Charlotte Williams
Psychology major, Chinese minor
Center/Pathway affiliation: Toor Cummings Center for International Studies and the Liberal Arts (CISLA)
Campus involvement: Varsity sailing team, WOCC Co-Community Outreach Coordinator and Concert Band
Favorite academic experience at Conn: My favorite course was the gateway course to the CISLA program, which I took during the spring of my sophomore year. This course was taught by several Conn faculty who brought a wide variety of perspectives on cross-cultural research and disciplines to the class. For example, Professors Shani Collins and David Dorfman taught a dance section on body and space, and Professor Marc Zimmer taught a section on the state and future of science and even brought his axolotls with him. We ended the course with a trip to the United Nations headquarters in New York City where we had the opportunity to sit in on several missions and speak with international diplomats. This course allowed me to examine the many avenues that can be taken to understand global issues.
Best takeaway from your internship: I was a research intern for The Learning Frontier in Beijing, China, that provides mental health and educational psychology services to local and expatriate families. Through this remote experience, I wrote articles for the company’s parent blog on topics such as ADHD and executive functioning. Additionally, I learned about the cultural stigma surrounding learning disabilities, which informed my thesis topic on Chinese American views toward special education.
Future plans: I will be teaching Mandarin at Chatham Hall, a private high school in Virginia, next year. I am so excited to be sharing my passion for learning world languages while gaining teaching experience.