Micah Alk and Skye Camphouse The Students Become the Teachers

Micah Alk and Skye Camphouse

Coming to the UW as a transfer student can be overwhelming,” remembers psychology senior Skye Camphouse. Along with fellow psychology major Micah Alk, Skye is co-leading a Transfer Interest Group (TRIG) for first-quarter transfer students. Skye and Micah meet weekly with a group of 25 students who are preparing to apply to the psychology major. The TRIG students in Skye and Micah’s class receive an orientation to the UW and the Psychology Department, and benefit from the lessons learned by these seasoned psychology majors.

“I became a TRIG leader because it offers the very rare opportunity for undergraduate students to run their own class, “ says Skye, continuing that she wanted to share the knowledge she had gained to make other students’ transfer experiences go as smoothly as possible.

Co-instructor Micah shares Skye’s sentiments, but also saw the TRIG leader position as an opportunity to gain experience and practice in the teaching field. But, for Micah, a real positive has been the bond created with his students. “The best part about the TRIG experience,” says Micah, “has been connection with the transfer students in the class.” An added bonus for Micah has been the opportunity to share not only his experience, but also his sense of humor—and, he says, to occasionally get a laugh.

Both Micah and Skye are in the process of applying to graduate school in clinical or counseling psychology. Of their own experience in the Psychology Department, both Skye and Micah express great satisfaction not only with the academic program, but with the level and quality of support they have received from faculty and staff. “As a psychology major I never felt as though I was on my own,” says Skye.

Micah agrees, adding, “I have been consistently supported in my goals as well as given the opportunities to pursue them.” These two students have not only taken on the role of teacher, but have themselves become an integral part of the support system from which they benefited. n