Where are you from?
I’m from Salem, Oregon
What drew you to studying psychology?
I study psychology because it gives me the most honest, practical lens I’ve found for understanding people, especially in the moments that matter most: uncertainty, pain, change, and decision-making. It’s a field that forces you to look beyond what someone does and ask what’s shaping it, stress, identity, relationships, past experiences, social context, and then use that understanding to respond with more precision and empathy.
What makes psychology especially meaningful to me is that it isn’t confined to one path. It’s a major that follows you into any career because every career is ultimately human-centered: communication, teamwork, leadership, conflict, motivation, and trust. Psychology teaches you how to think clearly about those dynamics instead of relying on assumptions. It also trains you to evaluate evidence, question your own biases, and translate complex information into something people can actually use, skills that matter in research, education, business, community work, and especially healthcare.
Medicine is where that relevance feels most immediate for me. The best clinical care isn’t just technical accuracy, it’s whether a patient feels safe, understood, and respected enough to share what’s real. Social psychology, in particular, sits at the forefront of that. It explains how trust forms in seconds, how power dynamics shape honesty, how implicit bias can influence perceptions on both sides, and how the way information is framed can change a person’s willingness to follow treatment or ask questions. Studying psychology has made me more attentive to the human factors that can either strengthen or undermine physician–patient interactions, and it reinforced why I’m drawn to medicine: I want to deliver care that is competent, but also deeply relational, where patients feel seen, not managed.
What has been your experience as a student of both the College of Liberal Arts and the Honors College?
Studying within both the College of Liberal Arts and the Honors College has taught me how to think in layers. CLA gave me the language to understand people in context, how history, culture, ethics, and power quietly shape everyday choices. The Honors College then asked me to interrogate that understanding, to slow down and ask what I might be missing beneath my first interpretation. Instead of rewarding speed or certainty, Honors has trained me to value depth, reflection, and intellectual humility. I’ve learned to sit with complexity long enough for more honest insights to emerge. Together, these spaces have reshaped how I approach learning: less as information to master, and more as responsibility to carry well. That mindset has become one of the most defining parts of my education at Oregon State.
Have you started your honors thesis? If yes, what’s the topic and/or focus of your research? If not, are you considering any ideas so far?
Yes, I have started my honors thesis, and it centers on my AI vs. MD research project in the context of the rapid rise of telemedicine. My work examines how patients form trust and make judgments when medical care and surgical interventions are delivered by artificial intelligence–driven systems compared to human physicians. As healthcare increasingly relies on virtual platforms, I’m interested in how empathy, perceived competence, and communication style shift when the provider is mediated, or replaced, by technology. Using a social psychology framework, the project explores whether patients respond differently to AI avatars versus physicians, even when the medical information is identical. This research speaks to larger questions about authority, bias, and relational care in modern medicine. Ultimately, my thesis investigates how technological innovation can reshape—not just efficiency, but the human experience of being a patient.
What have been some of your favorite classes taken?
Some of my favorite classes have been the ones that challenged me to think across disciplines and sit with real human complexity. Psychology of Addiction (PSY 484) stands out for how it reframed substance use through evidence, empathy, and neurobiology rather than stigma, fundamentally changing how I understand recovery and vulnerability. Abnormal Psychology (PS 381) deepened that perspective by examining mental illness not as a set of labels, but as lived experiences shaped by biology, environment, and social context. Biomedical Ethics (PHL 444) pushed me to slow down and wrestle with moral uncertainty, where there are rarely clean answers, but where thoughtful reasoning can profoundly affect patient dignity and care. Even Organic Chemistry (CH 331), while technically demanding, became meaningful because it trained my discipline, precision, and respect for the molecular foundations that medicine ultimately rests on. Together, these courses reflect what I value most in learning: rigor paired with humanity, and science grounded in real lives.
What are you hoping to do after you graduate?
After I graduate, I hope to become a psychiatrist specializing in addiction and recovery because it is one of the few fields where listening can be as lifesaving as treatment. Addiction is often reduced to behavior, but I’ve come to understand it as a convergence of neurobiology, pain, environment, and unmet needs. Psychiatry gives me the tools to treat the brain while honoring the person behind the diagnosis, their history, relationships, and sense of self. I’m especially drawn to moments when trust has been fractured, because rebuilding it can change the trajectory of someone’s life. I want to practice medicine in a way that replaces judgment with understanding and stigma with evidence. For me, working in addiction and recovery is not just a specialty, it’s a commitment to meeting people where they are and helping them believe that change is possible.
How do you feel that your experience in CLA and HC is setting you up for success?
My experience in the College of Liberal Arts and the Honors College has set me up for success by teaching me how to think with depth, ethics, and intention. CLA has helped me understand people within broader social, cultural, and systemic contexts, which is essential for work rooted in service and responsibility. The Honors College has elevated that foundation by emphasizing sustained inquiry, intellectual independence, and long-term projects that demand rigor and reflection. One of the most meaningful aspects of Honors has been the opportunity to connect one-on-one with faculty who are deeply experienced in their fields and invested in mentorship. Those relationships have allowed me to ask better questions, refine my goals, and see how scholarship translates into real-world impact. Together, CLA and HC have taught me how to navigate complexity thoughtfully, communicate with purpose, and grow through collaboration, skills that will continue to shape my path in medicine and beyond.