PSY Undergraduate Internship Spotlight: Acacia Meyer
July 14, 2023 - Shelly DeJong
Acacia Meyer is a junior psychology major from Grand Rapids, Michigan. Recently, she answered some questions about her summer internship at Pine Rest Psychological Consultation Center.
Acacia, what drew you to psychology originally?
After struggling with my mental health and getting diagnosed with juvenile arthritis, I got
interested in psychology and how chronic illness can affect people’s mental health.
Where are you interning this summer and what do they do there?
I am interning at the Pine Rest Psychological Consultation Center. They provide comprehensive evaluations for children through older adults including ADHD and learning disabilities, anxiety disorders, autism spectrum disorders, etc.
What kind of things are you doing at this internship?
- Administering and scoring a computerized testing protocol for those suspected of having
Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) or Autistic Spectrum Disorder (ASD). - Providing relevant behavioral observations during the test administration
- Administering and scoring verbal and visual-motor screening instruments
- Scoring behavioral rating scales that have been completed by parents/family & teachers
- Entering test scores and information
What do you like most about your internship?
My favorite part is administering the tests and talking to the clients.
How has your psychology background prepared you for this internship?
I believe taking psychology courses and being in a couple of research labs helped me. PSY 295 has helped me understand the data at the internship and interacting with kids for the Kid Power Lab helped me have more experience working with kids. My internship has a variety of different aged clients including kids and adults, so that has helped. Furthermore, taking Abnormal Psychology helped me understand more about all of the psychological disorders. It helped me comprehend ADHD and ASD more, which my internship mostly interacts with.
Do you have advice for others looking for an internship?
I suggest looking at internships on Handshake and talking to upperclassmen about opportunities they did before.
What are your hopes for the future?
After graduating, I am planning on going to graduate school. I plan to become either a clinical
child psychologist or a pediatric psychologist.