Monday, August 27, 2012

Senior Spotlight: Lauren Goossens

The past three years at Ashland University have been a great experience, and I have had many opportunities to involve myself in campus activities and to excel in academics.  I switched my major to psychology my sophomore year, and I am glad that I made the decision to become a psychology major.  I began working as a research assistant for Dr. Bonfiglio, which has given me great insight into the research aspect of psychology.  Through being a research assistant, I have learned the process of conducting research and analyzing research, as well as presenting the findings.  In the spring of my sophomore year, I presented our research that I worked on as a research assistant titled "Weight Changes in First Semester University Students" at the Midwestern Psychological Association (MPA) conference in Chicago and at AU's Undergraduate Research and Creative Activities (URCA) symposium.  I continued to work on studies with Dr. Bonfiglio during my junior year, but I also designed and conducted a study with Rachel Carson and Sarah Guarino for our Advanced Research Methods course.  We presented our research "The Influence of Context and Color on Memory" at the Eastern Psychological Association (EPA) conference in Pittsburgh and at AU's URCA symposium in the spring.  Also, I was awarded the Outstanding Sophomore Award for psychology, and the Outstanding Junior Award for psychology, and I am a part of Psi Chi.

I am also involved with other activities and groups outside of psychology.  I am a member of the Honors Program at Ashland, and I am a member of Alpha Lambda Delta.  I worked as a lifeguard at the Rec Center during my freshman year, and I now work as a Writing Assistant at the Writing Studio on campus, and that has given me the opportunity to work with students and improve my abilities to work with and help others.  I am a member of two Community Care Groups: PAW (Peers for Animal Welfare), and Adopt-a-Grandparent.  Psychology Club is another important group that I am in, and being in these different groups have taught me responsibility and teamwork.  I also attend The Well on campus, and I take part in several different exercise classes at the Rec Center.