Natalie Hidaka

PhD in Clinical Psychology program (year 4), San Francisco Bay Area campus

Q: What made you choose Alliant for your clinical psychology program?

A: I applied to Alliant because my professor from undergrad is also an Alliant alumna. She graduated 40 years ago from Alliant, and she really encouraged me to go into the PhD program. I was really interested in the Alliant campuses and all the professors, like Dr. Tai Chang, really care about the people instead of just focusing on accomplishments or outcome. They really care about the process of how we do things and our professional development in areas that I’m really interested in.

Q: How has Alliant supported you during the program? 

A: They encourage me to stay curious and they continue to talk about the content of what you're really passionate about. And if you show curiosity, they can really move you to where you want to go. I really trust all the faculty, especially my chair, and my community members because they really believe in the student, and I see that. I also really appreciate the in-person connections.

Q: What has surprised you about the program?

A: Professional development is not always easy. You have to deal with institutional systems and that is always kind of challenging to navigate but they never take anything personally. They really encourage us to participate. I feel like my voice is being heard.

Q: What is the dissertation process like?

A: What I really appreciate about the dissertation process in the PhD program is that we get to be the first author. Some schools do multiple authors and collaborate with one study, but we can pick whatever topic we want. I'm doing a study on bi-cultural integration and shame resilience and particularly looking at Asian American mental health. They're really passionate about our studies so they become a mentor and at the same time support us through this process like research design or them getting to know us personally because we tend to do the study that we really care about and that speaks to us in a personal way. It's not just the academic growth but the personal growth that they focus on.

Q: What advice would you give to potential clinical psychology students?

A: Keep focusing on what you're interested in. Relational aspects are always there but don't focus too much on who is right. Focus on what is right so that we always talk about the content instead of the political, performative work that we tend to easily get into. Don't let education get in the way of your learning experience.