OFD Faculty Focus: Maria Galano

The Office of Faculty Development announces the launch of the new "OFD Faculty Focus" series.

Maria Galano

Today we are featuring a Q&A with Dr. Maria M. GalanoAssistant Professor, Psychological and Brain Sciences.
Dr. Galano has participated in numerous OFD programs, including Scholarly Writing Retreats and the "First Year, First Friday" series.

What has been the most surprising thing about working and teaching remotely?
How much I enjoyed (and maybe even needed) my commute! That time allowed me to prepare for the day and gave me time to get into "work mode." It also always involved walking and listening to books or podcasts, which are things I can't seem to fit into my daily routine anymore!

What is something new you have tried recently? How’d it work out?
I recently tried snowshoeing for the first time, and it was a great experience! It also made me realize the value of having an outdoor winter activity, especially in this place/time.

What is one project you are especially proud of?
I'm really proud of a project that my graduate student, Minji Lee, and I started in Spring 2020 and finished this past fall. The project aimed to better understand risk factors for mental health problems among students with histories of adverse childhood experiences, which are more commonly referred to as ACEs. Minji recently presented data from this project at one of our national conferences. Her presentation demonstrated how, among URM students who have experienced ACEs, negative perceptions of campus climate have an especially detrimental effect on mental health, when compared to non-URM students. We also collected data related to students' experiences with COVID-19, and we're now starting to explore the effects those experiences are having on student mental health. The goal of this work is to understand how our present social environments play an important role in our mental health.

 


We invite you to join us in building faculty community at UMass Amherst!

If you would like to participate in the "OFD Faculty Focus" series, please fill out this brief form (you will need to be logged in to G Suite at UMass Amherst).

If you would like to nominate a colleague for the "OFD Faculty Focus" series, please send your suggestion via email: ofd@umass.edu