Please provide a brief description of your STEP Signature Project. Write two or three sentences describing the main activities your STEP Signature Project entailed. 

For my STEP Signature Project, I attended the Society for Industrial & Organizational Psychologists (SIOP) annual conference in Chicago. While there, I attended several workshops, seminars, and other sessions. I also met and exchanged contact information with dozens of industrial-organizational (I-O) students, researchers, and practitioners. 

What about your understanding of yourself, your assumptions, or your view of the world changed/transformed while completing your STEP Signature Project? Write one or two paragraphs to describe the change or transformation that took place. 

Before the SIOP conference, I was a bit wary of networking. I wanted to leverage the opportunity to make connections but didn’t know how to do so without making it feel one-sided and transactional, since I had so little to offer an established career professional. However, the dozens of conversations I had over the course of the conference transformed my perception of networking by proving the extent to which I-O psychologists are willing to support newcomers like me. 

Additionally, I began the conference with only a vague notion of how curriculum differed between master’s and doctorate programs in I-O psychology, and the specific practitioner roles to which these degrees could be applied. Throughout the conference, I heard from dozens of I-O psychologists on these subjects, building on my basic knowledge in sometimes radical ways. 

What events, interactions, relationships, or activities during your STEP Signature Project led to the change/transformation that you discussed in #2, and how did those affect you? Write three or four paragraphs describing the key aspects of your experiences completing your STEP Signature Project that led to this change/transformation. 

My SIOP conference experience began with a pre-conference workshop on people analytics. There were about thirty other people in the room, and I sat at a table with several of them. I had no idea whether the people around me would be cliquey, elitist, or otherwise uninterested in engaging an ignorant undergraduate, but I was determined to start conversation, nonetheless. As soon as I did so, all my worries about networking vanished for the remainder of the conference. I was overwhelmed by the amount of warmth and support I received from every single I-O psychologist at the table, and these only increased when I confessed my undergraduate status.  

During the remainder of my time in Chicago, I made dozens of connections, including five which I expect to last for years to come. These five are comprised of a talent development specialist for a manufacturing company in Georgia, a professor leading the master’s program at a Connecticut college, a first-year master’s student from California, an organizational development consultant for one of the highest-performing hospitals in the world, and a senior manager for the largest consulting firm in the world. None of these new relationships feel transactional, because it’s so obvious they’re fulfilled through helping me realize my professional goals. I have no idea why this is the case, but I’m extremely grateful for it. This experience has transformed the way I view networking, and I plan to be much more proactive in the future. 

Additionally, the assorted conversations I had with I-O psychology professionals gave me additional insight into the diversity of education and career paths in the field. I had been under the impression that assistantships were available for master’s and PhD programs alike, and that PhDs were almost exclusively for academics. On the contrary, only PhD programs offer assistantships, and not all PhDs go into academia. However, it’s more common for practitioners to hold only a master’s degree, and some universities offer a combined MS/PhD (or MA/PhD) program in I-O psychology that includes assistantships throughout the master’s degree. Before this conference, I also believed that I-O practitioners were all external consultants. Now I know that many large firms employ internal consultants, and that psychometricians creating employee assessments often have an I-O psychology background. This has greatly expanded my view of what’s possible with a graduate or doctoral degree in I-O psychology. 

Why is this change/transformation significant or valuable for your life? Write one or two paragraphs discussing why this change or development matters and/or relates to your academic, personal, and/or professional goals and future plans. 

One of my major goals for this conference was to learn more about I-O psychology and confirm whether I’d like to pursue continued education and a career in the field. The sessions I attended and the people I met reaffirmed by passion for the subject, and I’ve decided to continue down this path. At present, I’m unsure whether I’d like to pursue a master’s degree or a PhD, and the answer would likely depend on whether I’d like to be a practitioner or an academic. The connections I made in Chicago will be invaluable in learning more about each route, so I can choose which one to follow. Alternatively, a combined MS/PhD or MA/PhD program would offer me the flexibility to stop or continue after receiving my master’s degree. Such programs would also allow me to pay for school with an assistantship, a major benefit not often found in traditional master’s programs.  

My new connections will also provide insight, advantages, and opportunities in I-O psychology to which I may not otherwise have access. This will be enormously useful as I research and apply to graduate programs, internships, and full-time roles moving forward. My experience making these connections also increased my networking confidence and competence dramatically, so I expect to proactively meet many more professionals in the future. 

For my STEP Signature Project, I utilized STEP’s financial support to attend this year’s Game Developer Conference (GDC). By doing so, I had the opportunity to participate in various industry-expert led lectures, engage with professionals in Game Design, and become acquainted with the International Game Developers Association (IGDA), a minority outreach group dedicated to assisting students in entering the industry and connecting those students with game industry ambassadors. Attending the conference provided me with a deeper understanding of the games industry and enabled me to establish valuable connections for future guidance and support.

The most important benefit I gained from the conference was learning more about the games industry. This was particularly valuable as I was considering whether to attend Ohio State University for an MFA in Digital Animation and Interactive Media, which would solidify my path towards creating interactive content. For this reason, it was important to make sure that this was a community I would actually like to be a part of since becoming a game developer is not an easy life.

However, after immersing myself in the game developer community, not only did my understanding of the game industry change, but I did as well. During my time there, I was mesmerized by the amount of passion there is to shift games towards being made for prosocial good. Additionally, I came to learn how inclusive the community is to those in the LGBTQ+ community. For me, both of those aspects are major reasons why I loved the game industry from the outside so to see that it was even more so the case on the inside was aa truly heartwarming. Furthermore, the changed that occurred within my own self was the realization that for me, I want to learn more about how we can make games more accessible, especially for the emerging technologies of mixed reality.

Regarding my first change of perspective with the prosocial aspirations of the games industry, this can be most thanked due to the amazing talks I got to attend. One of the best talks on this topic was a talk named “Advocacy Microtalks: Culture, Civics, & Karma” which was made up of 5 different mini talks on how to make games that are a powerful force for cultural change. One of the key take aways I gained from this talk was the quote of “The more specific we are, the more universal something can become. Life is in the details. If you generalize, it doesn’t resonate. The specificity of it is what resonates.” – Jacqueline Woodson. This quote was in regards to how if you want to make a game that actually means something, you have to be willing to truly make it for that community and not water it down to be something that is socially acceptable to everyone. Another key takeaway was that we as designers have to come up with ways to create opportunities for people to be kind by giving players motive, means, and opportunities to be kind. Through doing so we can make games that can help make the world a more wholesome place. Thanks to talks like these, not only did my view of my responsibility of a game designer shift, but I also got a chance to see how the game industry is made up of people like these speakers who want to use our art form to help people.

Regarding the second shift of perspective of just how important the Queer community is to the games industry was thanks to one of the first talks I was able to attend. The talk I am referring to was called “Fair Play Summit: Nonbinary by Design” which described the speakers experience crafting a narrative in which the main protagonist comes to identify as non-binary and how important it is to include as many voices of a community as you can when crafting inclusivity stories. But the reason it gave me such a brighter view of the game’s community was not for the talks content itself but for the fact that before the talk, unlike the every other talk I attended in which most people would wait till about 20 minutes before hand to start lining up, an hour before this presentation, there was already a line halfway down the hall. Through this, I was able to see how important even a community as small as the nonbinary community is to those in the industry.

The final realization in which I discovered my desire to work in accessibility for games can most directly be attributed to a talk I watched on crafting a VR game for players who are blind. In the talk, the speakers discussed what type of adaptions they had to make to provide the best quality experience they could for all their players, no matter if they were blind or not. For example, they discovered that making the game have simply a text-to-speech feature for all written content was not enough since it would either result in players getting an overwhelming amount of information and confusions about what information was important. So instead, they had to do numerous playtests filtering down the information and determining what truly needed to be read aloud and what did not. Furthermore, they talked about how much this meant to the blind community since this was the first VR game that was tailored made to be accessible to the community. Yet, there is still so much research yet to be down on these emerging technologies of VR and AR which is why I had this change of perspective of wanting to go into learning how we can improve these technologies accessibility.

Overall, thanks to this conference I feel surer then ever in my decision to attend The Ohio State University for my MFA since now I know that the industry I would be entering following my studies is one I would be glad to be apart of. Furthermore, thanks to my discoveries regarding the state of accessibility in games, I now have a clear direction for what I would want to focus my thesis research on when I am pursing my master’s degree. Finally, thanks to the opportunity that STEP has given me, I now have a vast amount of people who I can reach out to as I go down this journey.

For my STEP Project, I traveled to Orlando, Florida to attend the 2024 Montessori Conference. During the conference, I had the opportunity to visit a Montessori school where I observed the classroom layout and its functions. I then participated in numerous workshops that not only enhanced my understanding of educational practices but also provided valuable insights applicable to future Montessori classrooms. Exploring the exhibition area was particularly enlightening as I encountered over 100 vendors showcasing Montessori equipment, tools, and supporting booths.

This experience deepened my passion for education, particularly in teaching the whole child. Traditional schools often prioritize standardization, aiming for every student to graduate with the same high school degree and identical skill sets, regardless of individual strengths or weaknesses. In contrast, Montessori schools support independence and individualized learning, inspired by Maria Montessori’s advocacy for children’s autonomy and peace-building efforts, especially among war-traumatized children. Understanding this value is fundamental in shaping my approach to education, encouraging a practical, hands-on perspective. I intend to integrate the principles learned from this conference into my future classrooms, with aspirations to become certified in Montessori education and implement its methodologies extensively.

Collaborating with my STEP advisor and faculty consultant proved invaluable, not only for the project but also for personal growth. Planning this trip independently provided me with valuable lessons in budgeting, airline and hotel booking, fostering a newfound sense of independence and confidence.

At the conference, I discovered areas of educational interest that I may pursue further, including behavior and literacy in Montessori settings. Engaging in workshops about phonics, behavior management, and math broadened my understanding and sparked new avenues of inquiry. This newfound enthusiasm for child-centered education has reshaped my career goals, steering them towards a more inclusive approach.

Engaging with practicing Montessori teachers allowed me to seek clarification on unfamiliar aspects of the Montessori classroom, honing my ability to ask insightful questions and build professional connections. This experience transformed my comprehension of Maria Montessori’s principles, elucidating their efficacy and underlying rationale.

The impact of this conference on my career trajectory is profound. It has inspired me to pursue Montessori certification, enabling me to integrate these practices into both Montessori and public school settings. Additionally, the insights gained from workshops will inform immediate changes in my teaching approach as I embark on my Student Placement in a second-grade classroom in the fall of 2024. I am eager to share my learnings with my cooperating teacher, professors, and peers.

Beyond my professional endeavors, I am committed to applying Montessori principles in my interactions with children in various settings, including schools, church, and summer programs. Like Maria Montessori, I want to advocate for children’s autonomy and skill development, fostering an environment where curiosity and independence thrive. This experience has changed the way I engage with children, emphasizing empathy, curiosity, and respect for their individual journey.