Dear Students,
I spent a few days in my hometown of Washington, DC recently with my 16-year-old, Mateo, and seven of his friends, touring colleges and taking in a few of the many majestic sites in our nation’s capital. Spring was in full swing; everything seemed to blooming. Bright red tulips, hot pink azalea bushes, golden daffodils, dogwood and crabapple trees and, of course, DC’s famous cherry blossoms were everywhere as we made our way around the city. Even as the kids grew weary of the repeated campus tours and information sessions, they perked up for photo ops with fields of flowers and presidential memorials in the background. One teenager in our group, Nicco, had severe seasonal allergies and I felt keenly sorry for him as I watched him try to have fun with his friends on the green expanse of the National Mall while quietly enduring relentless sneezing, puffy, red and watery eyes, a nagging cough, and eventually a dramatic bloody nose. While most of the group expressed delight in how beautiful DC’s landscape was, I was sure Nicco looked at it with dread.
I thought about my own feelings of delight and dread at the arrival of Spring. I am delighted by the longer days, the warmer weather, and the hopefulness of newly budding trees. And, I dread the inevitable intensity of the final weeks of the semester, the crush of too many simultaneous deadlines and demands. I look forward to the joy and excitement of graduation, but I also feel pangs of sadness as I have my last advising sessions with graduating students. In group dynamics we talk about feeling both grief and relief when groups end and I am aware of how many of us are feeling all kinds of conflicting emotions as we approach the semester’s end.
At the fabulous OHDCC Human Capital Case Competition on Tuesday night, I was bursting with pride seeing our students demonstrate how capable they are in applying all they’ve learned to current and urgent organizational problems. Amy Bravman and her OHDCC Leadership Team colleagues delivered a top-notch educational and networking event for our community, and the conviviality and excitement in the room at the competition was palpable. I felt wistful thinking that many of the students there would soon be done with their studies and leaving campus. But, I was also touched by the presence of our alumni and heartened by knowing all the good work our students and alums are doing and will continue to do out in the world after leaving Columbia.
Perhaps you are also feeling dread and delight, or grief and relief these days. If so, you are not alone. We know as organizational psychologists, that these are tensions to be acknowledged and managed, not problems to be solved. Just as we try to balance learning and performance, uniqueness and belonging, innovation and tradition, individual striving and team allegiance, competition and collaboration, work and life – so must we acknowledge and manage our mixed emotions as we approach the end of the academic year. It’s not always easy, but we are doing so together, and that is no small thing.
Wishing you strength, hope and even some fun as you head into the last three weeks of the Spring 2023 semester. Remember that we are a community and we are here for each other for all of it.
Warmly,
Sarah J. Brazaitis, Ph.D.
MA Program Director
Current Student Profile
Jahnavi Kothari
Jahnavi Kothari is a second year M.A. student in the Social-Organizational Psychology program. After obtaining her B.A. in a dual-major in Humanities: Interdisciplinary Studies in Culture and Religious Studies and a minor in French studies, Jahnavi worked at Google’s recruitment function for two years in New York and India. At Google, Jahnavi discovered her interest in organizational effectiveness, learning and development, and strategic talent management. These interests led her to the Social-Organizational Psychology program.
Recently, Jahnavi, along with two colleagues from Columbia University, piloted a 3-day Social-Emotional Learning workshop at a teacher’s training college in India. They hope to bring the workshop to more teacher training institutes in the region.
Jahnavi is currently at Lumentum as a Talent and Learning Intern. Her main project involves customer research to understand the current state of onboarding through survey design, focus group discussions, and observations. She is curating and developing manager resources to drive employee engagement.
At Teachers College, Jahnavi currently serves as an Associate of OHDCC where she builds international student support. Outside of school and work, Jahnavi loves to cook, practice Yoga, go to Broadway shows, and explore New York’s food and art scene.
Alumni Profile
Caitlyn Toretto
Caitlyn Toretto completed her Master’s in Social-Organizational Psychology in 2018. She strongly believes that well-being is the foundation of excellent performance and advocates for a holistic approach toward wellness that enables people to thrive. Since a significant portion of our lives is spent at work, Caitlyn is passionate about designing talent strategies that inspire fulfilling lives both within and beyond the workplace. Through the application of organizational science and systems thinking to shape equitable and human-centered practices, she strives to create environments where all individuals can contribute meaningfully and authentically to their organizations, bringing more energy both into and outside of their work.
Caitlyn is currently a Sr. People Insights Consultant at BetterUp where she proudly helps people everywhere live their lives with greater clarity, purpose, and passion by partnering with companies to deliver insights and design solutions that drive human transformation at scale. Prior to joining BetterUp, Caitlyn accumulated over a decade of experience as an internal practitioner and consultant in Human Resources, specializing in talent management, leadership development, and peak performance using a lens of diversity, equity, and inclusion. Her previous roles have included Area Talent Manager at Hyatt Hotels, Talent & Performance Manager at Clif Bar & Company, Sr. Talent & Organizational Development Partner at In-N-Out Burger, and Director of Talent Management at Anheuser-Busch. TC’s courses on organizational behavior, group dynamics, leadership, and coaching regularly inform her work, and she frequently references her notes, books, and network to this day.
Caitlyn lives in the San Francisco Bay Area with her partner, Bryan, and their miniature schnauzer, Cookie. Together, they enjoy a California lifestyle filled with sunshine, nature, yoga, sporting events, and wine. She is a lover of music and theatre and is currently learning how to play the ukulele. Caitlyn is a volunteer with Moms Demand Action, Vestibular Disorders Association, and American Cancer Society.
Feel free to reach out to Caitlyn on LinkedIn any time.
Recommended Readings
This recent report from Textio identifies language based bias in performance reviews. For example, they found that compared to men, women are 7x more likely to report being described as “opinionated” and 11x more likely to report being described as “abrasive”, and Black women receive nearly 9x as much feedback that is not actionable compared to White men under 40.
Check out this I/O Psychology Podcast, created by two Master's students at Hofstra University. Recently, they featured our own Dr. Allan Church in an episode.
This article includes a two-minute burnout check-up that allows you easily assess and track your burnout status, along with recommendations for action based on your "burnout score". We hope this serves as a resource as you all manage the end of the semester!