Dr. Frank McAndrew was born on a U.S. military base in Germany and grew up in the anthracite coal region of Northeastern Pennsylvania. When Dr. McAndrew started college, he recalls, “I was not at all interested in psychology because, like many people, I didn’t really know what it was about.” He knew that he wanted …
Dr. Kristin Neff is a pioneer in the study of self-compassion and has been recognized as one of the world’s most influential research psychologists. She is the first to operationally define and measure the construct of self-compassion almost twenty years ago. As an undergraduate student at UCLA, Dr. Neff was a communications major but near …
Dr. Soren Kaplan grew up in the San Francisco Bay area, went to UCLA for his Bachelor of Arts in Sociology, and attended Alliant International University for his master’s and doctorate in Organizational Psychology. In this podcast, he shares his academic and professional journey (and some of his personal journey), offers practical advice for those …
Dr. Calvin Lai grew up in Canada near Toronto and then moved to New Jersey when he was ten years old. Much of what he learned about race and race relations was channeled through topics in his history classes and his daily experience as an Asian, particularly Canadian Asian American. However, it wasn’t until he …
Dr. Frank C. Worrell was born in Port of Spain, Capital of Trinidad and Tobago, and he remembers growing up in an area where the only running water in the house was from the tap in the kitchen. In this podcast interview, Dr. Worrell begins talking about his academic and professional journey by recalling where …
Dr. Sarah E. Gaither was born and raised in Sacramento, CA and went to the same school from kindergarten through 12th grade. She then went to UC Berkeley for her undergraduate work before doing two gap years at UCLA in Southern California. She states “I never knew I wanted to go to Graduate School until …
Imagine growing up in Southern California in the 1960’s, attending high school at University High (which was affiliated with a Catholic college, University of San Diego) and attending college at Loyola University (now called Loyola Marymount University). You, like many others, were undoubtedly influenced by the hippie counterculture of the time as it most likely …
Dr. Jeffrey Froh is a writer, professor, and fast becoming a leader in the field of positive psychology. He attended St. Joseph’s University as an undergrad majoring in sociology and minoring in psychology, that is, until his dad asked him “Jeff, what are you gonna do with a degree in sociology?” After reflecting on this, …
As a high school student at the Bronx High School of Science, Dr. Christina B. Gee remembers being focused primarily on math and science because they didn’t offer any psychology classes. She recalls that her interest in psychology only came after she started college at Cornell University in Ithaca, NY. In this podcast interview, Dr. …
Imagine folding clothes in your New York apartment anxiously awaiting the vote regarding your promotion and tenure at Stanford University. Dr. Steven O. Roberts was on sabbatical this past year and recalls seeing a missed call from the Chair of the department of psychology. In this podcast, Dr. Roberts shares his academic and professional journey …
