Q & A with online MA student Laura Zumbrunnen
Laura Zumbrunnen enjoyed a multifaceted career in healthcare and engineering. In retirement, she wanted to continue to learn new things, and she wanted to find a new way to contribute to social justice causes. She chose to pursue an online MA in applied child and adolescent development. The individualized studies track allows Laura to go deeper on topics that relate to her interests and goals, as she explains in this Q & A.
Tell us a little bit about yourself.
I was born and raised in Minnesota. I moved away for a while but decided to return when we had children. I worked part- to full-time for my whole life. I started out as a nurse in an ICU, then I became an electrical engineer. After 20 years of engineering I decided I needed a change and taught high school math briefly. After that, I cofounded a medical device company. I retired a few years ago.
How did you find out about the online master’s in applied child and adolescent development and decide to pursue it?
It took me a while to figure out what I wanted to do in retirement. The world is your oyster, in a way. I knew I wanted to build community, focus on social justice, and learn more about how to do those things more effectively. I looked into child psychology because I have always had an interest in it and studied it as an undergraduate at the University of Minnesota when I was young. In fact, after I graduated from college I learned I was three credits shy of a child psychology major—this was before they had academic advisors! So though I never got a degree in it, it was always at the back of my mind to come back to child development. The fact that this program had “applied” in the name appealed to me, because I want to put what I learn to use.
Photo Courtesy of Laura Zumbrunnen
How did you select the individualized studies track of the master’s program?
I spoke with Dr. Anne Larson, who is the director of the individualized studies track. She is super-friendly and super-qualified at the same time. She’s impressive, but she’s not intimidating. The individualized studies track turned out to be the perfect combination for me. It’s really cool: everyone has core classes–I just finished mine this past fall–and then you choose electives that match your specific interests or needs. Dr. Larson works with each student to make sure they are able to find and sign up for the classes they want.
I took an elective on immigrant education that was fascinating. This spring I’m taking one elective on working with immigrant and refugee families and another on immigration policy in the U.S. These particular electives happen to be on campus in the daytime, which is great for me because I live locally, I don’t have a job, and my children are grown. But there are lots of online elective options, and you can even do an independent study.
What are some of the highlights of the program for you?
The biggest thing is that the professors are outstanding. There is a warmth there that really makes them easy to connect and talk to. I also really like Canvas, the online course platform. It makes it easy to see everything you need to do in one place.
Also, I mentioned that I studied child psychology as an undergraduate. Well, what I learned then is nothing compared to what I know now. It has been fantastic learning about childhood development, adolescence, ethics, social-emotional development. There is so much more information now, in particular about adolescence. I loved working with adolescents when I taught high school and parenting them as a mom, but I didn’t understand the stages of development they were going through. I wish I could be a mom all over again, with my new knowledge!
What are you hoping to do for your internship?
I’m exploring traveling to Ireland to work with refugees from Ukraine. I’m in touch with a professor there and may also look at doing data gathering and focus groups for NGOs.
Do you have any tips for students considering this program?
One reason why I went into the sciences was that I wouldn’t have to write as many papers. But now, I wouldn’t let that stop me. This program does have a lot of papers, but I have gotten to where I can manage it, and it has been worth it.
Dr. Larson also gave me some advice that I would pass on to others: learn how to read academic papers, and really look for how you could apply what you’re learning in those papers. The way they are written can be difficult to understand, but I was able to learn to interpret the various parts of an academic paper or journal article and understand what to skim and what to focus on. I really appreciated Dr. Larson’s advice, because I’m very interested in applying research.
Also, Minnesota residents ages 62 and older may like to know they can enroll in courses at UMN for reduced tuition through the senior citizen education program. You can audit courses for free, or earn credits at $20 per credit. You don’t need to be full-time, you don’t need to pursue a degree, you don’t have to do grades—you can tailor it. People are living a little more actively into retirement now, and so you have to figure out what to do with your time while you’re able to be active. I have a lot of retired friends who love having more time for sewing, creating art, and traveling. I love school! It’s so fun to be able to learn on my own terms.