Carter King

When I was a student at Montgomery College (MC), the Universities at Shady Grove (USG) had a strong presence at the numerous college fairs. I was very undecided on where I wanted to go after MC or what I wanted to do but I always saw USG as an option because of its proximity to where I live, small class sizes and large emphasis on student involvement. Once I was finishing up my associate degree at MC, I knew I wanted to keep my easy commute and had decided what I wanted to study.

Prior to MC, I had attended George Mason University and was majoring in athletic training then switched to marketing. After having two academically successful semesters I found myself unmotivated with my selected programs of study and decided to withdraw and transfer to MC that following semester. After switching my major four more times and landing on psychology twice (the first time while entering MC and currently) I decided that clearly this is a field I am interested in. I did not have many friends that were studying psychology, but I had a childhood friend was studying psychology at UMBC. I talked to him and he seemed to thoroughly enjoy his experience and felt the education he received set him up for success in graduate school. With that recommendation in mind I did my own research online on the best schools for psychology in this area and in the country and UMBC kept popping up.

When I realized that UMBC offers their Psychology program at USG, my decision was easy. Coming to USG I had the intention of continuing my pattern established at my previous two institutions of no student involvement. However, once here, I realized it would be impossible for me to not engage with such a passionate campus. I signed up for the Psychological Student Association and I look forward to getting involved in other extracurriculars.

When I finish earning my undergraduate degree, I want to earn my master’s degree in Industrial Organizational Psychology, which is also offered by UMBC on the USG campus. My goal is to work in human resources helping people find the most purposeful and fulfilling jobs possible while making businesses as efficient as possible.