Meaningful Mentorship with Emily

Transcript

Okay, so now we’re heading to Florida Tech’s beautiful Botanical Garden. A tropical oasis tucked away in this peaceful corner of campus. And we’re going to meet Emily Warner. She’s a senior here at Florida Tech, majoring in psychology, with a concentration in animal behavior. Emily is going to talk to us about student-faculty mentorship at Florida Tech. Wait until you hear what Emily is doing here at the school, it’s awesome. Emily, please take it away.

Thanks, Alex. Hello everybody. I chose to come to Florida Tech for the small classroom sizes, and the tight knit community. I didn’t want to be seen as just a number. At Florida Tech, my class size is average from about 25 to 30 people. This means that by the end of my semester, I’ve gotten to know my professors really well.

The substantial relationship I built here in my time at Florida Tech, is with Dr. Darby Proctor. She is my research mentor, has been my professor for several classes, she even became my employer this past August when she created a federal work study position for me within her lab. Being a part of this lab, has opened up a world of opportunities for me. Because of her, I’ve had the chance to be involved in the introduction of a rescued spider monkey to our troop at Brevard Zoo.

This has been an incredible research opportunity, and has fostered a love for non-human primates that I didn’t previously know that I had. She’s not only a great mentor in an academic sense, but also a personal sense. She even sends me information about job openings that she thinks that I would be a good fit for. I know my relationship with Dr. Proctor is not unique among Florida Tech students. My closest friends all have similar relationship with mentors in the fields of aerospace engineering, astrobiology, forensic psychology, marine biology, and more.

These experiences have been critical in helping Florida Tech students receive scholarships, internships, and even jobs once they have graduated. So if you’re looking for a tight-knit community, with a plethora of undergraduate research opportunities, then Florida Tech is the school for you. Back to you, Alex.

Emily, it’s absolutely profound what you’re doing here at Florida tech. Next time you get to work with a baby spider monkey, can you please call me so I can join? Unbelievable. Thanks again for sharing. That’s awesome, Emily.