Health and Human Services: Community Mental Health

My first major was English and Writing, thinking I wanted to go into advertising. Then, I got a job working in a group home, and discovered human services. I really enjoyed the work and when I learned I could have a career helping people reach their potential, I was sold. I switched my major and never looked back. What kept me engaged was knowing I could immediately apply what I learned in class, often the next day or week. Another draw is the range of work that this major reaches. While I started with direct care work, I was able to move up into management positions and still apply the lessons I learned at UB. My career started with individuals with disabilities, however, I was also prepared to work with children, older adults, and people with mental health challenges throughout my career thanks to my education.

I had attended John Jay High School back home which was a specialized high school focused on law. Most go from there and pursue a career in law or law enforcement. I was determined to go from John Jay to the Legal Studies program then straight into law school. Although I made a different choice by going into Urban Planning, I still use the skills learned from the Social Sciences Interdisciplinary Program, specifically all the statistics, demographics, logic/game theory (not sure if they still require those classes anymore).

I chose to minor in Nonprofit Leadership because I knew I wanted to work in a sector that prioritized making the world a better place over profit margins. What I enjoyed most about it was seeing all the unique ways nonprofits can exist and operate in our world. There is no one size fits all business model for these organizations and it’s cool to see how different organizations take creative approaches to struggles in different communities.

I chose to major in Health and Human Services because this field of study’s goal was to inform as well as provide me with the knowledge that I needed which would be beneficial to not only my day-to-day experiences, but to my professional experiences as well. I have gained a holistic perspective from each of these courses which gave me a better understanding of the world around me.

I was first attracted to IDP because of its interdisciplinary nature. I believe that today’s world is moving towards this direction because problems and events are far too complex to only assess them through a narrow lens. The IDP major allowed me to study not only African and Middle Eastern politics but also language, culture, economics, and history. This comprehensive curriculum made me a well-rounded student, leaving UB confident in the challenges that lie ahead.

I was interested in my psychology courses because I love understanding why we work the way we do, but I did not want to just understand, I wanted to take that understanding and make people’s lives easier, using what I learned. Cognitive Science called to me because it took every academic interest and showed me a real-life application, a means of not just studying people but making a difference in those people’s lives. I love solving problems, and I like to think of cognitive science as a field predicated on the idea that there is a way to make our world interactions better. We just have to figure out how.