Amanda Burri

Amanda Burri earned a Bachelor of Arts Honours in Psychology in 2016, and, following graduation, she  moved on to complete a Master of Arts, Counselling and Spirituality at Saint Paul University in Ottawa.

“Do your research. Understand where you want to be (in life) and work backwards.”

Current position of employment or schooling

Part-time Mental Health Professional and part-time Federal Public Servant in the Employee Assistance Program.

What skills did you learn in your BA that helped you in your current position?

Statistics, research, basic knowledge of psychology, developmental psychology, personality psychology, etc.

Do you have any advice for students thinking about taking a BA in Psychology at Carleton?

Understand that in order to pursue psychology after a BA, you almost always need to have graduate studies. Use the resources at the school. Build relationships with the professors as well as the TAs. Get volunteer experience in the psychology field. Explore the option of Co-op; this could be a stepping stone to a full-time position after graduation (this was not available when I studied but I am so happy that it is now)

Lastly, understand that this is a journey; don’t beat yourself up if it doesn’t go as planned. Every path leads you to somewhere you may not have expected and that is ok! Where I am today is not what I had planned. But I can say with 100% certainty that I wouldn’t change anything. By chance, my best friend heard heard about an open house at Saint Paul University so I attended not knowing what it would lead to. I now hold a Masters in Counselling and Psychotherapy, I am a Mental Health Professional in the community, and a part-time public servant working within an amazing team of fellow Mental Health professionals. It wasn’t what I envisioned during my undergrad, but it is so much better :)