WKU News

“…My experience at WKU really prepared me for a Ph.D.,” said Alyssa Swift of Morgantown, Kentucky. She graduated from Western Kentucky University in 2023 with a Bachelor of Science in Psychological Sciences and in 2024 with a Master of Science in Psychology. Now, she’s in her second year at Pennsylvania State University working with Dr. Kristin Buss to obtain her Doctorate in Developmental Psychology.

“I think one of the most beneficial things was that I knew, already coming into my PhD, how to take classes and manage all of the other research tasks at the same time.” In her first semester at WKU, Alyssa took a class with Dr. Diane Lickenbrock, who has been her mentor ever since. She joined Dr. Lickenbrock’s Children and Families Lab. “The experimenters in the lab will have children complete different emotional tasks and can predict how they might respond at later visits. From the moment I've heard about that, I was really interested in this work,” said Alyssa. “Why do some children respond differently to the same experiences, and how does this shape their emotional development?” This early involvement and interest eventually sparked her honors thesis.

In her honors thesis, titled “Examining Associations between Infant Behavioral Inhibition, Respiratory Sinus Arrhythmia and Regulatory Behaviors with Mothers,” Alyssa took this spark of interest and dove into it. “The CE/T experience really set the stage for my master’s thesis and current program of research. I incorporated much of the same data and ideas, but looked at the infants with both mothers and fathers,” Alyssa said[GU1] . Now in her current work at Pennsylvania State, she’s expanding this research further to look at how different social contexts impact the emotional experiences of infants, children, and adolescents.

She recalls a time in her Honors 251 class, when she worked with other students to complete a thesis-like project throughout the semester. “I remember being in Jody Richards Hall with my group of honors students until like, 3 a.m. some nights, working on this big project. And at the time, it was really hard. We were like, why are we doing this to ourselves? Why did we want an honors degree?” said Swift. Despite these initial struggles, her group completed a 60-page thesis-like project. Experiences like this with the MHC and Psychological Sciences department helped prepare her for the rest of her academic journey.

Outside of the lab and classroom, Alyssa spent time as tutor counselor for the WKU Upward Bound program from 2020-2023. In this role, she helped prepare first-generation and income-eligible high school students for success in post-secondary education. Over the summer, Alyssa would act as a camp counselor, leading tutor groups and planning fun-filled activities. This position helped to shape the way she thinks about teaching now. “I saw the confidence that these hands-on programs instilled into students and how building their social networks helped them build the confidence to pursue big goals.”

Alyssa differs from the usual Ph.D. student in Psychology, as she wants to utilize her research in a college classroom. “I do still want to keep doing research, but I am really, really excited about teaching,” Alyssa said. After completing her Ph.D., she plans to implement her research into her classroom. “We want to know what kind of influence peers and teachers are having on kids as they get older,” said Alyssa. “I want to continue to do that, but then also try to keep incorporating what I am learning from research into how I teach and how I mentor students,” said Alyssa. In her grad program, she’s already applied this into her mentorship and helped students get into graduate school. In her current lab, she’s helping to validate a questionnaire that goes beyond the traditional first-generation college student definition. At the heart of everything Alyssa does is a passion for helping others feel confident in their own success.

To current students, she urges them to get involved in a research and lab or similar experience while they can. The lab she got involved with in her second semester allowed her to develop a mentorship at WKU that she still relies on today. Dr. Lickenbrock is helping her turn her master’s thesis into a publication. She also helped Alyssa in applying to grad school and gave her many traits to emulate. While getting involved, she also tells students to “love it while you have it.”

“You're never going to look back and wish that you studied more or wish that you spent more time on your thesis, but you are going to look back and wish that you spent more time with your friends, family, or the people that are important and really cherishing the time that you have in this stage of life.”