Ayesha Shaikh
Placement: Miami University, Middletown campus
PFF Mentor: Tony Cooper
As a clinical doctoral student, my role models have included faculty whose time is primarily split between research and clinical practice. Through my involvement as a PFF scholar, the range of options for a career in academia has been greatly expanded through exposure to faculty mentors whose careers incorporate an emphasis on teaching in a liberal arts setting. My teaching placement provided me with the unique opportunity of teaching a course in abnormal psychology on a branch campus with a faculty mentor. I found this to be the most rewarding aspect of the PFF Program in that it has helped me to rethink and redefine my professional identity. I also learned a great deal about teaching more diverse student populations, both through my teaching placement and also through my interactions with faculty at regional teaching conferences, during brown bag discussions, and at the PFF symposium.
Amy Buddie
Placement: Earlham College
PFF Mentor: Kathy Milar
Through PFF, I feel I have gained valuable insight into what life is really like as a professional academic psychologist. For my placement, I supervised senior research projects at Earlham College. As I had never supervised student projects before nor had I ever taught outside of Miami, I felt my experiences helped me grow as an academic. I strongly believe that having the experience of teaching at a small liberal arts college made me a stronger applicant in my job search this year. Additionally, PFF provided me with the opportunity to attend several teaching conferences, where I made contacts and learned new teaching techniques. Through the PFF invited speaker program, I was able to discuss with other professionals such issues as diversity in the classroom, creating a teaching portfolio, and lecturing effectively in large lecture classes. PFF is a fantastic program that I feel has rounded out my training as a graduate student.
Erin Crawford Cressy
Placement: College of Mount St. Joseph
PFF Mentor: Jim Bodle
The PFF program has been a great experience for me this year. Because of the variety of programs I have been apart of I have learned a tremendous amount about teaching in smaller college settings. This semester, for my placement, I am co-teaching an Introduction to Psychology course with Juliann Bosko Young at the College of Mt. St. Joe. Our advisor, Dr. Jim Bodle, has been a tremendous resource for us and it has been wonderful gaining experience working with a different (compared to Miami U.) population of students. Due to my experiences in the PFF program this year I feel I have an excellent understanding of what it’s like to be a professor in a smaller college setting; I am aware of the daily activities of a professor in this type of position, and I have learned about the variety of differences that exist among colleges. I would characterize my involvement in the PFF program as a tremendous graduate student learning experience.
Beth Harrick
Placement: Earlham College
PFF Mentor: Mary Schwendener-Holt
Overall my interactions with the APA PFF program have been positive. As a PFF Scholar I have capitalized on the opportunity to collaboratively teach a feminist course at Earlham College, a progressive liberal arts college. I feel fortunate to have this experience which has offered one model for faculty life in a liberal arts educational environment. For my teaching project I helped organize a symposium whereby we celebrated and strengthened our PFF Partnerships. As a PFF Scholar I have also been able to develop professionally through multiple activities sponsored by the Program. We have invited speakers to discuss aspects of teaching, mentorship/advising, working with diverse student populations; we have attended national and regional teaching conferences; and we have participated in paper and poster presentations. I believe these combined activities have greatly enhanced my teaching repertoire, and I strongly encourage other students and graduate training programs in Psychology to look into developing PFF Partnerships.
Patty Mills
Placement: NKU
PFF Mentor: Jim Thomas
Participation in the PFF program has made me feel far better prepared to face the job market and the challenges of being a new faculty member. I have gained a much more realistic view of what being a college professor entails and just what to expect. For my assignment, I taught at two other colleges and found these experiences to differ significantly in terms of student population, motivation, expectations, etc. These experiences have made me realize how important flexibility in teaching is; these differences need be taken into consideration in planning and teaching a course in order to make it most beneficial to the students. I have definitely grown as an instructor and have gained more confidence in my ability to obtain and succeed in an academic position. Time will tell how effective PFF really was in making the transition ahead go more smoothly.
Sandy Neumann
Placement: Northern Kentucky University
PFF Mentor: Angela Lipsitz
I aspire to teach at a small, liberal arts teaching college. Being part of the PFF program has afforded me the opportunity to experience life at a small, non-doctoral institution. My teaching placement was assisting in an evening social psychology course at Northern Kentucky University under the mentorship of Dr. Angela Lipsitz. In addition to serving as a teaching assistant, I have also attended a variety of committee meetings as Dr. Lipsitz’s "shadow" and enjoyed weekly discussions over a host of topics related to being a faculty member at a non-doctoral psychology department. Back home at Miami, I have been invited to serve on different committees, shadowed our Chief Departmental Advisor, and mentored two undergraduate students on teaching about the psychology of prejudice. The Preparing Future Faculty program has been a wonderful and exciting opportunity to enhance my development as a well-rounded faculty member.
Juliann Bosko Young
Placement: College of Mount St. Joseph
PFF Mentor: Jim Bodle
The APA-PFF program has given me the opportunity to experience teaching, mentoring and learning from various perspectives. As an instructor, I have gained valuable information and practical knowledge from teaching in an environment that is different from the training I have already received. Teaching at a partner campus with students that are unlike the students I am accustomed to teaching has forced me to grow as a teacher, utilizing skills and techniques I have learned from teaching seminars, practica and valuable advice from my mentor. Since teaching at a partner campus, I have had the benefit of a mentor who has given me the occasion to learn necessary mentoring and teaching skills that have become crucial to my ability as an instructor. Through one-on-one contact with a mentor and visiting guests and speakers I have had the unique experience of learning, firsthand, how to adjust and excel as an instructor in varying situations. By preparing me to teach large classes, construct a teaching portfolio, mentor my own students, and communicate effectively with my students, the APA-PFF program has added a wealth of information to my teaching abilities and experiences with students. The past year has provided me with the opportunities which make my current teaching experiences richer, while preparing me for future experiences in the classroom.
Cecilia Shore
PFF coordinator
Looking back over our first year as an APA-PFF program, I think I have been most impressed by the exciting dynamic of the relationships between our grad students and our partners. The enthusiasm and expertise of our grad students helped create the bonds with our partners and their continuing professionalism on placements has sustained those relationships. Our partner faculty have given enormously of themselves by sharing and comparing their experiences of faculty roles in their various institutions, in group meetings and individual mentoring relationships with our students. It has been tremendously exciting and rewarding to see the many benefits of these relationships, not just to the grad students and partner faculty, but also to undergraduates. One undergrad was nearly tearful with gratitude for the opportunity to share her research at our first Tri-State Symposium. Our first year has been very rich and I hope that we can build on our accomplishments in the coming years.
Beth Uhler
PFF coordinator
My involvement in the Preparing Future Faculty (PFF) program this past year has been advantageous for a variety of reasons. First, I have been able to take advantage of the activities sponsored by the PFF program (e.g., colloquia, Undergraduate Research Symposium). Second, my involvement in the PFF program have made me more aware of small colleges and branch campuses. Given our geographical location, we ought to make a stronger effort to foster relationships with faculty and students. I have a better understanding of the differences between a research institution and an institution whose primary focus is teaching and service, as well as those differences can inform one another. Third, my involvement in the PFF program has made me think more about graduate training. In addition to training graduate students to be good scholars, it is important to give them exposure to all of the other facets of life as a faculty member in a variety of different occupational settings.