Benjamin Katz ’17
The opportunity to be involved in every aspect of research, including the development, administration, analysis, and dissemination of several faculty-led research projects was instrumental to my learning, growth, and success as an undergraduate student. These unique opportunities were an incredible asset to SWAGÊÓƵ’s psychology program and added tremendous value to my education.
The department’s biggest strength is without a doubt the faculty members. In addition to being incredibly knowledgeable in their areas of expertise, their approachability in class and during office hours helped facilitate my learning. I have found that the professors in the department are consistently looking for innovative evidence-based approaches to enhance the educational experience of students and foster a challenging yet rewarding atmosphere in the classroom. Many faculty members in the department mentored and guided me through my own professional development and inspired me to pursue an academic career of my own.
Following my graduation from SWAGÊÓƵ, I worked for two years at the Anxiety Disorders Center, a nationally recognized outpatient clinic at the Institute of Living that specializes in the research and treatment of anxiety and related disorders. While working there, I assisted on multiple research studies funded by the National Institute of Mental Health, which broadly examined central and peripheral nervous system activity among patients with anxiety and related disorders. In the fall of 2019 I began at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee to pursue my Ph.D. in clinical psychology. I will be continuing related lines of research that I conducted at SWAGÊÓƵ, and will be studying posttraumatic stress disorder and trauma-related outcomes among survivors of interpersonal violence. My undergraduate experiences were truly invaluable to my career success to date and I will be forever grateful for the education that I received while at SWAGÊÓƵ.