Kylie Moody

There is a running joke about the state of Maine that suggests that anyone who asks for directions will be told, “You can’t get there from here.” Western Connecticut State University senior Kylie Moody, a Maine native, has, in fact, proven that you can get to your desired destination, even if you started in Maine (twice).

Moody grew up in Warren, Maine, for the first 15 years of her life. She moved to Brookfield, Connecticut, during her freshman year of high school and graduated from Brookfield High School in May 2021. When it was time to look at colleges, Moody said she thought she wanted to go to school outside of Connecticut. “Funny enough,” she said, “I ended up going to school in northern Maine a few hours from where I grew up. Ultimately, I did not enjoy the campus culture at the University of Maine, and felt that I was spending way too much money to go to school and be unhappy. My brother-in-law had graduated from WCSU in May of 2022, and he had a great experience, so I decided to save money by moving back home and commuting to WestConn.”

That self-awareness brought Moody to enroll in WestConn’s Department of Psychology to pursue an interest she had held since she was in high school. “I have known I wanted to study psychology since high school,” she said. “I have explored different interests inside of psychology, but it has always been about the mind for me.”

Moody said she joined the university’s Psych Alliance and the Student Government Association (SGA) during the same week as she began her studies at WestConn. “Both experiences were critical in helping me form the relationships I have now and to develop the professional skills I have now,” she said. “I have been able to grow from a general member in both to Executive Board in each. I was the secretary for PsychAlliance for a year before becoming vice president of Psi Chi, the International Honor Society in Psychology. I am also the director of Finance for the SGA.”

In addition to her involvement in campus organizations, Moody has earned several awards. Among them are the Dan De Rosa Memorial Award from the Psychology Department in both 2024 and 2025. She also has been named one of 10 Outstanding Seniors in the department in 2025. She’s been on the Dean’s List every semester that she’s been a full-time student at WestConn after transferring in at the start of her sophomore year.

Moody also has had the opportunity to work in the Neuroscience Institute at Nuvance and to present her Senior Thesis research at the Eastern Psychological Association (EPA) Conference in Manhattan in 2025.

“I cannot understate how valuable that experience has been,” she said. “My classmate, Sara, and I have had a truly unheard-of experience for undergraduates in that lab, thanks to the recommendation from Psychology Professor Dr. Mary Murphy. I mention this because it highlights another great benefit of WCSU, which is the connections to the community that lead to local jobs and internships that are amazing and personal. It is incredible when you can start building these very solid networks of professionals that are so personal.”

Kylie Moody explains her research at the EPA Conference.

Moody added that presenting at the EPA conference was also an amazing moment because it made her Senior Thesis research, “Biofeedback assisted controlled breathing to reduce cognitive stress in college students,” much more real. “The crowning achievement of my undergraduate career has been my Senior Thesis and learning more about to ways research supports and informs mental health care and the interventions we have,” she said. “I am so grateful that the Psychology department has the option for undergraduates to complete a research project like this. Getting to connect to researchers, those who are my peers and who are professionals, made me remember why research matters so much. It was also an amazing way to celebrate my success and the realization of what the past four years have been about, but also what I want to do with the rest of my career.”

In addition to her Psychology major, Moody has a Women’s Studies minor, and it has helped influence her goals. “In terms of my studies, I have made sure to always keep in mind what questions I can ask and what I can learn more about,” she said. “With my Women’s Studies minor, it has shaped a lot of my perspective in terms of what I want to do in Psychology. I think it is important to consider the groups we have traditionally over-generalized about or excluded altogether in mental health care.” As a logical extension of this viewpoint, Moody holds an off-campus job as a Substance Use Disorder Technician at a women’s residential treatment center.

She also does not hesitate to praise her professor’s influence on her studies. “Dr. Mary Murphy in the Psychology department has been instrumental in my success here at WCSU,” Moody said. “She agreed to be my research advisor for my senior thesis project a year or so ago and, in that time, has really helped me develop both the skills I need and the confidence to make me believe in reaching my goals and dreams. I was not going to apply to graduate school right after my bachelor’s degree because I felt unqualified before she encouraged me to apply and see what happened. Now I am about to accept an offer to a Clinical Psychology Ph.D. program on my first admission cycle.”

Moody will begin in fall 2025 at Pace University in the Clinical Psychology (Healthcare Emphasis) doctoral program. After graduating, she hopes to pursue a career as both an academic, teaching and conducting research, and as a clinician serving traditionally underserved communities in mental health.

With commencement approaching, Moody reflected on her WestConn experience. “I would say that what makes WCSU so special is that everyone I have met are all such incredibly hard workers,” she said. “We take every opportunity to do more and take such pride in our work that it makes this a special place. Clinical Psychology Ph.D. programs are incredibly competitive and unless you are at a top research school with millions of dollars in funding, it can be incredibly hard to get the research experience you need to be a competitive applicant. Because of that tenacious attitude that exists in the classroom and the dedication of my professors, I have had these experiences. I would also add that anyone who goes to high school locally like I did and thinks WCSU isn’t exciting because it’s local is missing out on a great community.”

Western Connecticut State University changes lives by providing all students with a high-quality education that fosters their growth as individuals, scholars, professionals and leaders in a global society. Our vision: To be widely recognized as a premier public university with outstanding teachers and scholars who prepare students to contribute to the world in a meaningful way.