Ally, from Sylvania, OH, almost didn’t become part of the Buckeye family. “I never thought about OSU until my mom made me visit because we were in the area.” However, after seeing the beauty of the campus and the diversity of opportunities within the psychology department, she was sold. Psychology appealed to Ally because she wanted to better understand human thinking and behavior. After she graduates, she hopes to go into Human Resources and focus on employee training and development.

During her time at OSU, Ally is finding ways to get involved inside and outside the classroom. Last year, she served as a member of The College of Arts and Sciences Student Advisory Board where she participated in collaborative discussions with students across majors: “Participating on this board has allowed me to share my own experience to benefit other students. It’s not often you can make a suggestion and see it come to life, yet we all feel heard when we see our ideas implemented.” Ally also serves as a small group leader through Cru, participated in Buckeyethon and Empower Sports, and created an intramural soccer team with some friends (pre-Covid). She is also completing a Leadership Certificate through The Fisher College of Business, which she describes as a great opportunity to network and engage with different professors and students. Within psychology, she’s enjoyed the Joe and Dough events as well as her courses, especially Social Psychology and Psychology of Motivation. Both courses challenged her to perceive things differently, think for herself, and better understand how to use and interpret research.

Her advice to future psychology Buckeyes? “Psychology is not just being a counselor, there are so many career paths you can take; don’t get stuck in that bubble, be creative. Check out the psych website! You can scroll through the required classes and see what interests you as well as see the different events.” She also highly recommends studying on the 7^th floor of Thompson Library and taking time to enjoy Mirror Lake from the steps of the amphitheater.