By: Evan Calvo

The Honors Psychology Program at Temple University, led by Dr. Kathy Hirsh-Pasek, is unlike any other sequence of courses at Temple. Through the program's development and reinforcement of a wide array of skills, the program gifts undergraduates with an inquisitive and scientifically oriented mindset, thus transforming those who have little previous research experience into promising scholars by the time of graduation.

Such a transformation is one that I can personally attest to, having recently finished the program in the spring of 2018. Inside the classroom, the program's coverage of a variety of scientific articles and its intensive writing assignments taught me discipline and critical thinking skills in a way that few of my other undergraduate courses did. The program's weekly discussion of scientific articles radically improved my communication skills and promoted collaboration among myself and my classmates. Taken together, the activities of the program made me quite knowledgeable about many topics within the field of psychology.

Additionally, and perhaps most importantly, the Honors Psychology Program provided me with the creativity to begin asking scientifically informed questions about my own research interests, and the confidence to answer those questions in a laboratory setting. In order to conduct my own line of research, I entered the Ellman Lab in the Spring of 2016 and studied the relationship between individual differences in behavioral inhibition, depressive symptoms, and psychotic-like experiences. My completion of this investigation from start to finish provided me with experiences that will undoubtedly benefit me in my future career as, hopefully, both a physician and a researcher. I completed a written thesis on this subject as part of the program, and I presented my findings at the Temple Undergraduate Research Forum - Creative Works Symposium (TURF-CREWS) and the 73rd Annual Meeting of the Society of Biological Psychiatry in New York City.

To any undergraduates interested in participating in the program, I have three pieces of advice. First: get ready to work harder than you have ever worked before. Second: utilize every resource associated with the program, whether it is networking with your fellow classmates, bouncing research ideas off of one another, or securing an internship or job. And third: enjoy it. The Honors Psychology Program will provide you with the opportunity to learn more about yourself and the field of psychology and you'll make plenty of friends along the way.