Cultural Psychology: Personal Statement

The phrase “the best way for an ant to eat an elephant is one bite at a time” has been echoing in my mind and shown in my actions since I first heard it middle school. The phrase was a metaphor given my seventh grade teach to iterate the point that achievements are not made over night, they take time and determination to accomplish. Ever since then, I have been slowly eating away at elephant and working my way towards achieving my professional goal of becoming a clinical psychologist. My interest in clinical psychology developed through my four years as a volunteer at Kaiser Permanente Medical Center in Modesto, California. Only months prior to becoming a volunteer, I myself had been a patient. The summer before, I had gone through an invasive

I gained substantial knowledge regarding the significance of cultural psychology through participating as a research assistant in Dr. Greg Kim-Ju’s Cultural & Community Psychology Research lab, an experience that has expanded my existing interest in cultural psychology. I had initially become interested in cultural psychology due to my own experience as a Fijian-American immigrant and seeing first-hand the cultural differences between countries. I will like to put my interests into action as a clinical psychologist by taking patients cultural backgrounds into account during

I believe I possess the characteristics and skills to become a good clinical psychologist. I have gained communication skills, adaptability and resilience through my past experiences. I am a naturally sociable person and extroverted person, therefore conversing with others comes naturally to me. I consider active listening to be a valuable quality in conversations and I consciously make an effort to be an active listener. I gained this skill through my volunteer service and internship. In both cases, I needed to be an active listener and hear both the patients and students. Next, I also learned lessons myself and I have learned the significance of adaptability will a SEL mentor. In SEL, akin to life, lessons do not always go as planned, so I have learned to be flexible to reach the goal of engaging students with the SEL competencies. As a psychologist I will have to be adaptable because it is a very holistic profession. I will often be working with other psychologist, psychiatrist, doctors, etc. I will need to be able to think quickly and adapt to different situations. I think this skill will serve me well as a psychologist. Lastly, I possess resilience and this quality will add to ability to be a good psychologist. Resilience is important to have because it allows me to keep moving on during