I graduated from UMW with a degree in psychology in 2011 and I love to read the newsletters from the psych department! After graduating from UMW, I worked in a child care facility for a year and then received my masters in teaching (K-6) in 2013 from East Carolina University. I am currently a kindergarten teacher for the Wake County Public School System in Raleigh, NC. The knowledge, experiences, and overall background I gained from being a psych major at UMW have been so helpful in this job and I am able to apply them daily in so many ways, many of which I never would have expected. Having an understanding of developmental psychology and the associated behavioral/cognitive processes helps me with planning instruction for my students according to their unique personalities/learning styles/needs, and I also rely on it when it comes to behavior management in the classroom. In addition, so much of teaching (especially now) is about data – collecting data, analyzing data, and applying data analysis to planning interventions and adapting instruction. I am so grateful for the strong psychology background I received from Mary Washington and would be honored to share the ways it has served me and provide advice to interested current students!
Stephmattern@gmail.com