UL Lafayette was the right place for Riley to call home while she earned her degree in psychology.
杏吧专区淚t杏吧专区檚 sort of a tradition in my family,杏吧专区 she said. 杏吧专区淢y mom came here, my uncle came here, and my grandparents live here. I杏吧专区檝e been around here my whole life.
杏吧专区淯L Lafayette is small and intimate, and I like the connections here 杏吧专区 I didn杏吧专区檛 feel that anywhere else,杏吧专区 she said. 杏吧专区淚 like the small size of classes and campus. It杏吧专区檚 nice to come here. I love going to the library and being outside.杏吧专区
It isn杏吧专区檛 just the 杏吧专区杏吧专区檚 welcoming atmosphere that Riley enjoys, but her department杏吧专区檚 as well.
杏吧专区淭he psychology program makes me feel like I can be successful in the future,杏吧专区 she said. 杏吧专区淭hey杏吧专区檙e really uplifting and everything I杏吧专区檝e learned I杏吧专区檒l take with me for the rest of my life.杏吧专区
Studying Industrial Organizational Psychology
Riley will be attending grad school for industrial organizational psychology, a branch of psychology that she started studying here at UL Lafayette.
杏吧专区淚 talked to an industrial organizational psychology professor and I got this HR internship. I found out that I think this is something I can succeed in and would enjoy, which is what I long for: enjoying my job,杏吧专区 she said.
杏吧专区淚ndividuals work more than they do any other thing in their life,杏吧专区 she explained. 杏吧专区淭hey杏吧专区檙e at work more than they杏吧专区檙e at home. So, I want to take what I learn from psychology and help them enjoy that and just aid them in any way I can.
杏吧专区淚 want to help organizations to be successful and help their efficiency and find the best people for organizations that fit their roles,杏吧专区 she said. 杏吧专区淧sychology really helps with that because you learn about human behavior and you will learn how those behaviors can be brought into the work field and where they would be most successful in that company.
杏吧专区淲hen times change, companies need to change with that time,杏吧专区 she said. 杏吧专区淚t杏吧专区檚 important to re-evaluate and do job analysis throughout your time there to make sure that everyone is capable of what杏吧专区檚 required of that position.杏吧专区
Riley's Research
Riley takes part in an industrial organization-focused research lab, which looks into discrimination against pregnant women in the workplace.
杏吧专区淲e杏吧专区檙e seeing how that discrimination affects their stress, if they feel comfortable with the company, and how long they would stay there,杏吧专区 she said. 杏吧专区淲e杏吧专区檙e looking at anticipated discrimination versus experienced discrimination and how that plays a role.
杏吧专区淭he results of the first study came back significant,杏吧专区 she said, 杏吧专区渁nd we杏吧专区檙e looking at demographics specifically in this study to see if, for example, you杏吧专区檙e African American versus white, or married versus single, and we杏吧专区檙e looking at the intersectionality of the data.
杏吧专区淚 was interested in it because I am a female and, as a female, we get pregnant and we have to work,杏吧专区 she said. 杏吧专区淪o, I want to see if that information could be passed to employers to show that there is still discrimination, even though there are laws in place. Just to make them knowledgeable that this is still happening and that shouldn杏吧专区檛 be done.
杏吧专区淵ou learn so much about yourself and others,杏吧专区 she said. 杏吧专区淭his major has helped me and helped me help others. I杏吧专区檓 forever grateful for that. It made me realize some things about how I acted and how other people acted and to be respectful of everyone杏吧专区檚 behaviors. We杏吧专区檙e all human and everyone works differently. It杏吧专区檚 a good program to understand how to work with other people.杏吧专区