Interview 2

When and how did you first discover psychology? My uncle, George Petrangelo, was a professor at SCSU...so all of growing up I knew what it was and I always respected and admired him because he had two Master's Degrees and a PhD. But more than the education, it was his knowledge for PEOPLE and how he interacted with them that always impressed me.  What about it interested you? How it applied to our lives always interested me most. The theories are actually rather dry, unless we can make the cerebral connection to the things that happen in our own lives!  What made you decide that you wanted a career in psychology? I took general psych in college as a freshman and I was 'hooked.' It was pretty much a done deal after that!  Where did you go to get your degrees? In what years did you get them? I received my BS from the University of WI-Stout in the spring of 1991 in Psychology with an emphasis in Human Resource Management and a minor in Speech Communication. In 1995 I received my MA from St. Cloud State University with two focal areas: Counseling Psychology and Vocational Rehabilitation.  Why did you decide to go into the educational field of psychology and not another branch? I didn't at first. I first worked at a bank, then went on for my master's degree. At the time I graduated, the State of MN had changed their licensing laws, which basically made counselors 'obsolete' with only a master's degree. Insurance companies wouldn't pay for them. This has since changed, but as life would have it, I had to choose a different fork in the road....the fork that I was always suppose to take, I just didn't know it at the time! I was VERY disappointed and so went back to the bank to work while I figured out my route. I ended up working for Dale Carnegie Training in their MN branch selling training/consulting services to fortune 100 and 500 companies. I also began actually TRAINING our customers. I did that for 10 years when I took an adjunct position at Century Community College teaching Lifespan Psych. THey hired me one day and 3 days later I was prepped and in front of a classroom for the first time in a college setting! Baptism by fire is what's it called! I loved it and quite slowly eased out of the training and development field and into teaching at ARCC.  How has that decision to go into psychology impacted your life? In every way--physically [it's exhausting], emotionally [I can't tell you the number of emotions FELT in this job, sometimes all at the same time!], psychologically and spiritually. It's touched my relationships with my family, my husband, my children and all others I come into contact with. It's given my life purpose and meaning.  What are some of the most rewarding experiences you have had with this field? Seeing students turn their lives around. There are endless examples of students being the FIRST generation college students in their families, having horrific 'growing up conditions' and somehow in all of that finding their self-worth and desire to go to college and get an education, breaking the cycle of non-education and sometimes even poverty and abuse. Those situations DRIVE me. I came from a fairly NORMAL family, but I, too, am a first generation college student and so that specific population is dear to me! Helping them to be successful gives my life a purpose!  What kind of struggles, and down sides do you face in this field? How do they compare with your upsides/rewarding experiences? I'm not big on having to be the 'heavy' and coming down on a student or students when they need to buck up and get on board, but it's a necessary evil. I'm getting more confident at holding the line! ;)   What is your favorite thing about teaching psychology? The connections that students can make with their lives and when the lightbulb goes off!  Is there anything you wish you could change in your field of psychology or relating back to your job? I wouldn't change anything. It's what it is. The history of it unfolding, the theorists, even the strange ones, still have offered great things to the field and I'm not big on changing what's behind us, only what's in front of us!  How do you try to make an impact in your students' lives? By helping them to believe in themselves, to trust themselves, to embrace education and to understand how important they are to being a voice and the "change" in our world.  What is the number one thing you want all your students to take away from your classes? Understanding that they are worthy of a college education, of being successful and grabbing happiness as their own! If they leave my classes seeing 'the cup 1/2 FULL rather than 1/2 EMPTY', I've done my job!  How have your students impacted you? In ENDLESS ways. They humor me, they entertain me, they challenge me, my thinking, my brain capacity!  They energize me, they inspire me, they've changed me spiritually. It's been quite the ride. I can see their faces, many of them, whom I've taught over the  years and can tell you how they've changed me. I don't have enough time or space to write them all.  Have your students taught you anything? If so give some examples. They've taught me many things but one of the most important lessons, which has been a repeated lesson learned in my life is to NOT JUDGE A BOOK BY IT"S COVER! They've taught me that everyone deserves a 2nd, and in some cases a 3rd and 4th chance and they've even taught me that sometimes the 'dog really does eat your homework!'  I remember a student the first year I taught at ARCC in the green tin shed bldg across from the current campus. He came into IS 105 [lecture hall and performing arts center] with his hat and pants both riding low, one on his eyes the other on his hips. He had an attitude about him and before I even connected with his eyes, I judged him. I thought, "Oh boy...he and I are going to have some issues this semester!" He got an A on his first test, one on his 2nd test and very quickly I was proven WRONG about my first impressions! I've tried really, really hard to not make that mistake again!  Finally, is this a career that you could see yourself doing for the rest of your life? Why? Yes, because it brings me such joy and meaning. I wish this for everyone. I've taught Career Development to so many students over the years and I've tried to instill in them the analogy that Shrek mentions. We are all like onions, with many layers. Peeling them back is finding our TRUE self. I feel like it's a life process, for sure, but as far as my career goes, the onion has been peeled, I have found the inner core....the thing that was written for me to be and to do long before I was born. I wish that for all my students....to find the same depth of purpose and meaning.  I cannot, truly, imagine another job other than TEACHING people, that could bring me such things. I believe it's in Gods master plan for my life.