Meet undergraduate student employee Zainab Ahmad
In this Q & A, junior Zainab Ahmad shares the origin of her interest in her major, developmental psychology, and reveals her favorite class so far. She also talks about her work as a research assistant on a project studying the impact of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs).
Tell us a little bit about yourself!
I’m a junior majoring in developmental psychology on the pre-med track. Some of the things I love are arts and crafts, collecting perfumes, building Legos, and anything pink!
Tell us how you first learned about dev psych and why you decided to major in it.
I first learned about developmental psychology when I decided to take an intro class a couple years back. I chose this major because I plan to work in pediatrics, and understanding child development will help me provide better care in the future!
What has been your favorite class so far and why?
It’s hard to choose since I’ve enjoyed all of my classes but I would say CPSY 3601: Intro to Child Life Theory and Practice. I was recommended to take it by Meghan (our lovely department advisor). It was the perfect combination of my interest in health care and child development by exploring how child life specialists support children and families in medical settings.
Tell us about your work in an ICD research lab.
I’m currently a part of Dr. Anita Randolph’s research lab, where I enter electronic health records from the Adoption Medicine Clinic into a researchable database to study the impact of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) on brain development!
As a student worker, what can students, staff or faculty come to you for help with?
As a student worker, I can assist students, staff, and faculty with front desk questions, room reservations, and general department inquiries. I can (along with my other ICD student worker colleagues) also provide peer advising for students that would like advice/help with choosing courses, getting more involved within ICD, and any other general questions!
Where do you see yourself in five years?
In five years, I see myself in medical school, working to become a pediatrician!