Why Avery chose Psychology/Developmental Psychology

Studying at Maastricht University (UM) is a personalised, life enriching experience that prepares you for the future, both professionally and personally. Our bachelor’s and master’s programmes are designed for students who have an intrinsic curiosity in human behaviour and health. Students ‘who want to go the extra mile’ on a professional and/or personal level. What’s your extra mile?

Avery, 32, is from South Korea and came to Maastricht for the master’s programme in Psychology / Developmental Psychology. “I left South Korea when I was 15 to finish High School in the United States and graduated from my Bachelor in Psychology at the St. Olaf College (US) in 2010. During weekends I coached kids in ice hockey.”

Avery’s extra mile in health: “Put theory into practice by becoming a school psychologist and helping kids of all ages to develop healthily throughout their time at school.”

“After finishing my bachelor’s degree I went back to South Korea, worked in different jobs and travelled a lot. The differences between people and the huge culture gap between the US and Asia intrigued me and I wanted to see what was ‘in the middle’. I went to Central Europe and found a job with a company that had its headquarters in Amsterdam.

My passion to help children started during my years of coaching children in ice hockey. It made a lasting impact on me emotionally, just how fragile they are, and how fast they can improve even in challenging situations, given adequate emotional support and encouragement. It was then, that I decided I wanted to do a master’s programme in Developmental Psychology.

I researched several universities, master’s programmes, professors and their work field and research areas and Maastricht turned out to be the only logical choice. I’m very excited to be a student again and extremely happy with my choice. The professors are all very encouraging and my experiences so far with Problem-Based Learning are only positive.

My dream is to work as a school psychologist, counselling children to make them more resilient. A familiar setting, like a school, is a natural environment for children and makes it easy to involve other actors like teachers and parents. Only when children feel secure and positive about themselves, are they able to adapt to changes and cope with adversity.”