Role-play assignment

Part I

I am an innovative web architect with 20 years of experience in providing efficient application and web development and motivational team leadership in several government agency settings. What distinguishes me as an expert in my field is my uncanny ability to quickly analyze problems, create solid and secure frameworks, and effectively lead my teams to execute solutions that exceed client needs. Many programming language currently used I’ve worked with, from ColdFusion to Angular JS and Ruby on Rails. I am also the co-founder of an educational startup company currently incubating at 1776 in Washington DC, creating educational software designed to improve learning outcomes and experiences of low-income and disadvantaged children.

Although this seems odd that I have a background in I.T., it wasn’t because I wanted to. My background is actually in music. I attended Howard University to major in vocal performance long before I decided to get into psychology. In short, I used to sing opera. Between the time I left Howard until I decided to return to school was about 15 years. Therefore, know it’s never too late to decide where you want to go in life. I completed my B.S. in Psychology and M.S. in Social Psychology at Walden University and I am currently working on my Ph.D. in Social Psychology there as well. I have research interests in African-American Studies, Arab & Middle Eastern Affairs, and Religion & Spirituality. I focus on these interests to have a more effective approach and participation in mentoring and community service.

I’m originally from Dallas, Texas but I’ve been living in the Washington, DC metro area for the past 20 years. However, I still love my barbeque and my Dallas Cowboys. I have a loving wife of 16 years, three children, a hermit crab, goldfish, and a cat. I also love fluffy cows and miniature goats. In my spare time, I volunteer with the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) where I serve as a mental health advocate, speaker, and mentor. I also work as a homelessness activist and serves as web and technical support for Thrive DC (formerly known as Dinner for Homeless Women), one of DC’s few remaining homeless and hunger programs. I play chess with international grandmasters where I lose quite often, I spend a lot of time outdoors in nature hiking, and I enjoy riding my Harley. I’m also known as a part-time chef among friends and family.

I expect everyone in this course to interact in a friendly and respectable manner, but also scholarly. Always cite your source.

Tell me about yourselves and your journey. What made you interested in psychology? If this is not your major, what do you expect to learn from this class?

Rationale

My introduction fosters an environment of openness but also restriction. Seriousness, but with a little humor. My introduction is also light-hearted. Most of it is cursory information. I mention several things about my past, including my hobbies and volunteer work, but I do not go into a lot of detail. This is even true for the information about my family. It sets the precedent to share something about yourself, but not too much. We all come from different backgrounds. Some people feel embarrassed that they return to school later in life. Others are in school and have the slightest idea what they want to do with themselves or their career after they finish. I want them to know that it’s okay.

Part II

Carlos: Hi everyone, my name is Carlos James and I live in Chicago, Illinois. I am a psychology major and this is my first class. I am so excited! I was diagnosed as bipolar several years ago and spent some time in a mental hospital, but now it is under control with meds and I feel great! I have always wanted to study more about psychology and understand myself better. My wife, Elena, and I have 3 children (Marcos, Marta, and Carlos, Jr.) and are really happy together, she is a wonderful wife, mother, and lover! I am looking forward to talking to you all!

When I think of psychology, I remember my time in the hospital. I was in so much pain, I kept going from bouncing off the walls to a deep dark depression and the psychologist really helped me. When I was in the hospital, my wife left me and took the kids, it was months before they returned home. I think of psychology as a way to help people in mental pain. I remember once, before I started on my meds when I was arrested for running around my neighborhood naked. Now, I am embarrassed about that time but then it seemed like a logical thing to do. Now I am doing better and I can't wait to get off the meds!

Email Response

I understand how liberating it can be sharing personal experiences with people. However, one of the things that I have noticed is that sometimes people over share. You mentioned a couple of things that I felt was inappropriate which was probably TMI (too much information) for the classroom. The first was the statement about his wife being an excellent lover. Normally, people do not openly talk about their sex lives. In this society, it’s taboo to just share this information with anyone who is not a counselor or therapist of some sort. Likewise, talking about how your wife left you and took the kids may be a bit much as well.

Typically, introductions are just that. An introduction to who you are so that a person may build rapport with the rest of his or her peers. You want to find some commonality that would encourage others to interact with you. The more someone has in common, the more the likeability of that person rises. I found this commonality in a peer I met at a residency and subsequently had in my classes. She was about 70 years old, had three Masters and two doctorate degrees already. She has a love of learning like I do. However, what drew me to her was her accent. It reminded me of home. In my classes, I would read her posts and still hear her voice. Thus, I ended up responding to her more frequently than others.

Be mindful of what you share. At the end of the day, you want people to interact with you much like you interact with them. People may feel strange interacting with someone knowing more personal details than they wish to know.

Group Response

I applaud your ability to discuss your mental illness and subsequent journey to recovery. As I mentioned in my introduction, I volunteer as a mental health advocate and I understand how important it is to talk about the road to recovery. Because of stigma, many people do not mention having an illness. It takes a lot of courage to do that and we’re glad that you are with us in the class. I look forward to interacting with you in the class.