Faculty Profile: Dr. Brandi Stupica
What do people do? Why do they do what they do? Though Brandi Stupica, assistant professor of psychology, doesn’t claim to hold all the answers, she has still dedicated her life to figuring people out.
“I went into college thinking pre-med and quickly switched to English, all while taking psychology classes and really liking them,” she says. “Even when I declared my psychology major, I thought it was just a back-up! I finally realized all my behaviors were indicating that psychology was the thing I was really interested in.”
Stupica says that she initially fell in love with the research side of psychology. When she began her doctoral program in developmental psychology at the University of Maryland, however, she quickly gravitated toward the teaching side as well. She graduated with her Ph.D. in 2012 and joined the Alma College faculty that same year.
“I figured out that not only do I love research, but I also love presenting the information that psychologists are discovering in more user-friendly ways that students can easily understand,” she says. “I knew I wanted to teach at a small liberal arts school where teaching and research are valued, and I really wanted to return to the Midwest, so Alma was a perfect fit.”
Stupica believes that a psychology major is beneficial to many career paths, especially when paired with other majors or minors. She also has some very wise advice for future students considering majoring in psychology.
“Take the intro class,” she says. “Come to class, read the readings, and if it fascinates you, stick with it. Worst-case scenario, you’ve taken the intro course and gotten a distributive requirement out of the way. Best-case scenario, you’ve found your major!”
