Marah Lynne Newton McAleer is a senior at USF. She is double majoring in psychology and behavioral healthcare with a concentration in children’s mental health. Marah chose this major because psychology has interested her since high school. It was always her favorite class and her favorite books were always psychological non-fiction books. She plans to graduate in spring of 2014. Marah chose USF because when she applied the summer before her senior year of high school she was immediately accepted. USF is close to her hometown and she fell in love with the campus.
After graduation Marah plans to attend graduate school. She plans to apply to USF and other Florida universities for their psychology programs. She realizes that graduate school admission is very competitive, but this reality is what keeps her motivated in her undergraduate studies. Marah’s dream job would be a school psychologist. “I have always been passionate about helping kids, especially those who need a little extra help,” said Marah.
The most valuable class that Marah has taken at USF is Intro to Clinical Psychology. She had to write a paper for every class, a few 10-page papers and a 30-minute presentation but the class was rewarding. There were only 13 students in her class, they had interesting guest speakers and learned about what to expect after graduation in regards to graduate school and real-life pay for psychologists. “It was pretty intense at times,” said Marah.
Marah has been in a relationship with her boyfriend, Alex, for almost six years! They met in high school and held a long-distance relationship for awhile with her in Lecanto, Florida and him in Tampa. They now live together off campus!
Outside of school, Marah enjoys photography, movies, gardening and scrapbooking. She tries to make it home at least twice a month to see her two-year-old little sister and to take pictures with her family. She took Intro to Photo and fell in love with photography. Marah also spends her time volunteering at an HIV/AIDS respite center. She recently became a board member for a non-profit organization, Point of Prevention. “Our mission is to fight against HIV/AIDS in Sub-Saharan Africa through collaboration, education and support of those impacted by the epidemic,” says Marah.
Marah lives by these two quotes:
“Respect yourself enough to walk away from anything that no longer serves you, grows you, or makes you happy.” -Robert Tew
“Do what you feel in your heart to be right for you’ll be criticized anyway. You’ll be damned is you do and damned if you don’t.” -Eleanor Roosevelt
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