Student Spotlight

Miss Emily Nordlund hails from Ludington, Michigan, where she attended Ludington High School. This is where she was a teacher’s assistant in the special education classroom. Here she discovered how much she enjoyed working and talking with the students and helping them through everyday problems. This is when she knew psychology was in her future.

Emily is currently working with mentor John (Mac) MacDevitt on a few projects for her freshman fellowship assignment. They are developing a conversation skills workshop on campus which will focus on ways to induce conversation and make friends. Also included in Emily’s freshman fellowship project is a bit of research on eating disorders and anxiety; and analyzing the psychodynamic defense mechanisms in Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy.

Through Emily’s Freshman Fellowship, she was able to land another job working for behavior analysts while working with mentally handicapped children. Through her past and present experiences, she has learned that children are comfortable with her and are able to open up to her, therefore she wants to help them.

Emily is majoring in Behavior Analysis and minoring in Speech & Hearing Pathology. Her favorite part of NMU is the people and all of the outdoor activities the U.P. has to offer.

Click here to check out other research projects from our current freshman fellows.