Week 11 Response

Respond to at least one of your colleagues’ posts in the following ways:

Share an insight from having read your colleague’s posting.
Validate an idea with your own experience.
Make a suggestion.

Kevin Duke
Kevin Duke Main Discussion Post
COLLAPSE
My academy journey was a learning experience. I am grateful for my experience working with children and adolescents before enrolling in this program. Having experiences to reflect on making learning more meaningful as I was able to apply the knowledge. Also, working in the environment I do, I was able to apply the new knowledge garnered throughout the study. My MS in Developmental Psychology has truly been impactful, and I feel empowered and prepared to better serve the young population I work with and other stakeholders who will benefit from the knowledge.

Throughout the journey, the need to stimulate social change has been the focus. Now that I have completed my studies, I believe my work has just begun. There is a dearth of data on developmental issues in Trinidad and Tobago. One of my objectives is to engage in research that will serve two purposes: the publication of journals and raise my awareness of what can be done to encourage social change. I feel comfortable knowing that I have completed the courses that will earn me my Master’s. Because of that, I will be more comfortable when providing recommendations, having developed scientific knowledge. Individuals who received academic training are more respected when providing suggestions in specialist areas like psychology. I am ready to begin impacting my local area and the world as far as possible.

Having pursued psychology, and maintained academic performance of a specific standard, I am a member of three honor societies. Each offers different opportunities for further development. Psi Chi International Honor Society in Psychology offers the opportunity to submit journals to be peer-reviewed. When I conduct local research, I will be pursuing the opportunity to augment the available data on Trinidad and Tobago by submitting the committee, one step towards publication. This will ease the burden of finding limited or no literature on an issue in Trinidad and Tobago. From experience, when I did not find data on Trinidad and Tobago to aid with the completion of my assignments that required sources being cited, I would opt to use data for another country, usually the USA, and cite a local example. Hence my interest in submitting journals so that peer-reviewed literature will be available for Trinidad and Tobago.

There is more than one individual whom I can laud for the support throughout my academic pursuit. One such person is my mother. She believes in my potential, commends me for being dedicated to pursuing higher education, and assists me with tuition when she can. For this, I am grateful. I can do many things to show my gratitude for her involvement; however, I believe the best response will be using my newly developed skill to effect change will be fitting. Her being able to identify a shift I created will prove that my studying was not in vain. My family has been involved in making kind gestures, hence my involvement in social initiatives will be sufficient.

Added to that, I will be sharing my knowledge with my mom because she is also admired by youngsters and this will enable her to make a difference in their lives. Having her on board for some of my initiatives will boost her knowledge and feeling of satisfaction. Mothers are always proud and happy when their children make positive impacts on the lives of others. So, this will be part of my initiative to express my gratitude.