How did your experiences in a club, activity, or academic field shape who you are today?
My involvement in the Psychology Dept. has provided me with various opportunities for growth. As a Research Assistant, I acquired analytical and research skills. Additionally, As a Teaching Assistant and Peer Mentor, I was able to develop my communication, collaboration, and leadership skills. Lastly, being part of the BioPioneers Residential Academic Program (RAP) allowed like-minded people, which gave me a sense of belonging and community.

Hear what some of our senior award winners had to say about their UMass experience:

As a professor of clinical psychology in the Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences at UMass Amherst, Michael Constantino is passionate about “bridging the longstanding chasm between science and practice" to improve the effectiveness of psychotherapy.

Nilanjana Dasgupta, provost professor of psychological and brain sciences and director of the Institute of Diversity Sciences at UMass Amherst, has spent the last year working with The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine to identify and circulate the best principles and practices for organizations to use in advancing antiracism, diversity, equity and inclusion in the sciences, technology, engineering, math and medicine, both within and beyond higher education. The results of Dasgupta and her colleagues’ work was recently published as a consensus study, freely available from the National Academies.