Jia, from Beijing, China, chose Ohio State for its high quality psychology program and its passionate school spirit. She majored in psychology because she wanted to learn more about why people make decisions and what drives human behavior as well as because she wanted to use psychology’s scientific lens to help society.

During her time at OSU, Jia served as a Peer Career Coach at ASC Career Services, a Wellness Coach, and an International Orientation Leader. Jia states about her time as an orientation leader last summer: “I was blessed to be able to welcome and help new international students [as] they arrived at Columbus, as I was one of them just three years ago.”

After graduation, Jia plans to become a mental health counselor. She really enjoyed her abnormal psychology class and was impressed by the instructor’s interactive teaching style and passion for educating student about mental illness.

Her advice to students who might be considering psychology as a major? “Take at least two psychology courses, do some research on . . . what you can do with a psychology degree, talk to a psychology advisor, psychology students, exploration advisor, your parents and friends, and then decide if you are the person who enjoys learning psychology.”