Major: German Studies and Philosophy
Profession: Clinical Psychology Researcher, Graduate Student
Hometown: Temple City, CA
What are you doing now?
I currently live in Berlin and am pursuing a M.A. in philosophy at Humboldt Universit盲t. The program, 鈥淢ind and Brain,鈥 focuses on interdisciplinary facets of philosophy, psychology and neuroscience. I am most interested in questions concerning agency [the ability to act or refrain from action] in psychological disorders, as well as social stigma and criminalization of mental health problems that have increasingly clearer biological and neurological explanations. The program is free, but my costs of living are offset by a scholarship from the German Academic Exchange Program (DAAD).
I also, when I'm back in California, carve out as much time as I can to travel and spend time in the Eastern Sierra Nevada mountains backpacking and camping, and participate in quirky projects like interactive kinetic art boats and Burning Man theme camps. I foresee similar activities punctuating my time during graduate school and beyond.
How did you get there?
Continental philosophy and German literature classes sparked my interest in existential and humanistic questions, most notably the struggle to find, or create, individual agency and meaning in contexts that tend to stifle it. Though I had no idea where these intellectual pursuits would lead me, my academic advisors vigorously encouraged me to keep at them. By the time Pomona ended, I was overwhelmed with philosophical and literary knowledge that had not yet been consolidated into experiential knowledge, and I was eager to encounter these notions in less privileged and academic spaces. That very nebulous goal led me to a slew of jobs with underserved communities and individuals with psychological disorders, and what began to slowly take shape were persistent personal and social patterns that produced such existential contexts, such as trauma, compulsive behaviors and malformed coping mechanisms like substance use and crime.
For several seasons in the Eastern Sierras I led wilderness therapy trips for formerly incarcerated gang members and newly sober youth, and I saw how a change in environment can be invaluable for creating space for self-reflection and healthier behaviors. In San Francisco, I worked as a case manager for homeless families, helping them find temporary and low-income housing while supporting them through other crises such as domestic violence and substance use. Social work familiarized me with the way negative feedback loops keep at-risk populations vulnerable and deteriorate mental health, and here I became more consciously interested in clinical psychology. Most recently, I worked for the Veterans Affairs Medical Center and University of California, San Francisco, where I helped run randomized controlled clinical trials for pharmacotherapies and behavioral interventions, like yoga and alcohol approach bias modification, to aid the recovery of veterans with overlapping diagnoses such as posttraumatic stress disorder, traumatic brain injury and alcohol use disorder. I found that a solid chunk of post-graduation work was essential for my sense of direction and also for my growth personally.
How did Pomona prepare you?
It is almost impossible not to fall in love with the German language and literature when you have remarkable professors like Friederike von Schwerin-High and Hans Rindisbacher, tiny classes with animated discussions, and incredible departmental support to fund research projects and summer travel. Without this level of intense preparation I don鈥檛 think I would have been so eager to pursue an education abroad.
Equally invaluable were Prof. Steve Erickson鈥檚 philosophy classes, which will straight up change the way you think forever. He immersed me in ongoing conversations about the human predicament that to this day shape which questions I ask about the world and myself, and which frameworks I find meaningful. This training has helped me integrate client interactions with critical analysis of the broader implications of their situations and the purpose of my own work.
Finally, a general sense of openness that is cultivated by passionate and gregarious peers from Pomona certainly pushed me towards similarly whimsical and exploratory circles post-graduation.
Where do you see yourself in five years?
I hope to be pursuing a doctorate degree in clinical psychology and further researching harm reduction therapies for substance use, and working to provide psychotherapy to criminal offenders who have mental health problems. But there is also a non-zero chance that at that time I will instead be burrowed away in the mountains, hiding from the ills of technology, reading Heidegger and still trying to understand what he meant.
Any advice for current or prospective students?
Plan ahead for a way to make money that doesn鈥檛 drive you insane, but also seek out non-academic experiences that can expand what you know about yourself and the world, and let this inform how you spend your time and effort.
Your education will (awesomely) take you down some mysterious intellectual rabbit holes, but it is critical to resurface, take stock of your non-digital surroundings, and do what you can to be a kind and supportive human to those around you.