1. NASMP Summer 2016
Brycee Sells, Utah State University | Student, Utah State University
Introduction
The Native American Student Mentorship Program (NASMP) offers a unique summer experience to help students understand what careers are offered with what degree at Utah State University. Along with this, we are offered a chance to participate in research  labs to help us become acquainted  with what it means to conduct research . While some labs offer hands-on contact with animals or construction, others mainly deal with laboratory research. These labs will help us better comprehend what it means to do research at a university level.  
I am currently a psychology major working to become a certified child therapist. This program was advertised as a summer event that would help students obtain a broader sense of their degree choice and other unique careers. As such, Curtis Frazier, one of the instructors at USU Eastern Blanding, conveyed this program as something that would be able to help me with my personal crisis. I am glad that I was put into programs that centered around what I want to major in.
Week 1 Tour of the Colleges
While I was unable to tour the College of Education within USU, it was exciting to learn about the different programs that are available to students. Most, if not all, colleges included hands-on experience that they advertised to show how undergraduate students can apply for research jobs. It’s good to know that as I’m working toward my degree, I will have experience if I choose to apply to those programs.
I enjoyed all the activities and tours that we were shown throughout the week. The way the presenters seemed to genuinely want us to join their program illustrated how much they care for their students. The most enjoyable experience was the exploration of the College of Natural Resources because this was the tour that gave me insight on how wonderful a career could be if I loved it. The energy that radiated off every presenter was so tangible that I started caring for their line of work, especially during the presentation on dendrology.
Week 2
Center for Persons with Disabilities
The lab was explained as program that strives to help make lives of people with disabilities easier. The lab had nothing to do with scientific research but had more to do with repairing machinery, building assistive technology, and providing undergraduate study for students who have a disability. They do this by helping those students get a feel for what it means to work in an environment that requires focus, professionalism, and efficiency. Also, Clay and Cameron helped Shiyenne and I develop a basic understanding for the amount of skill and patience it takes to repair machinery and even toys.
I now know that being a researcher doesn't always entail working on the computer or analyzing findings. It can also mean just helping people by making their lives easier. It can happen when someone constructs a new design of a mechanical machine. I enjoyed my first lab because it was an experience that gave me insight on technologies and skills that are used to help people with disabilities.
My first day was overwhelming because I witnessed a graduate student defend his dissertation.
I also met the remaining graduate students in the psychology program while quickly becoming acquainted with my mentor, Lesther Papa. He taught me about the process of how to become prepared for graduate school, offered valuable lessons on how to start research, how to seek help, and how to look for undergraduate research opportunities.
Week 4 Psychology
with Dr. Melissa
Tehee, Ph.D.
Week 3 Dr. Melanie Domenech Rodriguez and Lesther Papa-
Psychology
Our mentor, Melissa Tehee, is the newly appointed director for American Indian Support Project (AISP). She has helped us understand, as an editor, what she looks for in the articles that are sent to her. Since she has become the director of AISP, it is her job to plan the event for the Society of Indian Psychologists (SIP). It’s amazing that there is a society specifically designed toward Indian psychologists. Luckily, we had been invited to go if we so wished. Overall, I was greatly exposed to the psychology graduate program here and I now know that I want to apply here for my graduate schooling.
Acknowledgements
Thank you to these professors for hosting and/or mentoring me: Dr. Melanie Domenech Rodriguez, Dr. Melissa Tehee; thanks for the following graduate students for mentoring me, Lesther Papa, Marsha Tafoya; also thanks to Clay Christensen and Cameron Cressall.
Conclusion
Having no experience and little to no passion in my degree, I wanted to understand why I thought psychology would be the best field for me to go into. All of my labs gave me the ability to comprehend new ways of thought. This summer has helped me understand psychology on a whole new level. It has encouraged me enough to attend graduate school at USU. This was only made possible due to the amount of exposure I had during this month.
Brycee Sells
Utah State University
Psychology