During the 2019 SEPA conference in Jacksonville, FL I was able to gain valuable knowledge through interacting with other students and professors. Three other students attending the conference had first-hand experience with the graduate school application process. I was able to ask them questions about their experiences, and they provided me with information and suggestions specifically about the interview process.

All of the Rollins psychology professors on the trip were very helpful and excited to discuss both undergraduate research and the graduate school process. From these meaningful conversations, I sparked a few ideas for future research as well as gained a better understanding of the undergraduate research process as a whole. I enjoyed getting to hear about research from all of my professors’ viewpoints. Since the department contains a diversely specialized group of professors (Clinical Psychology, Behavioral Psychology, Social Psychology, Sleep Psychology, I/O Psychology, Cognitive Psychology, ect.), I was able to gain a complete set of information on the research process. I am very appreciative of how genuinely supportive all of the professors on the trip were, not only during our presentations but during our free time as well. It was also interesting to see all of the different research projects that students and faculty were working on. Specifically, I was impressed to see the diversity in research not only within our group but throughout the entire conference. This challenged me to consider new areas of interest and helped me gain knowledge on new topics.