While many people are sitting at their desk and dreaming about making a change in the world, senior Nate McAuliffe is actually doing something about it. As a Psychology major and Communications minor, McAuliffe uses his extracurricular time to volunteer around the community as an advocate for emotional wellness and the elimination of the stigma surrounding mental illness.
HC (Her Campus): So you’re a member of RENEW on campus. What does RENEW do and what made you decide to join?
NM (Nate McAuliffe): RENEW is a peer to peer education service on campus that helps students deal with stress, anxiety, study skills, relationship issues, and other social problems that aren’t big issues in the mental health field, but can still be big problems for someone’s everyday life. We do this through one-on-one education sessions, group presentations, and fun events around campus. I decided to join RENEW because I wanted to help others who needed my help and gain experience in the counseling side of psychology.
HC: What are your ultimate career aspirations?
NM: My ultimate career aspirations would have to be becoming a school psychologist on the high school level. I am right now getting ready to apply to the doctorate program at FSU for school psychology. While I am there I am hoping to start setting up a draft on starting my own peer education service similar to RENEW on a high school level designed to help catch mental illness and help those students who are flying below the line and may have been missed by screenings or other tests earlier in their life.
HC: That’s really admirable. What made you decide to go into counseling and school psychology?
NM: Well, it wasn’t my first choice when I was a sophomore. I wanted to go to INSYS to become a manager for hire basically. However, my junior year had a few life changing moments and after going through some rough times with family and school and seeing how much I helped the people who needed it by just listening and talking, it opened my eyes to what this profession could do. So now I felt like I want to go to a level of education where I feel the counselors are more interested in getting you into college rather than helping you center yourself and if I can just stop just one kid from doing something that themself or their family would regret doing, then all my work would be worth it.
HC: Are you involved in any other extracurricular activities?
NM: Currently, I am the IM captain for the kickball team for RENEW at FSU and we just started playing this week. I am also involved with NAMI on campus that, like RENEW, is trying to eliminate the stigma of mental illness that surround it. However, unlike RENEW, they are not a peer educating service, but an organization designed to spread the message of eliminating the stigma and getting help. We plan on doing more work in spring with talking to politicians, setting up talking areas around campus, and hosting an event to showcase how serious mental illness can be. I also am involved with local charities and volunteer around Tallahassee. My last opportunity was at a food bank where we helped separate usable and non-usable food. We also had to sort clothing donated to the food bank. Lastly, I am a member of a DIS lab on campus studying evolutionary psychology with Dr. Maner. This is a great experience since I am able to see what actual research and lab work people in the field would do.
HC: You sound like a really well rounded individual. What do you like to do in your spare time?
NM: I like to do a lot, actually. Lately, I have been doing more outdoor activities since the weather has cooled. I have been going to parks, walking trails, and going to some beautiful areas and experiencing nature. I also have been going to more multicultural events. Like last week, I attended a Turkish cooking class and learned how to make red lentil soup. I do make time to have fun with my friends by going out to bars and restaurants with them or going to beer tastings in town. I also love to play video games when I can. That’s my favorite past time if I am being honest, but if I stayed inside playing games all day, I would never experience what life can truly bring.