons firing. 15:43 Speaker 2 I would imagine it's pretty similar to an EKG, which essentially an EEG but for your heart instead. 15:50 Speaker 3 I didn't know. 15:51 Speaker 2 That yeah, you hook up. From what it sounds like, at least, you have little stickies all over your chest and then they monitor your heart activity. So I looked it up, and according to Midwestern Career College, the main difference is that an EEG focuses on the brain's electrical activity, while an EKG examines the heart rhythm and electrical patterns. 16:12 The more you know. 16:13 Speaker 3 There you go. I just learned something. I didn't know that that's what an EKG was so. 16:18 Speaker 2 Our final question, fact one what resources here at GMU have you utilized in your research? 16:24 Speaker 3 OK, like finding the research. 16:27 Speaker 1 At the job or? 16:28 Speaker 2 Finding the research, What resources do you use? Like when you're carrying out the research? Have you collaborated with Oscar at all? 16:36 Oscar, Networking, and Professors: Key Resources for Research at Mason Yeah. So that's a good question. I would say I'm kind of just a cog in the machine of this specific project. So a lot of the the stuff on like the back end is not really handled by me. So I don't know if I can really give you a great answer for this specific project. 16:52 But I do know because I have been interested in research and looking into like other research, like you said, Oscar is such a great resource. When you think research at GMU, I feel like that's just like the first thing that you go to. I know they do like a lot of funding for psych students. They will also fund for you to go to conferences, which I have like considered. 17:09 Yeah. But I feel like that's a really good place to start. And I don't know if this is really if you'd really classify this as a resource, but I think that just like networking is so important. I think my personal experience really speaks to that because like I mentioned, my case was kind of like abnormal. 17:26 I just happened to know someone who needed a research assistant. And through that, I've also met a lot of other people in the, you know, the psych world. So I think that like just just networking and like introducing yourself to people and putting yourself out there is also a good resource. 17:41 And like just people, honestly, people in the psych department are great, especially not to go on a tangent, but no, please, we haven't just got on a tangent, but I feel like for a lot of psych students at Mason, their professors are graduate students. 17:58 Like, but I think I've only had one professor in my, in my psych career here at Mason who was not a grad student. Oh wow. So there's so many like. 18:09 Speaker 2 And are we talking like going to get their masters or going to get their PhD? 18:13 Speaker 3 Both I've had I've had both I, I think interesting. I'm almost positive. Yeah, maybe it's mostly PhD now you have me second guessing. I, I think it's both I'm fairly certain. But yeah, a lot of times, like, they're running their own research, they're writing their dissertations, whatever they're, you know, interested in, like, talking to people about what they're working on. 18:32 And they're not that far removed from like, an undergrad, you know what I mean? And so I think it's like such an underutilized resource to just, like, talk to your professors and, like, be friends with them and just, like, learn what you can from them. And a lot of times they'll also, like, be able to point you in the right direction for things. 18:49 And I have like talked to a lot of people and like learned a lot of things from just like cold emailing people and just being like, hey, I heard that you do XYZ and I'm interested in that. Let's chat sometime or whatever. Or like, hey, I heard that you're directing this program that I'm interested in. Like do you have time to sit down with me for 10 minutes and like discuss more details? 19:07 So I don't know, that's my tangent. I think it's just like connecting with people is so important, especially here at Mason. 19:15 Speaker 1 I wouldn't call that a tangent. I've called out advice and good advice at that, and a great way to close out Act One. Absolutely. 19:21 Career Services, Mason Innovation Exchange, and Upcoming Episode Updates All right, So listeners, we're going to go to our bulletin board now. You're going to hear from our career correspondent Rachel Lindsay. You're also going to hear some chess announcements and some shout outs. We will see you in Act 2. 19:44 Speaker 2 Don't skip this. This isn't an ad break. This is the bulletin board in every episode. This is where we'll announce upcoming events and opportunities in chess, hear from correspondents, and give shout outs to the resources that make this podcast possible. Today we're hearing from Rachel Lindsay, who is the Assistant director at Career Services. 20:01 Speaker 4 Hi there, I'm Rachel Lindsey, assistant director for career education at University Career Services, and I'm also a two time alum of the College of Humanities and Social Sciences here at George Mason University. You can always reach me at rlindsey@gmu.edu if you have questions. 20:19 University Career Services is located in Student Union Building 1 or Sub One, Suite 3400, right above Student Health Services. We're open Monday through Friday, 9:00 to 5:00, and we also offer virtual advising Sunday through Thursday evenings, 7:00 to 11:00 PM. 20:34 You can schedule an appointment with University Career Services through Patriot Connect. Here's a little bit about what we do at University Career Services. Our goal is to help you explore careers, build professional skills, connect with employers, and succeed after graduation. One of the ways that we do that is through career advising and one-on-one support. 20:53 Career advising appointments let you talk through your goals, explore paths, or get help with job and internships. You can schedule that one-on-one career advising appointment through Patriot Connect. You can also visit us during a career studio or drop insurance to get feedback on resumes, cover letters and other professional materials, as well as guidance using Handshake to find job and internship opportunities. 21:14 There's no appointment required for this. University Career Services also offers skill building workshops and events. Workshops and events we offer include things like networking, the job search and salary negotiation to help you feel more confident taking your next steps. You can also use Interview Prep, which is a free online tool that lets you rehearse answers to common interview questions and practice your skills anytime. 21:39 Job, internship and networking opportunities hosted through Career Services include things like career fairs and on campus interviews to connect you with employers across a wide range of industries. We also offer networking events to link you with alumni and professionals who can offer guidance and open doors. 21:57 And of course, Handshake is GMU's platform for job and internship listings just for George Mason University students. Other resources that University Career Services makes available to you include career readiness guides and industry specific resources on our website, whichiscareers.gmu.edu. 22:16 You can also use our website to access tools like Career Shift and LinkedIn Learning to develop skills and find opportunities. Some of the specific support that University Career Services offers for chess majors includes help for students studying psychology. Translate your degree into careers in research, Human Services, counseling, human resources, or Graduate School. 22:38 Find internships or research roles in behavioral science, nonprofits, or healthcare via Handshake and get help preparing resumes and interview skills for clinical, administrative, or program support roles. You can also meet with us to explore graduate or professional pathways with tailored advising. 22:55 And make sure to attend networking events and behavioral internship fairs. They're a great way to connect with labs, clinics and social services events. Let's scratch that tip and say attend networking events and job and internship fairs. They're a great way to connect with labs, clinics, research opportunities and social service agencies. 23:13 For students studying criminology, law and society, University Cruise Services can help you with advising on justice pathways like criminal justice, law enforcement, public policy, intelligence and victim advocacy. We offer job and internship search support for government roles, including intelligence positions, and we provide resume and interview help geared towards legal and social science fields. 23:36 And we offer ways to network employers seeking graduates for public service analysis and compliance rules. We can also help you connect with local criminal justice agencies or nonprofits and help you figure out if security clearance preparation is a good opportunity for you. For global Affairs students, we offer advising on international career pathways like diplomacy, NGO's, Policy Research, and global development. 23:58 We can also help you access curated career links such as U.S. jobs, Idealist and international job boards, especially things like Inner Stride. We also offer support finding internships with international organizations, government agencies, and global nonprofits, as well as networking opportunities with alumni and professionals in global affairs. 24:16 You might also want to consider pairing advising sessions with industry events like nonprofit fairs or policy panels to expand your connections. And for all chess students, some really valuable best practices. Keep your Handshake profile updated to receive the most relevant job and internship matches. 24:34 Attend career fairs and workshops early, much before your senior year, so you get familiar with how these things work. And make sure to combine career services advising with faculty and departmental resources for the most targeted support. To schedule virtual or in person advising, use Patriot Connect. 24:49 If you run into any issues, call us at 703-993-2370 and we'll help you get that appointment scheduled. We're excited to support you as you explore your career path, so don't hesitate to reach out. Go Patriots. 25:01 Speaker 2 Thank you so much to Rachel for her insight. She's the assistant director with Career Services. Career services offers not just advising, but also different job fairs, scholarships, and plenty of jobs themselves. If you're not sure what career field you'd like to go into with your major or unsure which major is best for your career field, we highly recommend you check them out. 25:20 Now on to some resources for you guys. Welcome to the Mason Innovation Exchange, also known as the MIX, George Mason University's marketplace, Media Lab and entrepreneurship incubator. Located in Horizon Hall, rooms 14081410 and 2100. 25:36 The MIX gives you access to cutting edge tools like 3D printers, laser cutters, CNC routers, textiles and electronics. We also offer pathways into advanced opportunities through our micro credential courses in blimp prototyping, drone prototyping, robotics, and the NSFI Core program for the student entrepreneurs. 25:55 The MIX is always collaborating with student Rs OS academic departments and courses and events for the Mason community. Open Monday through Friday from 10:00 AM to 8:00 PM, The Mix hosts rotating workshops to help you kick start your creativeideas.learnmore@themix.gmu.edu or find us on Mason 360 under Mason Innovation Exchange. 26:18 Explore your potential with The MIX now. Next week is indeed Spring Break Patriots, and I hope all of you have a wonderful spring break. As far as Chess Connection goes, we will be updating next week, but it will be a little different from normal. 26:34 Normally every 4th Friday we will be releasing two different episodes, our topical episode and then our special spotlight episode. However, because it's spring break and me and the team still want to have a break, we'll only be releasing the topical episode next week, and then that special spotlight episode will be released the following week along with our first episode of the Criminology program. 27:02 So very exciting and stay tuned for all of that. 27:14 Dispelling Misconceptions and Embracing Specificity in Research Welcome back. We are now here in Act 2. As listeners know, Act 2 is when we start to get into some deeper reflection. And to start that off, Lillian, what is 1 anxiety or worry about careers or about your career that this position as a research assistant has helped you overcome? 27:36 Speaker 3 I guess kind of to touchback on the theme of people may be having a misconception of research. I think I had kind of view as such like a big scary thing that it's like you have to like have a super groundbreaking idea and super groundbreaking equipment and you know, have just something really like bold and prestigious. 27:58 Maybe I don't know if that's the right word, but I think that I mean, not to say that the work we're doing here is an interesting, like I think it's super interesting and it's also really applicable. And I think that's what's what's cool is that it's kind of made me realize that again, like I had mentioned before, research is kind of just like whatever you want it to be, whatever you make of it. 28:18 And it doesn't have to be like something super groundbreaking, like you can base your research off of, you know, previous research that has been done and just things that you're interested in. And it doesn't have to be some, you know, grand idea that no one's ever heard or thought of before. It's just what you're interested in and what you want to know more about. 28:35 Speaker 2 You know, for sure, I think one of the big misconceptions about research that I've had to break is how broad it is. Like the amount of times that I've been told like, no, get more specific with your question, get more specific with your demographic, get tinier and tinier and you're narrow and narrow until you're asking a question so incredibly specific. 28:57 I feel like like that's never talked about with research. It's always some big question. Like I don't know, for comms, I'm doing a paper on the White House Instagram account and voter opinions, right. So the original question could just be like, oh, well, how does the account affect voter opinions? 29:15 But then it gets into like, OK, well, what specific account are you using? What specific sites are you using? What specific posts are you using? And it takes something that might be very broad and very daunting into something very narrow. And I don't know, I I like that. 29:31 Engaging with Research: Rewards, Challenges, and Humanities Perspectives Yeah, I like it too. I think my brain kind of works that way where I like to ask those like super niche and specific questions. And that's exactly what research is for. Absolutely. 29:41 Speaker 1 I'll add that in my experience, I, I, everything both of you have said, but as, as I'm starting to get into to research and whatnot in my, in my writing, I've noticed now that like research is also maybe just like humanities on the English side of things. It's a lot of just like just engaging in conversation with the in the case of an English major, like the text. 30:03 For instance, I am intern at Folger Institute and we have programs for like Shakespeare and the Publix or Shakespeare and performing Arts or what have you, what have you several things. And one would think that 405 hundred years of Shakespeare, like we've covered it all right? 30:23 No, actually, because it's like there's there's so much to gain from just continuing to ask questions or even just make observations or to or pursue critical thinking of these texts. And that to an it to a certain respect still counts as research because you're still interacting with the sources and you're still contributing fresh perspective to the field. 30:46 Speaker 3 Yeah, 100%. And I think I've engaged with that style of research more with my religious studies, with my with my second major because yeah, like you said, it's more of like the humanities side than the sciences side. And it's like, yeah, you might not be like discovering new information necessarily. 31:03 But even if you're just like aggregating existing information and giving new ideas about it and it in a different context, like that's also research and it's interesting and it's valuable, you know? 31:14 Speaker 2 For sure. On that note, what's the most rewarding part of your job? 31:18 Speaker 3 On a little bit of a selfish level, it's cool to know that I'm just kind of like starting to dip my toe in the waters of research and I'm, I'm getting experience that I can put on a resume and that will benefit me in the future, which is rewarding for me on a personal level. And I think it's also just cool to be surrounded by people who are kind of doing the same thing, both like at the undergraduate level with my research assistants, and also with the lead researcher who is writing her dissertation, things like that. 31:44 To just be able to like, be a part of that is really cool, and it's really rewarding. And I just like being part of a bigger network of people who are like just doing really cool and interesting things. 31:51 Speaker 1 Yeah, I would not say that selfish that enough. That's a lot of that's really something to take pride in. 31:56 Speaker 3 Thank you. Yeah, it's it's great. I love it. 31:58 Speaker 1 Yeah. What's one challenge you've had to work through as a research assistant? 32:03 Speaker 3 It's, it's such an interesting thing running the sessions because it's so specific, but at the same time, like I said, you have to be flexible. So like with research, you're trying to control as many variables as you can, but inevitably there's going to be things out of your control. 32:20 So trying to kind of walk the line between rolling with the punches and adapting to the situation while also being consistent from session to session. That has maybe proven to be a little bit of a challenge for me. I try to be as consistent as possible, but sometimes a situation comes up where you kind of have to adapt, you know? 32:35 Speaker 2 Yeah, for sure. I know we were talking about earlier, like so much of research is just rolling with the punches. That's a very valuable skill to learn. 32:44 Speaker 3 I think I've definitely had my fair share of that. It's been a good exposure. 32:49 Speaker 2 How has this position benefited your life, both as a psychology student as well as beyond? 32:55 Building Confidence and Valuing Coworker Relationships in Academia I think it's just really cool to have my foot in the door again. I don't. I don't want to beat a dead horse. I think I'm kind of we. 33:01 Speaker 1 Do that a lot here. Don't worry about it. We've killed a lot of horse. 33:04 Speaker 2 It'll be in them. 33:07 Speaker 3 Perfect. But yeah, it's just really cool to like have my foot in the door. And I think a lot of times I'm very much someone who I have big ideas and like big dreams, I guess I would say. And I just, I always love that feeling when like things that I'm working towards start to come to fruition, you know what I mean? 33:25 I just love that, you know, one day I was like, I, I really love psychology and then I started going to school for psychology and then one day I was like, OK, I really love research. And now I'm like here doing research and I'm looking into, you know, other research opportunities. I'm narrowing my research interests and focus. 33:42 And I think it's just very rewarding for me to kind of see my hardware come to life. I do kind of sometimes have like imposter syndrome of like, do I belong here? Like, am I doing OK? Am I doing a good job? Like, do I deserve to be here? But I I try to push that down and just remember that like I've worked hard to be here if. 34:03 Speaker 1 That makes sense. 34:04 Speaker 2 For sure. I think like imposter syndrome is so common as we're moving through this period of adolescence because it's like in high school, right? We really didn't have that much control. Maybe we had a job and a car, right? 34:20 But like, we didn't have that much control over what classes we took, when to take them. And probably for most of us, what we wanted to go into, even like senior year isn't what we're going into here. So I think like that imposter syndrome is very, very common. 34:38 I know I've definitely felt out like who am I to? 34:41 Speaker 1 Hear genuinely, yeah. And I completely relate and I think one thing I can, I can share something that has helped me cope with that is I try to, whenever I start to feel that sense of imposter syndrome, I try to trust the individuals that chose to work with me. 34:58 And I cuz I trust and respect them. I, I should therefore trust their opinion and their judgement that I should be in this room with them. And that comes back to me and make, gives me a little more motivation or not motivation, but more a better sense of self and about why I'm there. 35:14 And yeah, that's. 35:15 Speaker 3 So true. I think that's a good way to approach imposter syndrome because, yeah, you wouldn't be there if you didn't deserve to be there, you know? 35:22 Speaker 1 Exactly. Yeah, right. What is your favorite memory you have from your time as a research assistant? 35:28 Speaker 3 I don't know if I have really like one specific moment that stands out, but I just, I love the other research assistants that I work with and there comes a point in the session where like everybody's on their eye trackers and then the other research assistant and I just like go sit on the couch and basically chill for the rest of the session. 35:44 Then after that point, it kind of just runs itself and I just love being with them and chatting with them. And it's always just fun to like have someone who's in a very similar situation as you and can relate to the things you're going through. You know, a lot of times we'll just like, complain about whatever. 36:00 Speaker 2 Classes. 36:00 Speaker 3 Or papers. We're in the middle of the time, like we have all been about finals and stuff today, but it's just fun to have those people that you're close with that you have that kind of devoted time to just like be with them and talk about your interests. And they there are people who you know will really understand you because like they're in such a similar situation to you and they have some more interest with you. 36:21 And I just think that's valuable as well. I really have talked about this a lot, but I just think that like the relationships aspect of it has been so important for me. 36:30 Speaker 1 Yeah. 36:31 Speaker 2 Being able to get along with your Co workers is amazing. Fantastic. 36:35 Speaker 1 It makes or breaks the job. 36:37 Exploring Future Research Interests in the Neuroscience of Religious Experiences It does 100%, as I'm sure listeners can tell. Emma and I absolutely despise. Oh yeah. 36:43 Speaker 1 Cannot stand her. 36:46 Speaker 2 Just kidding, but I think like being able to bond and like you said, create those connections and network is so amazing and it is an opportunity that we do need to take advantage of. And networking isn't all just boring like corporate speak, it's also complaining about your teacher or the classes that you have 100. 37:08 Speaker 3 Percent. 37:09 Speaker 2 What future research do you want to contribute to the field? 37:13 Speaker 3 I love this question. So as I mentioned, I am a double major in psychology and religious studies because I really think religion is so fascinating. I love, we were talking about this a little bit before, but I just really love hearing about people's experiences in religion. 37:29 I think like people's experiences of lived religion is so interesting. There is kind of like, I don't know if it's necessarily an emerging field, but it's, it's a small field that I I believe is growing a little bit of kind of the neuroscience aspect of religion. So people will kind of like look at what's happening in the brain during certain religious experiences or when people think about their religion, things like that, which I just think is so interesting. 37:51 That's totally my niche and unfortunately there's not really a lot going on with that specifically here at Mason, but that's definitely something that I want to explore in the future, like maybe during a PhD program or even in just like a longer term career. I just think it's so fascinating and I think there's so much to learn. 38:09 Speaker 2 Yeah for sure. I'd be really interested in seeing differences in the brain with religion and death, like if people of certain beliefs talking about death like activates a certain part of their brain. Because a lot of religions do have a very specific like afterlife belief to them. 38:28 So that would be something really interesting. 38:31 Speaker 3 I took a class recently called Death and the Afterlife. Yes, which is so interesting. You would love it, I bet. Yeah. 38:36 Speaker 1 When it comes to psychology, there can be a lot of bias against what is the field professionally, what it is. How do you think that stigma can change? 38:48 Addressing Psychology Stigma and Leveraging Mason's Resources for Success I guess I think there's maybe multiple stigmas. I don't really know necessarily what you might be referring to. I feel like when people think of psychology, I think most people would assume that it's either like the clinical tract or just like being like a social worker. Is that kind of what you're? 39:03 Speaker 1 Referring to yeah, stigma was the wrong word. No, you're misconception. 39:06 Speaker 3 I understand what you mean. Yeah, I think that's such a shame because I mean, we've kind of touched on a couple of the subfields in psychology like throughout the our conversation, but there's like, psychology is such a rich field. There's so much to explore. 39:21 Like I mentioned, I'm really interested in cognitive behavioral neuroscience. You know, again, the neuroscience of religion is like a new kind of emerging field. There's just like so much that's under the umbrella of psychology. Obviously clinical is a big one. There's definitely a big need for people to be in that field, unfortunately. 39:39 But I think that that is definitely a big misconception that people think that that's all it is as far as trying to combat that. I think that honestly, things like this where people are just like talking about their experience in other fields of psychology is really important because I, I, my personal experience, for example, I took some psychology classes in high school and it's kind of like overview. 40:01 Obviously it's like a high school course. So it's kind of just like a survey. So we touched on some things from some different areas of psychology. And the thing that I loved and connected to the most was. Like the neuroscience aspect of it, but I just didn't know that that's what it was, you know what I mean? And so then when I rediscovered it in college, I was like, oh, this is what made me fall in love with psychology. 40:19 So I think that just like having like promoting a better understanding of what the different subfields are and just the fact that there are different subfields, like I think that there's a lot of people who just don't know, you know, I think that just spreading more awareness is a good place to start. 40:37 Speaker 1 Absolutely. 40:38 Speaker 2 Yeah, how's your time here at Mason help set you up for success post grad? I know you'd mentioned wanting to do a PhD. 40:45 Speaker 3 Yes. So my long term goal right now is to do a PhD program in psychology. Honestly, I feel like Mason is such a great school and doesn't get credit because it's like a state school. I think a lot of people maybe underestimated a little bit, which I think is such a shame. 40:59 Speaker 2 I'm going to be able to graduate with my masters in four years. There's not any other school in the country that I think I'd be able to do that. 41:05 Speaker 3 Yeah, yeah, It's such a great school and like all of the faculty here are amazing. Everyone I've interacted with here, like in terms of faculty and stuff are just like so amazingly supportive and they just want to see their students succeed. And I think that's so valuable. 41:21 And I also feel like there's so many resources here amazing that people just don't take advantage of, maybe because they don't really know that they're here or I don't know why, but I just think that like Mason is such a great school in that regard. Yeah, like you mentioned the BAM program, like that's just such an incredible opportunity. 41:37 That's something that I have been looking into as well for psychology. And like I said, like for psychology specifically, there's so much research going on here. Like I said, they have the EEG in David King Hall, they have those eye trackers. Like that's all going on and people just don't know about it, you know, So I don't know. 41:55 I think I have like, sorry, I'm kind of tangenting. No, please. But I think that a lot of the resources here have supported me. I think I have to say one of the biggest things for me has been my success coach who I started meeting with like my freshman year, I think, and she has just been like life changing. 42:15 She's so amazing and just, like, has helped me learn and adapt so much and like, just helps me, like, overcome, you know, obstacles in my academic career. I recommend everyone to have a success coach that they connect with because like, honestly, her help has just been so invaluable for me. 42:31 I really appreciate her. And yeah, just reach out. There's always people that want to help. You know, that's been kind of what I've learned. 42:39 Speaker 1 As someone who also does well, partakes in success coaching, yeah no love my success coach. Yeah. Yeah, no, the best. 42:46 Speaker 3 My success coach is awesome. Like, I'll go in there and then just like rant to her about what I have going on and then we just talk about Dancing with the Stars. 42:53 Speaker 2 And then perfect and she's. 42:56 Speaker 3 Just awesome. I love her. 42:57 Working Towards a PhD and Staying Connected to Your Passions So yeah, I. 42:58 Speaker 1 Love that as we start to close out, can you share with us how you are working towards your future career goals? 43:04 Speaker 3 Yeah. So I touched on like kind of like mentioned in passing, but I'm currently looking into the band program. My long term goal is to go to a PhD program and then do like have a career in research and teaching after that. So I think right now I've just been really focused on like what's going to make me a good candidate for a PhD program. 43:24 I think the band program is going to be probably one of the next steps for me. Fingers crossed. 43:28 Speaker 2 From what I've heard, in my experience, the types of people who apply for it are people who are going to be let in, in all of the meetings that I've been to. And I hope this does alleviate some of your anxiety about it. And all of the meetings that I've been to with the band, like coordinator for COM and the director coordinator for COM, everybody has given me indication that like once you apply, you're in like the way that they plan it out is under the assumption, oh, you are going to take these classes, you are going to get in. 43:57 There's never an if. 43:58 Speaker 3 I mean, I hope that's true, but if by the time this podcast airs I haven't accepted, you'll have to cut this whole segment. 44:05 Speaker 2 I'm sure you'll be. 44:06 Speaker 3 Accepted. Thank you. So I hope so, but that's that's the thing that I've been kind of focusing on and then also just taking classes that I think will be applicable to research because I know now that's what I'm interested in. I'm also, like I mentioned, kind of shifting more towards the CBN stuff, just trying to take relevant classes for that and just trying to kind of keep it in the back of my mind. 44:27 Just keep my goals in my mind and try to stay focused and just, I guess, do the best I can with what I have now and always try to push myself to just do the next thing you know. 44:37 Speaker 1 Yeah. 44:38 Speaker 2 Yeah, for sure. And I can't believe this, but we've come to our last question. Oh, wow, Lillian, it's been so amazing chatting with you and going on tangents with you. We like to ask all of our guests the same final question. 44:53 That question is, do you have any advice for our listeners? 44:58 Speaker 3 Yes, I think I've already, like, spewed out a lot of advice, but I think it's just so important to like, stay connected to what you love. Just try to really stay grounded in that. And I think once you have that, everything else just comes naturally because it's so easy to work towards something that you love doing, you know, and that's just such a a powerful motivator. 45:17 So I think it's just important to like, keep that in mind and the rest will follow, I would say, yeah. 45:26 Lillian's Final Thoughts, Podcast Credits, and Next Episode Preview And I think that's great advice to close out this episode. Lillian, thank you so much for being here. Is there anyone or anything that you would like to shout out or promote? Where can listeners find you on social media or in chess? 45:39 Speaker 3 I'm actually not on social media, so no worries. We're over to, but my name is Lillian Reiskamp. You can, I don't know, e-mail, LinkedIn, LinkedIn, Tiva, LinkedIn. I do. It needs to be updated. Hopefully it'll be a little more updated by the time this this is out, but I think I'm just Lillian Rice camp on LinkedIn. 45:55 Double L last name RYSKAMP. I go to Mason. I'm probably pretty easy to find. I work for the religious studies department. I'm also, oh, I should plug this. I am one of the Co leaders for the Society for the study of religion, which is a club here on campus. 46:10 That's a lot of fun. Like I mentioned, I'm really interested in lived religion and that's something we're really big on. So if you're interested in religious studies at all, come to our meetings next semester. We always have pizza and you don't have to be like a religious studies major or minor to go. It's a lot of fun and I'm always there. So you can find me there and just around campus I guess. 46:28 Speaker 1 OK, well, beautiful, wonderful. Once again, last time, well and forevermore. Lillian, thank you so much for being here. We're happy to have you. Listeners, thank you so much for listening to this episode of CHSS Connection. 46:58 Speaker 2 Hey, thank you for listening to this episode of CHSS Connection. This podcast is hosted and written by Emma Howard and Cadie Junker. Our audio engineer is Danis Gabitov. Our supervisor is Eleana Velasco. This podcast is produced by George Mason University's College of Humanities and Social Sciences undergraduate academic affairs. 47:19 Special thanks to the Mason Innovation Exchange for the recording studio. The podcast could not happen without them. This project was developed in collaboration with Career Services and on the On Campus Internship program. If you love the show and want to interact with more of our content, follow us on Instagram at Chess Pod or check out the Chess website where there is an ongoing library of our episodes. 47:39 You can also be a potential guest on our podcast. 47:42 Speaker 1 If you enjoyed the show and would like to express your support, there are a few things you can do. You can leave a review wherever you are listening to this podcast. You can help by word of mouth, either by telling someone directly who might be interested in the show or posting about it on social media, talking at Chess Pod. 47:57 All these things help support the show and we appreciate anyone who has done it or will do so in the future. Again, thank you for tuning into this episode. We hope you'll tune into the next episode where we are joined by Sam Subedi to discuss being an international student here at Mason. But until then. 48:12 Speaker 2 Stay curious, stay creative, and stay connected.

 

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Episode 04: Transcript

Transcribed by TurboScribe.ai. EMMA: Hello, welcome to CHSS Connection, a podcast where we interview different students about all things CHSS, from academics to careers to everything in between. This is a student success podcast for CHSS students by CHSS students. However, if you're not a CHSS student, welcome. We're so glad you're here. I'm Emma Howard. CADIE: I'm Cadie Junker. BOTH: And we're your hosts. CADIE: In this episode, we're discussing the facets of an international student experience. And of course, we could not do this alone, especially considering we're not international students. So today we are joined by psychology student Sam Subedi. Sam, thank you so much for joining us today. SAM: Of course. Hi. Should I introduce myself? CADIE: Yeah! EMMA: Sure! CADIE: If you would like to, feel free. Anything that we might have missed in the opening, because I know it's like very brief. Yeah, please tell us a little bit about yourself. SAM: Okay. Hi, everyone. I am Sam. My full name is Samriddhi, but I just go by Sam. And I'm a psychology major at George Mason University. I am a junior. I am concentrating in cognitive and behavioral neuroscience within the psychology department. And yeah, like I'm an international student. I am from Nepal. CADIE: That's great! Thank you so much. EMMA: Well, we're just happy to have you here to shed light on this topic. CADIE: Yeah, I think that Mason has such a vibrant international student community. And I am so happy that we get to talk about it with you today. So our very first question for you, you're from Nepal. And from that perspective, what is the process to apply and attend George Mason? SAM: Okay, it was a long process. I feel like every international student, we just like see them at the United States, but we don't really consider about like what they had to do to get to this point. It is a long-winded process. It takes about like six months. So I applied to like universities across the United States, mostly in Virginia. But I started applying like right after high school. And I was still studying back home, like I was still attending a college back home. And I couldn't like complete my education. I just did not want to take like a gap year to do the process. I like was still studying. But yeah, it was like six months long. So basically, what I did was I started like looking at universities in the United States. I started like preparing for like my SATs, my like my TOEFL, which is the test of English proficiency as a foreign language. It's kind of like a foreign language requirement test that you have to take. So I did that. I took my SATs. I had to prep for that all by myself. I wasn't really thinking about really attending to like a university in the United States. It just so happened that like I was like, oh, I think it'd be a good thing to I just thought that it'd be a good thing to do for my like what I wanted to do with my life with psychology. So yeah, like I started like doing all these things. And then I applied to George Mason, and I got in. And the visa process, it was super long. You had to get like an appointment with the US Embassy in Kathmandu. And from there, like there was like an interview process and the whole shebang. And yeah, like six to like seven, eight months long, and I'm here. Yeah. CADIE: And we're so glad that you are! Yeah, the visa process…. So I just studied abroad like I wasn't even like an international student, but the visa process is so confusing and grueling and expensive. It is so expensive. I can't believe how much money I paid for a sticker in my passport. SAM: Yeah, that it was I'm so glad that I'm like done with that because that was a long, grueling, relentless process. EMMA: It sounds like it was, but it also sounds like it was really worth it. So you just shared a little bit about the perspective of as an international student coming to attend Mason. Can you talk about what drew you to study psychology here? SAM: Yeah! So I've always known that I wanted to like I'd always known like ever since I was a child that I wanted to like pursue psychology, at least like the human behavior, cognition side of things. I've always been interested in learning more about like how people behave, why people behave the way they do, and like feelings, thoughts, just anything about the brain and the body had always been interested in that kind of stuff. And also this might be a little personal, but like also like personal struggles with like having difficulty in understanding myself. I did not grow up in a really like a conventional family dynamic, like I'm an only child, and I grew up, I guess, experiencing parental separation when I was really young. And I guess that really drove me to study psychology to better understand myself and also other people around me. And that is why I wanted to pursue psychology as a major. As for like why I picked George Mason in particular was because, again, proximity wise, it's closer to DC, so job prospects and also my relatives, they also like live nearby and I thought that like having them around, like having them closer to me would, I guess, be better because I'm from like a different country and I need to have that social support around me. So here I am. And also George Mason gave me good scholarships. CADIE: Yes, we love scholarships here. Our next question for you is how did your expectations of college life in the US compare to the reality once you got here? SAM: I grew up watching a lot of movies, like a lot of like Western movies. I'm a huge, I don't really like to use the word cinephile, but I consider myself like a movie, I mean, film enthusiast to some extent. And I think you see like, you know, college life is really like the way it's presented. It looks really fanciful, from like from an outsider's perspective. So I really did have like this, oh, you know, like I'd have like I'd get into college and I'd like have this really big friend group and I'd be like, you know, hanging out with all the popular cliques and whatnot. That was kind of like the expectation coming to college. But George Mason is huge. There are like a lot of people from different sects of life, different like places are all around the country. And so it is a huge university. I guess I did not end up having that like the kind of college life that was portrayed in movies. But I think like I'm still kind of trying to adjust to the actual the way it is ,college life here. But yeah, I don't know if that really answered the question or not, but it wasn't as how I pictured it would have been like, but it's still it's still okay. It's still the it's still the way it is, I guess. CADIE: Yeah. No, I think that makes perfect sense to me. EMMA: When you were describing your image of what you thought college life was going to be in the US, it was very similar to how I thought college life. It's incredible how America propaganda, like its reach is just really incredible, and how disappointing it is once we hit reality because they don't talk about student loans in those movies. CADIE: What do you mean that there's not an acapella group on campus that goes to all these like wild concerts? Yeah. EMMA: Oh my gosh. Continuing with this line of questioning, what was one culture shock you experienced when arriving in the US? SAM: This might be like this might be something new that you guys have heard, but I come I came from like a valley. So, like where I'm from, it's like a small valley. So, like you're surrounded by hills. Like where I live, I'd wake up in the morning, and I'd see like my sky like surrounded by hills. But once I came to the US, the sky just like it seemed so much wider because there were no hills. In Virginia, especially like I've been to other places where I've seen hills around me, but like in Virginia, I don't see any hills, probably because like we're in the Fairfax area and it's a city. It's the main city. So yeah, like I guess the sky just seemed like wide and like so likeopen and it was it seemed so huge. So that was one like shock, not a cultural shock, but still kind of like a thing that I found kind of shocking when I first came in. And I think the other shock factor was kind of like people were really nice. Like they were extremely polite people, like when I would be walking to my class, I just like have a random stranger smile at me, which was something that I was not used to. And I like that I love that a lot. Like just knowing that, oh, like I'm like somebody noticed me, and like that they smiled at me. It's just a warm feeling to have. So yeah, that was kind of like a culture shock that I had. EMMA: Yeah. Well, sorry, that smiling comment, it makes me think of how in Europe, that's how everyone can tell who like who, an American tourist is, because we don't stop smiling. Even at strangers, people we don't know. But I'm glad to see that here for you, that was a very welcoming factor. CADIE: Kind of on that note, and we will ask the inverse of this question. But to start, what's one thing you prefer about the U.S. than to back home in Nepal? SAM: I love food. I love food of different cultures. And I feel like here in Fairfax, especially, you can go to like a single, I don't know what it's called, like a complex kind of place, right? CADIE: Yeah! SAM: You can still find food from like different places all within that same complex, which is something that I'd never like. This is not a thing in Nepal, you know, you can like go to like a mall and like you'd be able to eat like Turkish food. You'd also be able to eat like Chinese food at the same place, like food from different cultures around the world. And I think I like I love that about the United States. That's like so cool. Especially somebody who's like really into learning about like food cultures around the world. I think that's such such a great thing. And I wish like they had that in Nepal. CADIE: Yeah. EMMA: The concept of the American food court is incredible. CADIE: No, but tell me why I missed the American food court and the American dining experience when I was over in Spain, like Spain's dining experience is also really nice, like very slow pace. We're very fast-paced here. But man, I missed good Asian food. EMMA: Proceeding with the inverse of that question, what's one thing you prefer back home than in the US? SAM: Definitely like just familiarity, like I'd be able to talk to people and I know that like I'm not like an outlier there. Like I don't really feel like an outlier here. But when I like walk into a room and like when I introduce myself, I guess like people will kind of like know that I'm different, that I'm that I'm a foreigner. But you don't really have that in Nepal because like it's a homogenous society and like everybody looks the same. Everybody speaks the same language. I think I just missed the familiarity that I experienced back home. And I really I really took that for granted. Just like being able to like a talk. I mean, I guess joke about the joke about like very niche things and still have the other person understand it. Those kind of stuff like is what I really miss about Nepal. EMMA: Understandably, have you been able to find community with other international students, or have you met other international students who are also from Nepal? SAM: It's a funny thing. I have been friends with like this one person for like since the third grade and we both came to the like to United States together. EMMA: Oh wow! CADIE: I love that. SAM: So yeah, my best friend is actually here with me in the United States. And that's really cool. Outside of her, I'm not from Nepal, like not really. I haven't really met a lot of international students from Nepal, but I've had other friends. I mean, I do have other friends who are also from like different countries that are also like international students. But for Nepalese person, though, it's just my best friend. CADIE: To kind of go off of that. How have your professors, mentors or classmates shaped your experience here at Mason? SAM: I am really fascinated by the idea of like being able to do my own- I would love to do my own research. I think later in my life, like that is kind of like the profession that I'm like headed to or like the career path that I'm headed to. Like I want to be in academic research. I want to be in academia. And that is why I have tried to get myself in positions that allow me to, I guess, get research experience. So I've been, I am a learning assistant, and I work with like a like the greatest psychology professor at Mason. I think Dr. Alison Melley, she is she has been in the like at George Mason for a long time, and she's like literally thesweetest professor ever. And I've been working with her since like the spring of 2024. And I think just like being able to talk with her about psychology and just like about my research interests, it has been an incredible experience. Like she's such a great professor. She's such a great mentor outside of like that, outside of like Dr. Melley. I've also like been able to foster like a lot of relationship with other professors, especially professors who are in the lab that I'm also a part of. They've also likehelped me, guide me, like understand my like passion for academia. So yeah, that is how they've been, they've helped me. They've helped me, I guess, better understand what I want to do. And also like just in my journey, in my academic journey. EMMA: That's incredible to hear. I think that the faculty here is really just a… I don't think any other university has such incredible, welcoming, and just well-rounded faculty. So, I know in, well, I know just by working with you as a Patriot Leader, but then also in your promotional material for this episode, you have mentioned holding several roles during your time here at George Mason. How has being an international student served you in these positions? SAM: So, my first year, I'm a resident assistant. So, I worked at the Angel Cabrera Global Center, which is considered the international dormitory for George Mason students who are from like different countries around the world. That was an incredibly long, I guess, incorrect sentence. But basically, I worked as an RA for like the international dorms. And I had residents who were from like Mongolia, from South Korea, from like China, from India. And it just it was really nice that as an international student, I was able to guide them. I was able to like help them acclimate, I guess, to the culture at George Mason. And also like they really like looked up to me. They considered me like a credible person to go to, to learn about, like just being at George Mason. They came to me, they would come to me, they would ask me like what resources to go to for like a certain thing. And I was able to help them. So I think like being an international student and also being able to work in an international dorm, that was like incredible. And I consider myself really lucky that I was able to help like international students, fellow international students. t really felt nice. I really did feel like I was making like an impact in their lives. And I still keep in touch with a lot of them. And it was just like a fuzzy, warm feeling. I really liked serving in that position. Outside of that, I've also been working as an RA for the CHSS. So we have a residential learning community for CHSS. And I am an RA, one of the three RAs for that, for the residential learning community for the College of Humanities and Social Sciences specifically. And again, I worked with freshmen. I worked with first year students. So like they're all from the College of Humanities and Social Sciences. So it's just being a psychology major and also having other like first year students who are also like psychology or like criminology or like are interested in humanities and this field. It's just, it's just a good feeling. And I feel like I'm also able to help them better because I know about the resources here. And yeah, they also come to me. It's just nice to have the experience and for me to like be able to help them. CADIE: Well, I also think that there's a lot of value in having community where although you guys will be from countries that have very different and very unique cultures, you do have a common similarity in being international students and kind of uniting in that and finding comfort in that there are however many other people that you're surrounded by who are going through similar experiences to what you're going through. Our next question for you is what does your average day in the life look like? Balancing classes, work and student life because as you mentioned, you do so much. It's very impressive. SAM: So I think I used to be a very like regimented, like ritualistic person when I first came to the US. But I've like over the years, I've really tried to like tone that down a little bit and I'm more spontaneous now. I am like, I say, in the past, I was kind of like very rigid in like my plans throughout the day. But nowadays, like if somebody like asks me to hang out, I'm like, yeah, for sure. Like, you know, I've started to like be more open, keeping myself more open and flexible to things. So I don't really have like a, my everyday looks very different. And I don't have this like one, like I guess a uniform kind of routine. But yeah, I wake up. If I can, I try to grab breakfast at Ike's or Southside. I do like eat at the dining halls a lot. And it's classes from there on. And I have like little breaks throughout the day where I go to the library. I meet up with friends. I usually get like lunch together with my friends when I can. And I'm usually at the library like a lot, like the fifth floor, Fenwick fifth floor. That is where you'll probably find me during the midday, like afternoon time. And I attend classes throughout the day. My classes, they're pretty much like uniform. Like I have classes in the morning and then I have classes in the afternoon. That is how I've like created my schedule. And the time in between I hang out with friends. I have time out for myself or I'm like back in my dorm. Or sometimes I'm like doing my Mason Mingles with my residents. Doing one-on-ones with like supervisors. And just like, just loitering around really. Like I'm just like in the JC and I'm like walking. But yeah, that's kind of like how my life, I mean, every day looks like. CADIE: I love that. EMMA: I, as we start to close out act one, I want to ask you when you think back to your first semester at Mason, what stands out to you as a memorable or defining moment? SAM: I don't think there was like this one moment which is like, which was like really memorable for me. But like after coming to the States and like getting to my dorm and like talking to my roommate, like it just kind of felt like, oh my God, I am here now. You know, I've been preparing like for like almost six months for that, like just to be here. And it just felt really surreal. I think that that was kind of like one defining moment. My first day in the dorms, like getting, grabbing food with my roommate and like me just like having this, like I guess epiphany of like, oh my God, I'm here now. Like all of it, like after like six, seven months of like rigorous process, I'm here now. I feel like that was kind of like one moment that I always look back to. We were, it was my first time ever at Southside. And like, I was just like with my roommate, we were talking and it just like, like it just popped up in my head and it just like occurred to me that I was like here. And I guess that was a lot of mixed emotions were playing in my head as I was thinking about that. But I think that was kind of like one definitive moment that I always like look back to, like me that first day grabbing like a burger with my roommate and just thinking, oh my God, well, I'm here now. CADIE: And with that, that will be the end of act one. We're going to move into the bulletin board where we're going to hear from a couple of resources as well as some announcements. CADIE: Don't skip this. This isn't an ad break. This is the bulletin board. In every episode, this is where we will announce upcoming events and opportunities in CHSS, hear from correspondents, and give shout outs to the resources that make this podcast possible. YALI: Hello, good morning, everyone. My name is Yali Pan. I am the Associate Director for Engagement and Assessment with the Office of International Programs and Services, OIPS for short. My email address is ypan8@ gmu.edu. If you guys want to find me, my office is located in suite 4300 in Sub One building. JONATHAN: Hello, everyone. My name is Jonathan Carmona. I'm the Assistant Director for International Engagement in the Office of International Programs and Services, OIPS. My email is jcarmon2, j-c-a-r-m-o-n-2 at gmu.edu. My office is located in Sub One, suite 4009. YALI: So just to give you a brief overview of our office, by name, our office serve international population. We serve international students, international scholars, faculty, researchers. The majority of them, they are on visa statuses. And the vast majority of them, they are on F1 and J1 visa statuses. So what our office does is to provide advising on regulatory matters to make sure students and scholars are in compliance with their visa statuses. And also we host the co-curricular programs and the initiatives to engage international scholars students and faculty to make sure they have a sense of belonging and they have a sense of home, away from home. JONATHAN: Yes. So throughout the academic school year, our office hosts a variety of events for the students that vary from academic, professional, educational, cultural, and social events. And these events vary from International Cafe, mixers for international students, we have an international buddy program in our office, and we have other programs that are targeted for specific populations, like the Mason Korea student population and also the International Student Advisory Board. And throughout the semester, we try to host as many events as we can. And our students are very engaged and really enjoy the community aspect that we bring to the Mason community. YALI: And I know sometimes students think that, it is actually hard to find information what is going on in OIPS. I would recommend you to come to our office in person. We have lots of posters, flyers posted outside of our office. We also have a weekly newsletter that goes out to all international students every single Monday around 5 p.m. In addition, we also have flyers posted across campus. And if you don't have all the sources of information, you can always email either me or Jonathan or come to our office to seek any guidance if you need to. I do want to give a shameless plug for our upcoming International Week. International Week is a very unique and signature George Mason tradition to celebrate the diversity and richness of our international community. And this is going to be our 45th year to celebrate International Week. The dates are going to be March 27 to April 5th, 2026. And Jonathan is going to tell us a little bit rundown of the programs. JONATHAN: Yes, so during International Week, we have many events that are traditional to just the George Mason community. And these events include the International Week Parade and Festival, which is when students get to representtheir own nationalities, countries, and identities and walk around campus carrying those flags with so much pride. And that will be happening on March 31st. The next day on April 1st, we will be hosting our Tour Around the World event, which is a food around the world event and a food tasting event for students to get an opportunity to try food from all over the world. And on Thursday, April 2nd, it will be our big and most anticipated event, which is our International Dance Competition, which takes place in the Center for the Arts building. And that is the student organizations, the registered student organizations here at George Mason University competing for money prize to see who's just the best organization at dancing. YALI: And of course, you know, we do a lot of exciting and fun events. We also want to try to prepare students to be career ready. And that said, we do not work in silos. We do collaborate with a lot of other units on campus, including the University Career Services. So, we have workshops, we have other things going on to engage international students. And also we try to engage international alumni to connect with current students as well. In addition, our office, you know, as I mentioned earlier, the vast majority of international students are here on J-1 or F-1 visa statuses. We also host webinars and workshops on immigration related matters so that the students can start planning ahead for their upcoming journeys upon graduation. JONATHAN: Yeah, and don't think that we only support international students in our office. We love working with domestic students as well. And we love giving opportunity to domestic students to engage with the international student population. So domestic students have many opportunities to either work in our office or either participate in our programs as well. And we really encourage that because we think that's a very important part of the student experience to just learn about other people of other countries and from other multicultural backgrounds. So, if you're a domestic student, we definitely encourage you to try out our different programs and different initiatives that we have in our office. CADIE: And thank you again so much to the OIPS office. International Student Week sounds fantastic. I know I'm very excited for that since I missed it last year while studying abroad in Spain. Be sure to go check it out. Now onto your CHSS announcements. As this is spring break, we are deep in midterm season, and I've got two events for you guys once we come back to campus. The first of which being the CHSS link-up event. This is where alumni and students will be paired together, and it's designed to give you an honest practical insight into the realities of professional life. This spring's panel, Navigating Career Challenges, a holistic approach will explore common hurdles such as career pivots, workplace transitions, leadership growth, and overcoming setbacks, managing social anxiety, handling stress, and protecting your mental well-being while pursuing ambitious goals. The next event that I have for you guys is the CHSS Midterm Semester De-Stress Event, and I don't know about you guys, but I know for me, this midterm season has been stressful, so I might be pulling up. This is going to be Wednesday, March 18th from 10am to 12pm in the Horizon Hall Atrium, and it's really just going to be a time to come and de-stress and forget about your grades and your worries and your strife for a little bit, because you are allowed to take a mental break because if you get burnt out during midterm season, then you are not going to put your best work forward and your grade is going to suffer for that. Those are all the events that I have for you today. I'm going to take it back to the interview now. CADIE: Welcome back, here we are in Act 2, and this segment is going to be a bit of a deeper reflection, really pulling from your experiences as an international student here in Mason and how that impacts and affects your daily life, because I'm sure it does impact and affect your daily life. Our very first question for this second act is, how have cultural differences influenced the way you approach learning, communication, or the relationships you have here at Mason? SAM: One thing that comes to mind is, I'm from a country where we tend to pay utmost respect to elders, so there's an appeal to authority kind of thing, where anything that has been told to you by an elder is considered the right thing, or that is what you're supposed to do. I think I really had to unlearn that after coming to the States, because we still respect elders here in the United States, but it's not that anything that they say just goes by, or there's no input from the other person. I can still, my professors can still say something, and I can still be like, “Um…” I can still question, I can still be like, “That to me does not seem like, I wouldn't be comfortable with that.” I can still say something back. And I think this is also kind of a culture shock that I experienced after coming to the States, that people are not hesitant to question or counter-question things that has been said to them by elders. But yeah, this is kind of one cultural difference that I really had to learn how to navigate in my academics, within my relationship, because I am constantly, I have to be constantly talking to people who are in positions above me, like my supervisor, or my professors, or the grad students that I work under, or instructors who are also still more experienced, or older than me. So yeah, I really had to, I guess, learn how to, in a way, level the playing field out, because in my head, I'd be like, oh my god, they're still older than me, I shouldn't be doing this, or I shouldn't be acting like in this certain way. I'd be thinking that in the past, but now I've just been more comfortable on how to navigate my relationships better. CADIE: Yeah. EMMA: Are there any moments when you have felt at home here? CADIE: And for listeners, we use quotations around at home. SAM: Definitely, yes. Working as a patriot leader, I think that really made me feel at home. The reason for why I returned, I was actually a two-time patriot leader, so I did that over the summer of 2024, and also the summer of 2025. So the reason for why I returned in the first place was because I felt really at home, I felt like I belonged there. First semester, my first and second semester, it was kind of like, I was still trying to find my way around university, trying to adapt to the US lifestyle and everything. But just joining the new students and family programs, I was just able to smoothly fit in, and it just felt like me. I was a part of it. And definitely, being an orientation leader, and doing all the stuff, like dancing on the stage, and taking students for a tour, and just making friends, living in the dorms together, all of that just made me feel at home. And looking back, that was such a special moment for me. CADIE: I can say coming into Mason, going to orientation with the patriot leaders, that was really nice from an outsider's perspective. I remember laughing, because obviously the dance is funny, and it's a little corny, but it's also just really entertaining. And it was one of those things that I'm like, oh my gosh, I can't believe that I'm actually here and in college now. This is so surreal. EMMA: That makes my PL heart very happy, my patriot leader heart very happy. CADIE: Yes, it was very entertaining. And if I wasn't an out-of-state student, I would probably sign up for being a patriot leader, low-key. But I kind of want to go home in the summer, so EMMA: Understandable. CADIE: Yeah, moving on. In what ways do you feel your experiences at Mason have prepared you for life beyond graduation? SAM: So as I've mentioned earlier, I want to be in academic researching. I like studying, and I like the act of discovery, and the whole scientific method, making hypotheses. I love research, and I'm not good at it. It's not that I'm like, oh, so good at statistics, and research methods, and everything. I just like, I'm passionate about it, and I try to get myself into positions that can help me get some sort of research experience. And Mason is an R1 tier university, so we have a lot, especially in psychology, we have a lot of research stuff going on. There's so many research labs, and in different domains within psychology. There's cognition-related labs, there are human factors-related labs, or industrial organization, or neuroscience, or developmental, clinical, all sorts of labs. And just being able to talk to professors, I was able to get into a lab so easily, and all I had to do was set up an appointment with the professor who's the principal investigator, and we just talked over, and I told them about my research interests, and they were like, yeah, come on in, we can get you on board, and you can just volunteer. And I was able to do all of that, and it was not a hard process at all. And I'm so grateful that Mason has, Mason just lets undergrad students, or even graduate students, I'm not really sure about the higher ed, upper level process, but for us, undergraduate students, it's really easy. All you have to do is make an effort, and professors, or faculty, or anybody, they do recognize that you're trying to put in work, you're actually passionate about it, and they will give you opportunities for that. So being able to do that, and gain some research experience, I think that has been really helpful for me to also know that, oh, this is what I want to do. And it has been preparing me for grad school, I know who to go to, I know what sort of things I will be possibly doing in the future. So I'm really glad that Mason has given me those opportunities, and I've also put an effort to get myself into those places, positions, and yeah, that is how I've been, I guess, working my way towards my career. CADIE: Yeah, that sounds amazing. Are you planning on staying here for grad school? SAM: Oh, that's something that I still am not really sure about. CADIE: Got it. SAM: Yeah, I will be applying to George Mason, but let's see, like, I'm not really sure, but I will be applying to George Mason. EMMA: So you touched on this a little bit so far, but looking back, how would you describe your personal growth since the start of your journey here at Mason? SAM: I was, in the past, like, when I was in Nepal, I grew up in a very, like, sheltered, I was a very sheltered kid, definitely coddled, and I didn't really go out much. I didn't really have a lot of friends, a big social circle. I mean, I still don't have, like, that huge of a friend group. And like, I'm not like a extremely extroverted social butterfly who goes out everywhere, but I feel like I've still, I'm not an extroverted person, but I still, I feel like I've been able to garner a lot of the social skills that I did not have back home. And yeah, like, I've personally seen growth in terms of, like, my sociability and just, like, the ability, like, my capacity to hold, like, a conversation with another person, like, have productive discussions with another person, all that kind of stuff, and also independence. Like, I've definitely begin to, I guess, realize, like, my own autonomy, that I'm, like, an autonomous person, I can make my own decisions. And like, actually, like, understanding the weight of my decisions, those sort of things are, like, some, I guess, yeah, I've definitely seen personal growth in those areas of my life, independence, like, sociability. And yeah. CADIE: Yeah, I think, regardless of nationality, being on your own and being in a new place on your own for the first time, it's such a great way, but also, like, scary way to gain independence, because you are going through so much as you're going through the process of culture shock. Because culture shock, well, it is, like, commonly referred to as, you know, maybe something that you find shocking, like, you know, that you mentioned, like, the sky, or I know for me getting to Europe, it was the caps on the bottles, the fact that they don't come all the way off. But it's also a process where you get somewhere., and at first, it's like this honeymoon stage, oh, my gosh, I can't believe I'm here, it's amazing. And then little by little, like some of the cracks kind of slip in. And you're like, oh, this isn't what I thought it was. I'm not enjoying it as much. And then you hit this moment of like, I don't want to be here, somebody take me home. And then slowly, you begin to acclimate. And you begin to have a newfound appreciation for your new home. And when we talk about that process of acclimating, can you talk about what that experience was like for you? SAM: Um, acclimating was definitely hard. It was a slow process. Like I, I didn't just like me, like, I, I don't think I'd be able to like have like, be on a podcast or like be talking about my experiences like this in my freshman year, it definitely took a lot of like, time, like a lot of social interactions. There's so many interactions that took place for me to get to the point that I'm at right now. So it was definitely a slow, slow process. I like, I think I'm fortunate to have had like a strong social support, like for my friends, for my family. And that really, that really helped a lot. But also, yeah, the process of acclimating, it was slow, it was deliberate. And I also had to put myself, like I had to make myself uncomfortable, like, a lot of the times for me to like, get to the point that I'm at right now. For example, like before I did the orientation stuff, as a patriot leader, I was also a Mason ambassador, which I don't really tell people about a lot, because it was only for a single semester. But my second semester at Mason, I applied to become a Mason ambassador. And I take like little groups of like families and high school students like around campus, I'd show them like the South Side, Hanover Hall, and the College of Public Health, like the Peterson Health Sciences building. So I did that. My first semester, I applied to be a part of this like a club called Kids Can Write Club. And basically, we used to go to this one school in Fairfax, an elementary school in Fairfax. And we helped like, fourth graders write their own story and publish their own Amazon book, like a little hard copy book. So yeah, I had to do a lot of those tiny little things to get to the point of like, you know, being like talking to professors telling them about my research interests and being like, oh, like, I want to do this and that. So yeah, it was it was a lot of like little tiny efforts that led me here. CADIE: Yeah, EMMA: That perfectly sets up the next question, which if you're willing to go deeper, what helped you adjust to life in the US? SAM: Again, having like a strong social support. I have friends who live on campus as well as off campus. I also have like my relatives who also live nearby, they live like 20 minutes away. So I think like a huge part, like a huge part of like, why I was able to acclimate, um, like, I wouldn't call it easily. But like, having that, like having that social net around me, helped me a lot. Like, because I knew that I had some people that I could like rely and like fall back to if like something were to happen to me, if some, like I if I were to like, I guess have financial problems, or if I had some sort of like logistical problems, I could always like rely on them. And just like socially as well, I knew that, oh, I could always if I ever felt lonely, I could always just like call up my friend and be like, Oh, I'm like, you know, “Can we hang out? Can we like do something?” Or like during festivities, I think, you know, I miss Nepal a lot when it's time like when it's like the peak festival time one festival, the Nepalese people we consider like a big festival is called Dashain, and it usually takes place during October, mid-October. So I usually hang out with my friends and we are we do our own little thing like we make food together, or like, we do something by ourselves. And it is not like how it was like in Nepal, but we're still trying to adjust to how it's like living in the US and like making things work with what we have here. So yeah, definitely like having that social circle having like a net to that I can like rely on really did help me in the acclimation process a lot. EMMA: Yeah, that's really beautiful. CADIE: That is so key. And so essential. Community is so important. And I wish that we emphasized and relied on community more. And on that topic, this isn't one of the scripted questions. But just as a follow-up, while we're sitting here and listening, you know, what advice would you have for other international students who are searching out that community themselves? Because I couldn't imagine like, being an international student without having people there. I was lucky enough when I was heading to Spain, like to have a cohort. So yeah, what advice would you give to international students who want to find their people? SAM: I would say that it is it is gonna be like a different experience, like coming to the United States, like it won't be like how it's like back home. But if you put yourself out there, you don't have to go, like, above and beyond or mask, like, aspects of your personality just so that you can fit in. Like, if you just like, are authentic, and if you just put yourself out there, if like you see somebody that you really like, go, but you can go initiate a conversation, you can just like, do that. And you can see, it doesn't matter if you guys are like, if you guys become like best friends close. That's not the goal, you don't have to be best friends with that person. Just like, initiate that conversation, like get to know another person, put yourself out there. And I think just like, yeah, just putting yourself out there is really important. That is what I would recommend that international students do. Things are going to be different things are going to like, even if you go from like one school to another school, in your home country, things are going to be different. And it is an entirely different country. Like coming to George Mason coming to the United States, it's going to be a completely different experience. But you have to like, make yourself uncomfortable. You should put yourself out like in uncomfortable situation. If you want to do something, just like, go for it. Enjoy the process. Don't really worry about the outcome or how it's going to be like, just like, I guess, embarrass yourself a little bit. Just put yourself out there. And it is going to be it is going to be a little difficult, but then you'll get comfortable, you get used to it, you'll learn. And that is how we grow. That is how we adapt. So yeah, just make yourself uncomfortable, a little at least. Yeah, that is what I would tell like international students. CADIE: Yeah, I love that advice. EMMA: I think that's great advice. CADIE: Can you walk us through and shine a light on what the moving process was like for you? Going from Nepal to Virginia, got across an ocean to get here. So what was that process like? What were the ins and outs of it that people who have not had to move internationally wouldn't really consider? SAM: I think visa process that was incredibly long. And it was also like, full of uncertainty for me. Because just because like you go to like an embassy and like you do the interview does not mean that you're like granted a visa right away. You really, it's like a financial you have to have like a financial proof. You have to like show it to the people in the embassy that you can afford to live and like to pay for your tuitions and everything. And all that process, it's really full of uncertainty. And after that, there's again, like booking a flight ticket, especially like Nepal and from Nepal to USA. The tickets are also super expensive. So there's that to consider. And after that, like the customs, you know, like after coming to the states, all that. And yeah, like, I am fortunate to live on campus and in the dorms. And I'm also an RA. So my housing is covered because I work for housing. I can'timagine how it's like living outside. I've had friends who live outside and it's they had they had like, they had to learn a lot of things like they had to learn about how rent work, how like electricity bills have to be paid or how like your internet setup works. And all those like little tiny things have to be taken into consideration for the move-in process. For me, I still consider myself relatively like lucky compared to my friends who live off campus, because like, the only move in and out that I've had to do is within the university within like from like one dorm to the other. But for my friends, it's it's a little if you're living off campus, and you're, you're probably going to have to like, learn about a lot of like, have to learn about like a lot of life skills, like, for example, how rent works, how like lease works, and all that stuff. For me, it's, it has been like, relatively an easier process. But yeah, it is definitely a learning experience. So you're gonna have to get like, you're gonna have to find yourself in that position to learn more about it. EMMA: I think I'll say, I don't even know how I mean, how renting and leasing and paying bills. I don’t even know how that works, so. So I'm curious, can you walk us through the experience of going to DC for the first time after moving here? I think, from my understanding, I think that's a very, like, I've heard that's a very exciting thing for visitors or international students to visit. SAM: Yeah, oh my god, DC. So once I came to the States, I didn't like, start living in a dorm right away. I lived with my uncle and aunt. The first place that they actually took me, like, to show me the States was to DC. So we went to the monument. I've been to the monument a lot of the times now. But yeah, that was like, incredible. Like, I felt this, I was like, looking at a really huge pencil. It looked like a pencil. There's that seeing the White House, like in, like actuality, that was pretty cool. Um, yeah, I took a lot of pictures, we went to like a lot of parks, it was a hot day, it was August. And I'm not really because I'm from Nepal, and it's really cold out there. It was super hot. When I came to the- it felt as though it was like super hot. Now I've like been used to the the climate and the temperature change that happens. But back in 2023, it was it felt like it was so much hotter than, I guess, in Nepal. So yeah, we I also go it was, it was so real, though, because I'd only seen DC like movies, like the White House, and I went to the National History Museum. What is it? EMMA: The Smithsonian? SAM: Yes! Oh my god, that was, that was incredible. Like, I love museums personally. And just like seeing all the artifacts, like seeing like everything inside it it was incredible. And yeah, I had Chipotle for the first time. And yeah, that was that was my DC experience. It was it was definitely surreal. Because I'd only seen DC in movies before, or in news actually in news channels. So it was incredible. Yeah, it was and it was a hot day. Yes, that is all I remember. First time in DC. Chipotle was really good, though. The first time I had it, oh my god, I was like, yummy. CADIE: I was just about to ask you and what was the consensus on Chipotle? What was the consensus on American fast dining, fast food? SAM: It was a lot like the portion. It was huge. It was a huge bowl. Now I feel like now Chipotle is like one once a day kind of meal for me now, you know, like if I if I eat like if I haven't eaten anything for the whole day, Chipotle and I'll be done and I'll be like, good to go to bed. But that time I'd already had breakfast, and it was kind of like a lunch. So that was like a huge plate of food for me. But yeah, it was yummy. CADIE: Chipotle is always good. And I can't believe it, but we're already coming to a close. Um, this has gone by so fast. And I'm so grateful that you're here to sit down with us and answer all these questions and give some clarity on the international student experience. Because I think that, like I said earlier, Mason has such a vibrant international student community. But I also feel like, as students who aren't international, we should engage with that community more and make sure that we are all Mason students together as well. EMMA: I don't think that non-international students realize how embedded and integral international students are to the community and vitality of the George Mason student body. CADIE: 100%! 100%. With that being said, we like to ask all of our guests this final question. That is what advice would you give to students here at Mason? Maybe specifically international students? This could just be for the student body as a whole.I'll leave it up to you. SAM: College life… it is it is weird. It is it is new. It is new for like everyone. I think not just international students, even like regular locals, like some people who've been like, like who've been living in like the Fairfax area for like the entirety of their lives. It is still a new experience for everyone. And international students like yeah, we have to like, outside of just like being new to college, we are also new to the country. So when you're, I guess, interacting with anyone who's like from a different country, just have that like cultural humility. Just like know that oh, you know, yeah, they're from like a different place. And just being more mindful of that as you're interacting with them. But also know that like, you know, just because they're from a different country does not mean that like, I guess it's not that they don't know anything. And be sure not to like ostracize them. Be sure not to stereotype them. Just like have like an actual conversation with them. Because everyone I am speaking here as like somebody who's from Nepal, who's international student, but like my experience might be different from like another Nepalese fellow Nepalese international student. So yeah, just like talk to the person talk to the individual, then like just like, think of them as this like, I guess, this sub subset of like community. But yeah, like talk to the individual, get to know them. And that is how I would say that is kind of like the one message that I'd like to tell the community. Everyone has it hard. Everyone is new to the college. Everyone is new to campus. But yeah, it is just a process we all find our way. And yeah, good luck. If you're a first-year student listening to this and good luck, your things are going to get better. And you're in for a long ride. CADIE: Things do get better, though. I swear. EMMA: Well, I think all of that was a wonderful message to share and a great note to close out this episode. Sam, thank you so much for being here. Is there anything that you would like to shout out or promote? Where can listeners find you on social media or in CHSS? SAM: Shout out, I would probably shout out the residential learning community for the College of Humanities and Social Sciences. We have a wonderful residential community here. Like you, if you're a CHSS major, you can live on campus with other fellow CHSS majors. You can have a roommate who's like the same major as you or like similar kind of like, for example, if you're a psychology major, you might have a roommate who's criminology major or like you might have other people living on your floor who are also doing the similar kind of stuff that you're doing or plan on doing in the future. And I think we don't really like promote the RLC that much. People really don't know that they have an option of doing that. Definitely look into it. I think it's a wonderful opportunity for first-year students, especially. That is like one shout out I wanna give. And yeah, you can find me on LinkedIn. I am, my username is Samriddhi Subedi, my full name. And you can find me on LinkedIn. That's the only social media that I think I, like my professional social media. So you can find me on LinkedIn at Samridhi Subedi. Yeah, that's kind of all that there is. EMMA: Yeah, okay. CADIE: Amazing. EMMA: Once again, Sam, thank you for joining us. Listeners, thank you so much for listening to this episode of CHSS Connection. CADIE: Hey, thank you for listening to this episode of CHSS Connection. This podcast is hosted and written by Emma Howard and Cadie Junker. Our audio engineer is Dennis Gabitov. Our supervisor is Eleana Velasco. This podcast is produced by George Mason University's College of Humanities and Social Sciences, Undergraduate Academic Affairs. Special thanks to the Mason Innovation Exchange for their recording studio. The podcast could not happen without them. This project was developed in collaboration with Career Services and the On-Campus Internship Program. CADIE: If you love the show and wanna interact with more of our content, follow us on Instagram @chsspod or check out the CHSS website, where there's an ongoing library of our episodes. You can also be a potential guest on our podcast. EMMA: If you enjoyed the show and would like to express your support, there are a few things you can do. You can leave a review wherever you are listening to this podcast. You can help by word of mouth, either by telling someone directly who might be interested in the show or posting about it on social media, tagging @chsspod. All these things help support the show, and we appreciate anyone who has done it or will do so in the future. Again, thank you for tuning into this episode. We hope you will tune into the next episode, where you're joined by Dr. Mike Hurley for our first-ever Faculty Spotlight episode. But until then, stay curious! CADIE: Stay creative! BOTH: And stay connected!