Bre Lind is the 2022 Outstanding Senior in Psychology

May 5, 2022 - Caroline Kraft

Bre Lind is a senior from Roseville, Michigan. She will graduate in May with a Bachelor of Science in Psychology. We spoke with Bre about her experiences as a psychology major at MSU.

 

Why did you chooose to attend MSU?

"I chose MSU because in high school I played soccer with my current roommate and she was going to MSU already. Social support is really important, and it's good to know someone in college already because it helps you get out of your comfort zone, so we've been roommates ever since."

 

How did you choose to be a Psychology major?

"I figured out my freshman year in high school that I wanted to be a psychology major. We had to a project in one of my science classes to pick a field and do a presentation in front of the class. I was the last one to choose, so Psychology was the one given to me. I fell in love with it. There are so many aspects and fields. I thought it was cool there was sports psychology and IO psychology, but clinical psychology really stood out to me. I knew I wanted to work with people that needed to be diagnosed and receive treatment."

 

What activities were you involved in as a Psychology major?

"First, I was in the Psychology Scholars program. It was a really cool program because you got to learn a lot about graduate school programs. It gives you a good idea of what the psychology field can look like.I was also a research assistant in three different labs: the MSU Twin Registry, the Clinical Psychophysiology ab, and the Personality and Wellbeing Lab.I’ve also had 8 poster presentations. Two I presented at SPR, and two I will be presenting at APS in May. I was also involved in the preschool trauma and loss project. I got to learn about adverse childhood experiences and trauma and help children with emotion regulation. I was also an undergraduate teaching assistant with Dr. Kelly Klump. I thought that was really fun. I was also in Psi Chi for a little bit."

 

Tell us about your experiences as a research assistant.

"I’ve had really good experiences. Specifically, I think everyone wants you to succeed and there are lots of opportunities to do so, whether is with data analysis or lit reviews. They want to give you a scope of the research process so that they can make you a better fit for the field. The faculty view themselves as mentors to students, and I appreciate that. I had a really good experience with many projects. One that stands out is the nondeceptive placebo study where I was a data coordinator and had the opportunity to learn with a postdoc how to code in R Studio for the whole summer. Now I’m proficient in R studio and I can make data visuals, so that was one of my favorite experiences in research. Overall, all my experiences in the labs were very positive."

 

What is your advice for Psychology majors?

"Get as much experience as you can in different things: teaching, getting involved with research, getting internships. If you are not sure what path you want to go to career wise in psychology, getting experience is great. There are so many opportunities at MSU, sometimes you just have to ask a professor or an undergraduate advisor. Even if you’re not interested in the opportunity, you can still learn something from it. Networking is also important. In a lot of areas you need to have connections and networks with people. If you go to a university like Michigan State, make sure you utilize that because it can lead you to a job position in the future."

 

What is your favorite MSU memory?

"Reading on the bench by the fountain near the Student Services building between classes."

 

What are your plans for next year?

"To work as a lab coordinator. I want to enhance my research skills so I’ll be a really competitive candidate for PhD Clinical Psychology programs when I apply. I want to research suicide. I’m really interested in adolescents who have anxiety and depression who fixate on suicidal thoughts or have suicidal behaviors. I want to research risk factors and protective factors to create better preventative and intervention methods for suicide."