Education:

M.A., San Francisco State University, Social Psychology

B.A., California State University, Fresno, General Psychology

Biography

I started out at CSU, Fresno, as a psychology major who wanted to become a practicing therapist. I was close to finishing my B.A. when I took a field study course that allowed me to intern with Rape Counseling Services of Fresno as a paraprofessional rape counselor. This internship helped me realize that providing therapy in a crisis situation was not a good fit for my personality. By this time I had also learned enough about myself to know I simply didn't have the patience needed to practice any type of psychotherapy. I began working as a volunteer counselor at Planned Parenthood and realized that I really enjoyed teaching the clients about the different methods of birth control. These experiences helped me determine that teaching was the career for me.

Once I graduated from SFSU with my M.A. I was all set to teach. No one told me, however, that getting a full-time teaching job was next to impossible. For the next 10 years I taught a number of different psychology courses on various campuses around the Bay Area. I applied for and was awarded a position in the Psychology Department at Skyline College beginning in Fall 1999. Since I have been at Skyline I have developed several courses, including Developmental Psychology, General Psychology (Honors) and Social Psychology. I have also had the wonderful opportunity to advise the Psychology Club.

I’ve also experienced personal milestones since I’ve been at Skyline, the most significant being getting married and having my daughter, Abigail. She’s awesome and I love being her mother.

Back to Merrill's home page

Back to Skyline's home page