Forest Hills — At first glance, the group gathered around the tables at Morning Belle looked like they were toasting the end of the school year — but they were actually diving into discussions about careers in psychology.
The students were part of teacher Faith Shotts-Flikkema’s AP Psychology class at Northern High School. They were at the East Beltline Avenue restaurant to meet with psychologist and consultant Nicole McDonald, Ph.D., to discuss McDonald’s career path in psychology.
Along with McDonald, the other speakers were Forest Hills psychologist Katie Kemperman and social worker Matt Langlois, Counseling Center of West Michigan psychologist Kyle Dolce and Kennedy Krieger Institute Learning Design & Technology Director Eric Moore.
“I think that is what education is all about, collaborative partnerships,” McDonald said. She added that it’s important for education to go beyond the classroom to partnering with the community and helping students make connections as they consider career paths.
McDonald and the four other psychology professionals visited with the students as part of the class’ psychology and career unit.
“I wanted something meaningful for them,” their teacher, Shotts-Flikkema, said. “This unit bridges academic content with real-world application, helping students see where their interests might take them.”
Keeping the Curriculum Meaningful
Every year, the challenge for a junior/senior class like AP Psychology is to keep the curriculum meaningful for students after the seniors leave, which this year was May 9, Shotts-Flikkema said.
From the middle of May to the end of the school year, students, who were all juniors, researched psychology-related careers and engaged in live interviews with professionals working in diverse specialties. Interviews happened in person, at local restaurants, on campus and over Zoom. During exam day for the course, the students presented their summary findings and analyses.
“It has been super fun … meeting the people and making connections (that) later might be useful,” said junior Rekshitha Rajeshkumar Sharmila. “And it’s nice to hear about college because we are going to apply, and they have lots of experience because they have been through the whole thing. It’s been really rewarding.”
Rekshitha said the conversations helped her see that psychology goes far beyond therapy, playing a key role in fields like human resources and even connects to her own future career as a speech-language pathologist.
The ‘twists and turns’ of a Career Path
During the hour-and-a-half restaurant discussion, McDonald shared her career journey, which started with an interest in law. She learned about school psychology and how it incorporated law knowledge, especially on the Individuals with Disabilities Act and Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act.
McDonald pursued a bachelor’s degree in school psychology, then went to work for the Ingham Intermediate School District.
At the time, she had no desire to pursue a doctorate or teach in higher education, but both happened. McDonald is now completing her 28th year teaching college psychology courses.
Junior Malachi McWilliams said talking with guest speakers showed him that careers don’t always follow a straight path, but often involve “twists and turns.” He added that the conversations also opened his eyes to career options he hadn’t considered before.
“The biggest takeaway I’ve had is, I’d like to say I’m gonna go into sales, probably double-major in psychology and something else, and then I’ll end up being a salesman somewhere,” Malachi said. “But after hearing all these speeches, I’m ready to follow any path and see where it takes (me).”
More Than One Way to Build a Career
What surprised junior Ally Becker was how different each speaker’s path has been, she said.
“They are all psychologists, but … they all have different educations,” said Ally, who plans to pursue psychology as a career. “They all went to different spots. They’re all in different jobs. They’ve had so many other experiences.”
She said it showed her that there is no one way to build a career in this field and that one does not necessarily need a doctorate to find opportunities in the field.
McDonald said the one takeaway she wanted to leave with the students is that their uniqueness is what they bring to the workforce.
“Your unique story, your unique creativity is what you bring to the world, and how that is expressed might come through the college you choose, the career you choose,” she said, “but your purpose and what you have to contribute to the world is what you ought to be really focusing on.”
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