From the Gangs of Ramsbottom...

This week’s blog post features Emma Ogley-Oliver, a Community Psychologist and our Assistant Professor of Psychology.

 Emma hails from England, from a small town called Ramsbottom. Her first experience with the US of A was in Boston during her gapyear (our equivalent to a year break during high school and college). Intrigued with the idea of a Liberal Arts degree, Emma applied for a student visa which landed her in Atlanta, Georgia. The Peach State is where she was first introduced to Community Psychology. She hadn’t quite finished her PhD before she accepted a job in Upstate New York to relieve a community psychologist on sabbatical. Emma was intrigued by SLU because of the North Country Symposium. She spent a year in New York (finished her dissertation remotely) before she found her dream job here at Marymount California University. She explained to me that there are usually three paths in community psychology careers: research, teaching, and practice. It’s great to get the chance to do two of them, but MCU offered a position that encompassed all three. She thought it was too good to be true!

San Pedro is a long way from Ramsbottom, England. She shared with me that back home when she was in school, she hung out with the cool kids. Unknown to her at the time, the cool kids were considered quite an intimidating group. Emma explained that the group wasn’t a bad group; they were never malicious or naughty, but because it was a small town – people made assumptions. 

Looking back on that experience as a child and now with her degree in Community Psychology she found a lot of insight into community development and that has built a foundation for her experience here in the San Pedro community. There are similarities based on size and different stigmas about particular groups.


This is the basis for what Community Psychology is all about – analyzing the bigger picture. This area of psychology doesn’t focus on an individuals and their trials and tribulations, but what is going on in the community around them and how people as a group are affected and can be part of the solution.

                                            

               

Community Psychology is:

Civic Engagement & Public Participation

Is Community Psychology right for you? Emma describes the type of person Community Psychology would appeal:

• ·         Anyone who has a respect for diversity
• ·         Someone who is passionate to develop a change for the greater good
• ·         One who wants to promote inclusivity in community development
• ·         Interested in being one with the project research and inviting the community members to be co-researchers
• ·         Having interests in culture, policies and sociology

One of the most unique things about the Community Psychology Masters degree at Marymount California University is Emma’s work in developing Participatory Action Research. Three major projects that she’s working hard to develop are:

• ·     Team Taiko – a Japanese drumming program that include ESL classes through drumming
• ·     Youth development on Tall Ships with LAMI TopSail – MCU students participate in Top Sail to understand the process and outcome of such programs.
• ·     South Bay Coalition for the Homeless (SBCH) – Where students work with the community and assess how their activities align to make progress in addressing poverty.

Check out our Masters in Community Psychology here. 

Thank you Emma for the lovely interview!