Dear Students,
How are you? Are you doing okay?
Although we’re only a month into the Spring semester, some of you have noted that it feels much, much longer than this. A few of you have told me how stressed you are; a number of you have said it’s beyond stress—it’s next-level anxiety. Others have mentioned how little time is left before graduation—they'd like to hang on to what they have a little longer and leave the future to the future.
The daylight hours are still short and the weather has been trending toward gloomy and uncomfortably unpredictable. It was 3°F in Central Park on February 4th and 61°F exactly one week later. Every day when I read The New York Times, I feel as though I am being pummeled—and not just by unsettling reports about climate change’s impact on our world. Bad news is everywhere.
In response, I am reaching for hope this month by focusing my ping-ponging thoughts to inspiration, motivation, positivity, and even joy. I started with Samara Joy (pun absolutely intended). I live with a jazz enthusiast and my home was a very happy place when Samara Joy won the Grammy this year for Best New Artist. If you haven’t listened to her music and you need a spark of joy/Joy…well, you get the idea.
When my Group Dynamics class ended last Monday, I noticed the room became instantly louder as students lingered in the classroom to chat animatedly, ask about the previous weekend, and make plans to study together, grab food, or meet up. I flashed back to the year and a half when I taught solely on Zoom, when my Group Dynamics class would end in complete silence with 30 video boxes disappearing in rapid succession from my laptop. Last week I paused for a moment in my classroom to savor the enthusiastic talking, the energy in the room, and the sight of my students in 3-D. It was, as the kids say, awesome.
One way to spark joy, I’ve learned, is to be in awe. Research shows that the experience of awe improves our well-being. More specifically, studies suggest that experiencing awe may help us:
- decrease feelings of entitlement;
- increase ethical decision-making;
- up our generosity;
- engage in more prosocial behavior (e.g., helping, sharing, consoling, cooperating);
- reduce our stress;
- calm our nerves;
- bond with and trust others more easily; and
- quiet our negative self-talk.
Sign me up!
Interestingly, I learned we do not need to do anything extraordinary to experience awe. It doesn’t require a trip to the Grand Canyon or to the Pyramids, or a ride on a hang glider. (Thank goodness, because I don’t have the time or the bucks for the first two and I fear I would be horribly nauseated by the third.) Rather, we can experience awe simply by paying attention to the small wonders that surround us every day.
For example, when I’m riding the elevator to my dentist’s office and I see the elevator operator and a snow-suited toddler exchanging high fives, I feel awe. When I see a petite woman effortlessly board the A train with a 70-lb. golden retriever in an IKEA bag strapped to her shoulder—doubtless part of her daily routine—I feel awe. We also can experience awe just by witnessing others being caring and kind toward one another. So, when I hear my students calling out to each other, “Have a good week,” and “Good luck with your paper,” I feel awe. It calms me. It makes me smile. It brings me joy. All those things, and Samara Joy’s music on heavy repeat, will get me to March.
I’d like to wish each of you much hope, joy and, most especially, awe this month. Happy Black History Month. Happy Valentine’s Day. Happy Groundhog’s Day. Happy February. As always, we are here for you, and we’ve got this.
Warmly,
Sarah J. Brazaitis, Ph.D.
MA Program Director
Current Student Profile
Kevin John
Kevin John is a student in the Social-Organizational Psychology M.A. Program. After obtaining his B.A. in Communication from Rutgers University, Kevin started his professional career as the co-founder of an online restaurant food delivery service in Connecticut called “Waiter Wheels”. This business was running long before the days of UberEats and GrubHub, and it grew to serve over 75 restaurants. While recruiting staff for his business, Kevin noticed that he was passionate about helping people reach their potential. This led him to pursue a career in recruitment. He soon joined Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSK) as a talent acquisition specialist, then transitioned to his current role as a project manager for the Talent and Organizational Development - Leadership and Learning team at MSK. Kevin is passionate about leadership development and equity, diversity, and inclusion in the workplace. His interest lies in the way the two intersect to create the leaders of tomorrow.
As a first-generation college student of Guyanese heritage, Kevin is aware of the challenges associated with achieving academic success. He has been dedicated to serving underserved communities through his involvement in New York Cares SAT tutoring program. He also serves as a board member for Inform Your Community, a civic group that creates entertainment experiences to provide information about important topics and social problems to children and adults of all ages.
Outside of school and work, Kevin and his fiancee are always planning their next road trip, going on hiking excursions, or exploring NYC’s food scene. At home, you can usually find him cooking and experimenting with plant-based food or jumping on his Peloton bike for a quick ride between work Zoom meetings.
Alumni Profile
Tiarra McDaniel
Tiarra J. McDaniel is a S-OP MA alum, and Captain in the United States Army currently serving at the US Military Academy at West Point. In her capacity at the Academy, she serves as the Special Assistant to the Commandant for Honor and mentor to 100 Cadets. She was also promoted academically to the role of Assistant Professor for her scholarly contributions and achievements in teaching, Cadet development, faculty development and service. Prior to her time at West Point, Tiarra worked as a Human Resources Officer in high-paced environments around the country.
Tiarra is a proud native of Centreville, MS. She is committed to educating others on leadership, ethics, and diversity that are important to the success of organizations. She volunteers her time to many organizations on topics such as Black health and wellness, the importance of diversity, promoting psychological safety to create group cohesion, and mirroring values through behavior.
Tiarra holds a B.S. in Criminal Justice from Alcorn State University, located in Lorman, MS as the first historically black land grant college. She also holds a M.A. in S-OP from this program.
Beyond work, Tiarra enjoys spending time with her husband Alfred McDaniel, who currently serves as a commander at West Point, and their two daughters Miracle and Milani McDaniel.
Recommended Readings
Black History Month
In honor of Black History Month, the APA released a list of featured Black Psychologists and their bios, including Mamie Phipps Clark, PhD, and Kenneth Clark, PhD who were the first African Americans to obtain their doctoral degrees in psychology from Columbia University.
Here is a recent podcast episode from Adam Grant's Re:Thinking, featuring Dr. Claude Steele in which he discusses his renowned and influential research on stereotype threat experienced by Black individuals and beyond. You may read the transcript of the episode here.
Here is a piece written by Lily Zheng, in which they discuss three actions organizations should take in order to make tangible and lasting progress on their DEI goals. We also recommend Lily's book, DEI Deconstructed, for a longer read.
Remembering Edgar H. Shein
As some of you may know, Edgar Henry Schein passed away last month on January 26, 2023. He was a former professor at the MIT Sloan School of Management and a giant in the field of organizational development, contributing to many areas, including career development, group process consultation, and organizational culture. Shein had and will continue to have a profound impact on our field of Social-Organizational Psychology and on our program. In this paper, Shein reflects on his 7+ decades of organizational consulting in an interview.