Reflections from Six Graduating PhD Students
Spring is always an exciting time here in the Department, as we prepare to graduate another cohort of students. We asked a few of our soon-to-be alums about their post-UW plans. Mariah Corey, Ella Lombard, Chao Qin, Katherine Seldin, Noah Triplett, and Liyang Wang share highlights from graduate school, next steps, what's exciting them, and their best advice for future students.
MARIAH COREY
Area: Adult Clinical
Ph.D. in Psychology, Summer 2024
What are your plans after finishing your Ph.D.?
After graduation, I will be a postdoctoral fellow at Seattle Children’s Hospital and part-time faculty in the Master of Arts in Applied Child and Adolescent Psychology program at UW.
What was a highlight of your time in grad school?
The relationships I built along the way with other students, faculty, and supervisors!
What are you most looking forward to next?
I'm looking forward to resting, traveling, and spending more time with friends and family!
What advice do you have for current/incoming graduate students?
Graduate school is a long haul, so it's important to find ways to stay energized and to remind yourself why you're pursuing this degree. Celebrate every milestone (even the "little" ones!!), seek out experiences that you enjoy, keep your goals in mind, and surround yourself with supportive people with shared values. Importantly, learn to say no to the optional opportunities that don't excite you or align with your goals.
ELLA LOMBARD
Area: Social Psychology and Personality
Ph.D. in Psychology, Summer 2024
What are your plans after finishing your Ph.D.?
I'll be spending a year as a Postdoctoral Research Scientist with foundry10 in the Digital Technologies and Education (DTE) Lab and the Technology, Media, and Information Literacy team, where I'll contribute to research about how we can best support young people's success and wellbeing in their interactions with digital technologies such as social media and generative artificial intelligence.
What was a highlight of your time in grad school?
There are too many to pick! Exploring new cities at our area's annual flagship conference; cheering on the Huskies at soccer, volleyball, and softball games; all the outdoor café work sessions; leading the incoming first years in silly games at orientation—anything involving the fantastic people I've met along the way. Last year, a few of us ran a half-marathon, and our lab and S/P area-mates drove over an hour-and-a-half to surprise us at the finish line with personalized signs and cheering, then took us out for a celebratory brunch. I'm so grateful for the strong community we have at UW Psychology: in my time here, I've felt surrounded by support from both mentors and peers.
What are you most looking forward to next?
I've loved my ongoing part-time internship with foundry10, so I'm looking forward to starting full-time in August and becoming more fully immersed in the exciting research projects we're working on in the DTE Lab.
What advice do you have for current/incoming graduate students?
Identify ways you can contribute to fostering the kind of community you want to be a part of, and invest in building strong relationships. Some of the most valuable connections I've formed with friends and mentors here have been the most unexpected. The process of earning a Ph.D. is challenging, but it should also be fun!
CHAO QIN
Area: Cognition and Perception
Ph.D. in Psychology: Data Science, Summer 2024
What are your plans after finishing your Ph.D.?
I am headed to the Netherlands for a postdoc position in the University of Groningen, environmental psychology lab
What was a highlight of your time in grad school?
My lab and I conducted highly applied and impactful research on COVID-19 and people's vaccine hesitancy towards COVID-19 vaccines.
What are you most looking forward to next?
Moving to and exploring a whole new continent.
What advice do you have for current/incoming graduate students?
When forming your committee, do not put too many people on it. Finding a time that everyone is available for a meeting is a nightmare.
KATHERINE SELDIN
Area: Child Clinical
Ph.D. in Psychology: Clinical Psychology, Summer 2024
What are your plans after finishing your Ph.D.?
Next year, I'll be completing a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Illinois Chicago (UIC). I'm excited about the opportunity to divide my time between clinical work, research, and providing clinical training to others. I loved being able to wear many hats during grad school, so I'm very happy that I will continue being able to do so next year. But, before this next step, I'm taking a few weeks off to spend time with the people who supported me through this long, arduous journey.
What was a highlight of your time in grad school?
While I expected to learn a lot from faculty and professors during grad school, I was blown away by how much of my graduate school knowledge and wisdom came from my conversations with my peers. It is now clear to me that UW Clinical Psychology program draws some of the most brilliant, creative, compassionate, and centered individuals, and I am so fortunate to have completed my training here. Thank you to my teachers and colleagues for challenging me, encouraging me, and changing the way I think about the world.
What are you most looking forward to next?
I'm looking forward to having my career involve more systems-level thinking and being able to integrate my direct clinical and research experience into my broader understanding of and impact on the mental health field. And, of course, I'm looking forward to having more financial security—being able to take myself out to dinner sometimes will be nice.
What advice do you have for current/incoming graduate students?
I'd like to pass on some wonderful advice I received, which is that, when you find yourself feeling pressure to figure out the perfect next step for some unknown future career, just do the thing that is most interesting to you. If you follow what is most interesting to you, you will naturally find yourself with a CV that is a great fit for a future job that will also be interesting to you. Some additional essential advice is to get better at saying "no" and to become comfortable with doing work that is "good enough."
NOAH TRIPLETT
Area: Child Clinical
Ph.D. in Psychology: Clinical Psychology, Summer 2024
What are your plans after finishing your Ph.D.?
I will be starting as an Assistant Research Professor in the Department of Psychology and Global Mental Health and Addiction Program (GMAP) at the University of Maryland in August 2024.
What was a highlight of your time in grad school?
Defending! After transitioning to virtual coursework, research, and clinical work for most of my graduate training, being able to have a hybrid defense that brought together so many important people in my life in person and online was the highlight of my graduate school experience.
What are you most looking forward to next?
I am looking forward to continuing to develop my own independence and expertise as a scientist! I have been so lucky to have wonderful training at UW, and I cannot wait to use that as a foundation for new and exciting projects.
What advice do you have for current/incoming graduate students?
There is no one perfect pathway through graduate school. Do not be afraid to follow your interests, inside or outside of psychology, as you never know what opportunities might fall into your lap!
LIYANG WANG
Area: Adult Clinical
Ph.D. in Psychology: Clinical Psychology, Summer 2024
What are your plans after finishing your Ph.D.?
I’m joining Florida State University as an assistant professor at the College of Nursing starting in August. As an affiliated faculty at the Institute on Digital Health and Innovation, I’ll continue to conduct mHealth research—leveraging technology to create and disseminate behavioral health interventions.
What was a highlight of your time in grad school?
The day when I defended my dissertation :) I remember having my parents on the Zoom call, and being surrounded by my mentors, advisors, colleagues, and friends in the room in Kincaid. I felt so much gratitude towards everyone who has helped me along the way!
What are you most looking forward to next?
I’m looking forward to getting more papers out this summer and getting some prep work done for a new project—haha (the life of an academic). Maybe a road trip sometime to check out the national parks!
What advice do you have for current/incoming graduate students?
Enjoy graduate school in whatever way that works for you! Try as many things as you can/want: perhaps it’s work-related (submitting and attending conferences in a different and adjacent field, attending networking events and seminars) or recreational activities (camping, exploring the mountains). The years go by so quickly and I surely miss the PNW wilderness :)