Choosing my Career

Researching at Kennedy Krieger with a psychologist has been one of the more important factors in my current decision to pursue a career in psychology. From a professional standpoint, I have always wanted to be in a profession involving patient interaction and communication. I want to develop a relationship with the patient, not just at a professional level, but on a more personal level. I want to be someone a patient respects and comes to for advice (and not just medical advice). From the academic perspective, I have always been fascinated by how and why the brain functions like it does. I would like to research topics on how the brain perceives certain things and how this affects personality and behavior. After my work at Kennedy Krieger, I feel that being a psychologist would fulfill all my career goals. Watching her interact and develop a strong relationship with each of her patients really inspires me to do the same. I am also very interested in her research projects, especially the one which focuses on the relation between brain function and facial structure anomalies. In large part due to my time and experiences at Kennedy Krieger, I am strongly leaning towards a career as a psychologist, doing both clinical and research work.