Elise Ramos Rodriguez

PhD in clinical psychology program, emphasis in multicultural clinical community psychology (MCCP), Los Angeles Campus

Q: What inspired you to choose Alliant?

A: What I really appreciated from Alliant is the fact that it's very inclusive and culturally very diverse. I want to work with underserved youth, underserved communities, and minoritized communities, and what I loved about Alliant is that they really equip and prepare you to be able to work with culturally diverse clients and families. That stood out over all the programs that I was looking at. I was originally in a private Christian university, and I loved that university because it gave me a good foundation of my faith. I'm a spiritual person and that was really great, but I didn't receive a lot of that cultural inclusivity and response that I was looking for and Alliant does an amazing job of training us to do that.

Q: Did Alliant get you started on your practical experience and hands-on field training much earlier than other universities?

A: In the PhD track, I'm very grateful that in our first year we actually don't start off with the practicum; we start off with the theoretical, so, we learn the skills. The PsyD program is a little different. They start off with the practical clinical experience because their track is shorter, so they need to accomplish things a little more quickly. For PhD students, it’s research-based and in that first year we get acclimated to what we have to do, and I really enjoyed it. And then the second year is when we focus on our hand-on experiences. I personally like that dynamic because it gives me a space to build a routine and then be prepared to figure out what it is to do clinical work.

Q: Can you talk about the dissertation process and how that worked for you? 

A: For PhD candidates, we start off doing our thesis and we finish that in our second year and that helps familiarize us with the dissertation process. It's like a mini dissertation and we can also figure out what our research interests are. One of the things that I'm working on and I'm going to be doing for my dissertation is a comics lab. It's student research-led lab that I created with one of my professors, Dr. Shawndeeia Drinkard, and then we brought along Dr. Rebecca Bokoch, and it's creating a comic-based intervention for underserved kids. And so, we've worked with the Boys and Girls Club to create this intervention where kids can express themselves through storytelling and creating their own comics and our goal is to help them reduce stress. And I'm really grateful at Alliant to be able to even have the creativity and the freedom to explore that and to have the opportunity to collaborate with other students and faculty alongside to really make this come to life. That's super exciting and it further inspired my dissertation. I also want to take that and bring it into a cross-cultural setting. I’m Puerto Rican so I'll be bringing it to Puerto Rico for kids to experience it there.

Q: How supportive has the Alliant faculty been for you, especially with regard to your idea?

A: For me, I am very passionate about art, and I felt as an undergraduate that I didn't get many opportunities to explore research to really start and do my own projects in that way or in that capacity. And here, I just talked to my academic advisor, my school director advisor, and my professor/mentor, Dr. Drinkard, and I told her about my idea, and she said, “You know, we could actually create a lab for this,” and that really sparked a lot of creativity and passion for me. It started off really small with just us two trying to figure it out, reading the literature, and trying to create the methodology and the curriculum. And then as we can continued to build it, we brought more people in who were excited and passionate about it and then it just kind of grew into a pilot study. We just finished our pilot, and we were able to recruit 25 students to do the intervention.

I wouldn't have been able to do this in a different university or in a different setting. Alliant gave me an opportunity to explore my passions and other people who were supportive of it so I'm very grateful for the faculty to be so passionate and to be open to what students have to do and say.

Q: What has been surprising to you about the program so far?

A: I was really nervous joining a PhD program because it's heavily research-based, or at least, depending on what school you go to. But Alliant created a good balance between the two. To be able to have the experience to do research and also to have the experience to do clinical work with clients and families with kids with whatever population that you're passionate about was surprising to me. I feel like I have a good grasp of both. Knowing that you can do both and you don't have to pick and choose but rather you can really enjoy it and do what you desire is great and that’s what surprised me about the program.

Q: What tips or advice would you give prospective students coming into the clinical psychology program?

A: I think sometimes as students we may feel overwhelmed or intimidated and kind of self-conscious about whether we belong and what we should do or say. I recommend understanding what your values are and trying to maintain those values throughout the program. My values are to be compassionate, to help others, and to show love. And I think those values manifest in the way that I do my work and the way that I am passionate and create these programs and projects through collaborating with my school, my university, the faculty, and the students. For me, I think something that I would have told my younger self or someone who's coming into the program is to really have the courage to be brave, to explore, and do what you like. You're here for a reason and you're paying the money, you're paying your time, and your energy, so you should really invest the time and do the things that are going to help you grow and going to fill your cup. I would say try to have that confidence in yourself to be able to do things that you want to do. Take advantage of this time.