Teresa Rafello

Major: Psychology

Class of: 2016

I have a complicated past, and it’s been challenging juggling my personal life, two part time jobs, and my academic goals – I want to be the best damn student I can be!

“I chose to major in Psychology because my personal experience got me interested in how we let ourselves think, why we accept difficult situations, and how we work toward viable solutions.”

Psychology isn’t just about the emotions and thoughts that go through your brain; it’s WHY you have those thoughts. How we develop emotionally and physically. How we can work with neurology and cognition to diagnose in greater depth. How we can ultimately help people who have inner demons that cannot be seen.

I’ve been challenged on many levels in the program, and it’s fine tuning my focus and determination to amazing levels. My senior research project, Taste and Emotion: The Impact of Flavor on Emotion, has been the most strenuous journey of my academic career. It’s amazing how dedicated Christina Frederick (the chair of the Psych Department) is, and how she transfers this energy to her students. All the students in my senior experimental design course have been accepted to present our research at the Stanford Undergraduate Psychology Conference in May, the top conference for undergraduate psychology students!

Now that I’ve (almost) achieved my Bachelor’s degree, my future seems calm and bright to me. My long term goal is to become a nurse practitioner. I am very interested in the physical sciences, and I’ve always enjoyed helping people and making them happy, so nursing has always seemed like a good fit. Every time I’ve gone to a doctor’s office, I’ve always admired what the nurses and Physician Assistants have done, so that’s what I decided upon.

I’m my own person, on my own path for my own reasons, on my way towards a balance of happiness and stability.

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