Stephanie Shirk

During my time at Susquehanna, I have taken advantage of numerous opportunities to further myself towards my career goal in school counseling, and as an individual that I am so proud to be. I led the Psychology club in executive roles of President and Secretary, rekindled my love for music as a sister of Sigma Alpha Iota (a professional music fraternity for women) where I served as both Vice President of Membership and, more recently, as the President; discovered a love for dance and served as a committee chairman and Vice President for the Susquehanna University Dance Corps; and was a member, secretary, and events coordinator of Psi Chi, the international honors society in psychology. I gained cross cultural competencies in Australia via the Global Opportunities program. I was able to spend time learning and living in Sydney, the red center, and Cairns. I had wonderful opportunities to met both new students and to speak with and learn from Indigenous Australians, finding myself incredibly fascinated by the natural, spiritual, and social life of the country and her people. During my senior year, I continued to serve as a teaching assistant for the psychology department and wrapped up my research on the Social Stress and Anxiety of First-Year students with Dr. Erin Smith to further develop my passions for higher education and career counseling. I worked as an intern for the admissions department, interacting with high school students and their families each day through information sessions, conducting student outreach, and helping to plan and execute student admission events. This role was pivotal in the security I feel in my future endeavors. Simultaneously, I conducted my own research on the impacts of student extra-curricular involvement on self-esteem levels, which produced significant findings. This fall, I will be continuing my education to obtain my Masters of Education with a dual emphasis in school counseling and mental health counseling.