Alumni

September 25, 2017 at 10:23 am

Happy Beginnings | Alum Begins Clinical Psychology Program at Auburn

A smiling Melissa Miller

Melissa Miller

Editor’s Note: The Happy Beginnings series features recent College of Arts & Sciences graduates who are getting started in careers, graduate school and service.

Melissa Miller ’14 begins her first year in the Clinical Psychology doctoral program at Auburn University (child track) and is a Graduate Teaching Assistant for two undergraduate psychology classes. She is enjoying being immersed in academia again.

After graduating with B.A.s in Psychology and Sociology-Criminology and a Certificate in Law, Justice and Culture from the College of Arts & Sciences at Ohio University, Miller worked at Camp STAR, a summer treatment program for children with ADHD.

Then she worked for almost two years as a Clinical Research Coordinator for The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center where she coordinated an industry sponsored drug study for children with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and an National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)-funded study investigating the efficacy of neurofeedback for children with ADHD.

“It’s refreshing to be surrounded by people that have similar interests, but different life experiences and backgrounds that got them to this point,” Miller says. “I’m excited to start working on my own research soon, which I hope to focus around intervention and assessment for childhood ADHD.”

How OHIO Prepared Her

I use ideas from Sociology-Criminology every day, specifically thinking about societial influence on the constructs of psychopathology. Being able to analyze things from an individual and societal perspective seems to be extremely valuable in my studies. Additionally, having Dr. Ted Welser for my capstone was a big help in my professional development (and a constant reminder that work and school can be challenging and fun at the same time). Truly, most of the faculty had a big impact on me and getting me where I am today! I’m thankful for my four years at OHIO.

I worked at the Center for Intervention Research in Schools during undergraduate, under the mentorship of Dr. Brian Wymbs and Anne Dawson. I also had the opportunity to work under Dr. Christine Gidycz in The Laboratory for the Study and Prevention of Sexual Assault.

Working in multiple labs as an undergraduate research assistant helped me figure out what I wanted to do and what area of research I was really interested in.

The Certificate of Law, Justice, and Culture program really helped me as well, teaching me how to comprehend and think critically about literature from different discipline areas. Dr. Kathleen Sullivan was a tremendous help through the certificate program.

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