Alyssa Keegan '20 credits her deep involvement in MCLA with her success. “I wouldn’t have felt like part of the campus if I didn’t take advantage of everything that was offered,” she said.
April 21, 2020
After she graduates in May, Alyssa Keegan ’20, a psychology major, will be continuing her studies at New York University. The Long Island, New York, native has been accepted into NYU’s master’s in counseling program.
“NYU is my dream school,” said Keegan. “It’s a good school and it’s close to home. It’s actually the only school I applied to,” she said. “That’s where I wanted to go and I was going to make it happen!”
The active senior has been making things happen at MCLA for four years. In the last two years, she has served as an Admissions Ambassador. Ambassadors provide tours of the campus for prospective students, host open houses, and co-host three Accepted Students Days each year, where future Trailblazers can hear directly from President Birge and faculty members, sit in on a college class, learn about MCLA’s many clubs and activities, and eat lunch in the Amsler Campus Center.
“Now that things have moved online, we’re holding these events as webinars, where students can ask questions,” Keegan said. “It’s a good way for them to get to know us.” (The Office of Admission has also set up a virtual tour and other opportunities for prospective students to get to know MCLA.)
Keegan also coordinates H.A.L.F. Times (Healthy Active Lifetime Fitness), a volunteer program where local children get a chance to play sports with MCLA student-athletes. The College’s teams host sessions twice a week on campus. Keegan, who plays tennis, began volunteering with H.A.L.F. Times her freshman year and now runs the group. “The kids are so excited to play sports,” she said. “I’ll see them around town and they’ll tell their parents, ‘Mommy, that’s the girl from my after-school program!’”
Keegan began the spring semester with an internship at Berkshire Medical Center’s inpatient psychiatric unit. Three times a week, she shadowed a specialist and sat in on meetings. Keegan learned how the structure of the unit works, how to complete a write-up and diagnosis, and what the steps are to getting people back on their feet.
“It exceeded my expectations,” she said about the experience. “More than anything, it was about getting the person safety and stability, and it validated for me that I want to do something like this.”
“I would love to be a therapist in a hospital,” said Keegan. She said she is thrilled that NYU has one of the nation’s premier academic medical centers, where students intern each semester.
Keegan credits her deep involvement in MCLA with her success. “I wouldn’t have felt like part of the campus if I didn’t take advantage of everything that was offered,” she said. “I made connections with my professors and advisors, and I was able to get great letters of recommendation from them because they really knew me. It was exciting to tell them that I got into the master’s program and see how happy they were. Their support means a lot to me and I got to share that proud moment with them. That’s what MCLA gives you.”
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Are you an MCLA student, alum, or faculty member? Do you want MCLA to share your story? Please email Creative and Brand Strategy Manager Francesca Olsen at Francesca.Olsen@mcla.edu.
