Eric Singleton ’18 uses his experience with psychology to inform his interests in international affairs. He says, “I essentially feel like my studying psychology has given me two types of experience. The first is in practical research methods and laying out a roadmap for postgrad education plans – I am really interested in the intergenerational transference of PTSD-related symptoms in populations who have experienced politically-motivated traumatic events (i.e. genocide victims, refugees, post-Cold War).” This interest inspired Eric to conduct a research project involving a cross-regional comparison of PTSD transference amongst Cambodians and Vietnamese people and their offspring. He completed this project while studying abroad in Cambodia and Vietnam with Dr. Jen Wright in Summer 2017. To build on his experience, Eric also began working this spring in the National Crime Victims Center with the Hispanic outreach program.
According to Eric, the second key experience of his psychology studies is “applying things I’ve learned (especially with respect to social psychology, conditioning/learning, and tests/measurements) to the nonprofit sector.” Eric has been working at Coastal Community Foundation for a little over two years, and he has applied what he’s learned to understand theories of altruism, management strategies, and data analysis for large projects (such as a Civic Engagement Agenda) amongst nonprofits. Additionally, Eric served as a development intern at the EastWest Institute in New York City in Summer of 2016. There he proposed research-backed fundraising strategies that were grounded in social psychology principles (e.g., crowdfunding as conformity, foot-in-the-door-effect). Eric is currently working on a Bachelor’s Essay project with Dr. Jen Wright on “Identifying and Addressing the Barriers to Nonprofit Success.” His goal is to better understand the relationships between variables/adversities that nonprofits must maneuver on a daily basis, and he seeks to learn how these variables/adversities relate to the nonprofits’ successes (or failures) of missions, capacities, and leadership.
After his graduation from CofC, Eric plans to pursue a MA in Conflict Transformation and Social Justice before gaining a couple of years of work experience and pursuing a Clincal PhD. He plans to spend the first portion of his career on the ground, providing treatment in recently war-torn areas, disrupting intergenerational transferences of symptoms. For the second phase of his career, he hopes to combine his interests and experiences: “- maybe work as an executive of an NGO advocating for mental health policy or distributing services. Hopefully in Latin America.”