Adolescent Diversion Program Spotlight: Morgan Dodd

December 18, 2024 - Shelly DeJong, Emily Johnson

Morgan Dodd is a psychology major with minors in Cognitive Science as well as Law, Public Policy, and Justice. As a junior, Morgan participated in the Adolescent Diversion Program (ADP), an experiential learning course that involves training undergraduate students to work with local youth who are involved in the juvenile court system. Morgan shared recently about how ADP impacted him and what advice he has to future psychology majors.     

  

Can you give an overview of your time with ADP? 

ADP is a two-semester course. For the first 4-5 weeks, you're in a small class of about 10 students, a TA, and a professor. Your curriculum is learning about foundations of social work, child development, trauma histories, and behavioral approaches to different situations. You learn a lot about yourself as well. You talk about things like boundaries, communication styles, and things of that nature.  

After you go through modules and the curriculum, you then get paired with a youth from the greater Lansing area. Your goal is to meet with them 6-8 hours a week for 18 weeks, which is why it's a two-semester course. The first semester is seen as the curriculum semester, and then you're an advocate for a kid. Your role is to hold their goals, needs, and beliefs in an unconditional and positive regard. You help them establish their goals and support them every step along the way until they achieve them. The beauty of it is every kid is at a different spot, and that's where you get a real one-on-one connection with somebody. 

 

How do you think ADP has impacted you? 

ADP and the time I spent with my youth has been the most foundational thing I've ever done. It is an incredibly beautiful thing in my mind. It's impacted me in the way I approach people in general, the way I think about how individuals were raised, viewing the differences between everybody, and how I think about the systematic factors that go into where people are in life. ADP has helped me realize how similar yet different everybody is. I believe ADP made me a better human, a better student, and a better friend. At MSU, it fulfills the experiential learning requirement, and it does exactly that. It is not learning through a textbook, presentation, or lecture. My kid taught me a lot of things, and I hope I was able to teach them as well. This was a very, very foundational experience for me. 

  

Did ADP help you figure out what you want to do for a career? 

It did! I had a decent idea, but ADP solidified it. With a psychology degree, you can do so many different things, but I definitely think ADP showed me that you can use what you learn from your major to make a big difference with people. By simply being there for somebody at the same time every week can already mean so much to them, and you can implement so many other things that take it a step further. ADP definitely helped me get a better understanding of how you can implement what you learn in school into the real world.  

  

What are you thinking for your future? 

I would like to go to graduate school and get a PhD. I'd like to be in a teaching position as a professor, which would come with research as well. I also want to have that clinical practice or social work aspect where I am involved with individuals or in a community setting. This would allow me to use the tools and knowledge I have gained to not only implement the science but also provide it to those who may not have access to it. After seeing how much of a difference I'm able to make in 18 weeks, I can't imagine how much I'd be able to make over a lifetime.  

 

What do you think is special about psychology? 

Psychology is everywhere, and it's really cool to see that other majors have been introduced to psychology concepts in their classes too. In just the psychology building alone, we have so many students that are going to go and do so many different things. In fact, I've never met two psych majors that wanted to do the same thing in their lives. It’s interesting in the sense that we're all here at one time, but we're all going to go and impact the world in our own diverse ways. 

Psychology is the study of who we are and why we do what we do. I'm really happy to live in a time where everyone is starting to realize that we are a part of the natural world and science applies to us too. Psychology is such a new thing, and it's exciting to be a part of a newer branch of science where we're still establishing theories. I think that's the beauty of it – how diverse and dynamic the field of psychology is.  

 

Have you had any moments or memories that stood out to you during ADP? 

I do! From a class perspective, it was nice to see how each student is approaching their case or assignment. I’ve never had a class that talks as much as my ADP class. Most lectures are quiet, but that's not the case here. There have been several moments where you see people stuck on how to handle a situation, because life happens, and the assignments can get very real, fast. There are also times when something funny happens, and the whole class laughs for 15 minutes. It’s interesting to observe the environment, not only with your youth, but also with the 10 people you're working with, and how they work through their cases and bounce ideas off each other. "Oh, I took my kid here; you should try this because your kid would like that," or "I approached the conversation this way, and it really worked for me. I’m open to suggestions." We have all managed to build a personal connection with everyone’s case, and that was one of the more memorable aspects of the class.  

 

Do you have any advice for psych students or any student who isn't thinking about doing ADP? 

I would 100% say, apply to ADP. It is incredibly involved, and the program leaders are very aware of that, which is why they give students a chance to walk away if it is not for them. No harm, no foul! I would try it because there is no telling what you are going to get out of it unless you try it. ADP is more than a grade – it is what you gain from it. Apply, try it out, do the interview, enroll in a class, and be as involved as you can.  

ADP is good for students who aren't sure of what they want to do. I didn't know what I wanted to do my freshman year. I just showed up and started taking classes. If you go through ADP and did not enjoy it, then you know to join a realm of psychology that does not involve that. The program is a unique thing to MSU, and I don't know when I'll get another opportunity like it. It is an awesome thing to throw yourself at. The students I've been able to work with are by far some of the most memorable students that I will be with in my college career. The TAs and the professors always have your best interest in mind. It’s just a great program altogether.