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Adrienne Ostrove Hometown: Danbury, Conn. Major: Psychology, Spanish WCSU Degree: Dual Bachelor of Arts degrees in Psychology and Spanish Activities: Student editor for the Journal of Undergraduate Psychological Research, Psychology Student Association, IMPACT, WCSU Running Club, Associate Honors Program, resident assistant, volunteer at St. Vincent's Special Needs Services, tutor at the WCSU Tutoring Resource Center |
Honors and Awards: GPA 3.86, Dean's List all four years, W. Jason & Ellen M. Hancock Scholarship, Rosita del Corral Scholarship, Dean's Award, AAUP Student Leadership Award, Willerman Award in Psychology, Psi Chi (Honors Society in Psychology), Sigma Delta Pi (Spanish Honors Society)
Adrienne Ostrove left her hometown of Danbury, Conn., to attend college in New York, but came back after a year and has never regretted it. "I attended WestConn for four years, but I am actually in my fifth year of college," Ostrove explains. "I transferred to WestConn in my sophomore year. I first went to Pratt Institute in Brooklyn, N.Y., to study creative writing. I was there for one year. WestConn is affordable and has a wide range of academic programs - and I was able to live at home."
Ostrove says she has always been fascinated by psychology, and "it didn't make much sense to me to transfer to a different school but keep the same major (writing), so I decided to major in psychology. My decision to get a second major in Spanish just sort of happened after studying abroad a few times."
Ostrove says her interactions with faculty have been extremely positive. "Pretty much every professor that I've ever had (and some even that I haven't) has been a mentor to me, which is one of the great things about WestConn. I can definitely say that after taking courses and working on several projects with Dr. Daniel Barrett from the psychology department for five semesters straight, I have learned much more about psychology, writing, the future, and life in general than a typical class could teach me. I also feel that Dr. Alba Skar from the Spanish department has been a mentor to me since I made the decision to study a second major. Aside from encouraging me to study abroad, working with me on additional projects, and helping me to become more proficient in Spanish, Dr. Skar has helped me understand my own ideas — not a simple task! Also, one of the greatest mentors I've had while at WestConn has been (Associate Professor of Politican Science) Dr. Christopher Kukk. While I never actually took a course with Dr. Kukk, he literally spent months working with me completing a Fulbright application. Even though I was not chosen as a Fulbright grantee, Dr. Kukk taught me never to give up and to keep trying, even if things seem impossible."
Asked what she will remember most about her WestConn experience, Ostrove says, "Studying abroad in Chile and Mexico, even though these experiences weren't technically at WestConn.”
After graduation, Ostrove says she would love to get involved in researching the interaction between culture and psychology. "I plan on either stumbling upon this research by chance or working 24/7 until next fall so that I can afford to go to graduate school. Eventually I would like to incorporate my interests in cultural psychology with writing, so I may find myself becoming involved with some type of journalism in the near future."
Ostrove’s advice to new students entering WCSU is: “Everything that you think will happen, won't
— but everything that you think would never happen, will.”
