Kevin Herdman, M.S. in Psychology, Class of 2020
Kevin Herdman, a lifelong learner, received his B.S. in Business Administration, M.A. in Business Administration, M.A. in Human Resources Management, Ph.D. in Organizational Development & Human Resources Management and now is a proud graduate of PAU’s M.S. In Psychology Program.
Why PAU? As an undergraduate, I took a psychology class as one of my general requirements. I really liked it and considered making it my major. After careful consideration, I decided to pursue a bachelor's in business administration and accounting. However, getting an education in psychology always stood in the back of mind. Around two and a half years ago, I considered changing my profession and started to noodle around with the idea of getting a degree in counseling or psychology. After researching several schools, I spoke with one of PAU’s admissions counselors who also had a background similar to mine--a successful career and wanted a career change. After speaking with her, I knew PAU was the right choice.
What stood out? A couple of things stood out for me. The first thing that stood out for me was how quickly my cohort bonded and being able to actively participate in discussions in areas I am interested in, such as inclusion and diversity and other areas as well. The second thing that stood out to me was interacting with my class and some of the faculty members like Dr. Bunge, Dr. Weinberg, and Dr. Gomez. I am a little bit of a jokester and like to bring levity to a situation and my professors always rolled with it. I really enjoyed the History of Psychology course with Dr. Wagner and Social Psychology class with Dr. Froming who really challenged students to do their best and really covered tough topics like genocide. It was really wonderful to see such smart people be humble and sincerely want to help other people grow.
What’s next? Like many people in my cohort, the COVID-19 pandemic is really throwing a wrench into everything I was planning to do. As for me, I have applied to several doctoral psychology programs and was accepted by PAU and decided to defer for a year. This summer, I have been preparing my son for college this coming fall and plan to help him settle into school. I plan to make a decision in spring about my next steps in pursuing my doctoral degree in clinical psychology.