Staff Perspective: A First-Hand Look at the Summer Institute
As the deadline for application for the Summer Institute: Preparing for a Career in the Armed Forces fast approaches (applications are due by Monday, 29 January 2018), some students may be on the fence about applying for this year’s intensive five-day training. I had the opportunity to ask some recent graduates about their experiences at The Summer Institute.
The Center for Deployment Psychology’s Summer Institute: Preparing for a Career in the Armed Forces focuses on teaching student psychologists about some of the intricacies of working with active duty and Veteran populations. Here is some feedback from our Summer Institute graduates and current psychology interns LT Brittany Imholte and LT Lynnea Vis.
Augusto Ruiz: What interested you in summer Institute?
LT BI: I took the Summer Institute course two years ago during the summer between my fourth and fifth year of graduate school. I was interested in applying to military internship sites. I was hoping that Summer Institute would provide information to help me make sure I was clear in my decision to apply to a military internship site. I was also looking for tools to help me apply for internship.
LT LV: My interest in Military psychology began through my studies at Adler University. I took the Summer Institute class in 2015 and really appreciated the focus of the Summer Institute on informing us about the realities of having a military career. My instructors were former military psychologists. Very good information was passed down. I appreciated my school for making allowances and even encouraging us to attend. Prior to attending Summer Institute I had already taken some online courses from CDP and looked forward to receiving more information in person.
AR: What did you like best from Summer Institute?
LT BI: I really appreciated the camaraderie and networking opportunities. I was able to meet fellow students who are also interested in military psychology. It provided me great support and contacts throughout the internship process.
LT LV: The networking opportunities were excellent. I got to meet other students that had similar interests. Meeting 30 graduate peers that were as excited about this career was great. We had exchanges of ideas and the beginning of lifelong collegial relationships.
AR: How did it help during interviews?
LT BI: I was able to pull out relevant material from the Summer Institute and use it to make my application stronger. I felt more prepared when asked about why I wanted to be in the military and what this choice entails.
LT LV: It helped in a few ways. I always knew someone that I had previously met at Summer Institute while on interviews. My Summer Institute experience allowed me to feel more relaxed. I felt like I had learned basic knowledge related to military culture. I also had some information that helped me be better prepared when hearing about sea stories, deployment stories and air stories.
AR: How has it helped thus far on internship?
LT BI: It gave me more confidence going in. Ex. It made my understanding of military culture more of a refresher rather than learning so much for the first time on internship.
LT LV: Beyond the application process, I came in having thought more deliberately thought about the challenges of becoming a psychologist and military officer. I also had a better understanding of how being a military officer may affect how I write my notes and therapy style. I learned some of the basics related to military culture and I felt I got a taste of advanced learning related to military psychology missions.
AR: What was the biggest challenge during summer institute?
LT BI: There was so much information given all at once. However, I felt I was lucky to be able to digest most this information with fellow Summer Institute students in our impromptu post-workshop meetings.
LT LV: Just keeping up the energy...The days were so full of activities that there was not enough time to do all the things that I had planned.
AR: How would you make the summer institute even better?
LT BI: There were a couple of classes that I considered a little basic. When I recently looked at the Summer Institute syllabus, I could see my feedback had been implemented. I generally have glowing things to say about Summer Institute, but I also wonder about how funding may be an issue for some students.
LT LV: I loved the Summer Institute experience. It would be nice if it could be even longer, but I understand that wish may not be realistic. I could tell CDP really spent a lot of time providing relevant experiences for us. If there is anything to improve, I might have wanted to see more service specific(Navy) training breakouts. However, I also understand that not all the students have decided which service they are interested in going to before signing up for Summer Institute.
AR: Would you recommend it to others interested in a military internship?
LT BI: I already have recommended the Summer Institute to several classmates in my program and one of my fellow students attended last year. I would highly recommend it.
LT LV: Yes, I have already sent a few peers from my school. I highly recommend it and even placed it on my Facebook page. I spent the winter holidays with a colleague I met at Summer Institute. I also met with another.
The opinions in CDP Staff Perspective blogs are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinion of the Uniformed Services University of the Health Science or the Department of Defense.
Augusto Ruiz, Psy. D., is a deployment behavioral health psychologist with the Center for Deployment Psychology at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences in Bethesda, Maryland.
As the deadline for application for the Summer Institute: Preparing for a Career in the Armed Forces fast approaches (applications are due by Monday, 29 January 2018), some students may be on the fence about applying for this year’s intensive five-day training. I had the opportunity to ask some recent graduates about their experiences at The Summer Institute.
The Center for Deployment Psychology’s Summer Institute: Preparing for a Career in the Armed Forces focuses on teaching student psychologists about some of the intricacies of working with active duty and Veteran populations. Here is some feedback from our Summer Institute graduates and current psychology interns LT Brittany Imholte and LT Lynnea Vis.
Augusto Ruiz: What interested you in summer Institute?
LT BI: I took the Summer Institute course two years ago during the summer between my fourth and fifth year of graduate school. I was interested in applying to military internship sites. I was hoping that Summer Institute would provide information to help me make sure I was clear in my decision to apply to a military internship site. I was also looking for tools to help me apply for internship.
LT LV: My interest in Military psychology began through my studies at Adler University. I took the Summer Institute class in 2015 and really appreciated the focus of the Summer Institute on informing us about the realities of having a military career. My instructors were former military psychologists. Very good information was passed down. I appreciated my school for making allowances and even encouraging us to attend. Prior to attending Summer Institute I had already taken some online courses from CDP and looked forward to receiving more information in person.
AR: What did you like best from Summer Institute?
LT BI: I really appreciated the camaraderie and networking opportunities. I was able to meet fellow students who are also interested in military psychology. It provided me great support and contacts throughout the internship process.
LT LV: The networking opportunities were excellent. I got to meet other students that had similar interests. Meeting 30 graduate peers that were as excited about this career was great. We had exchanges of ideas and the beginning of lifelong collegial relationships.
AR: How did it help during interviews?
LT BI: I was able to pull out relevant material from the Summer Institute and use it to make my application stronger. I felt more prepared when asked about why I wanted to be in the military and what this choice entails.
LT LV: It helped in a few ways. I always knew someone that I had previously met at Summer Institute while on interviews. My Summer Institute experience allowed me to feel more relaxed. I felt like I had learned basic knowledge related to military culture. I also had some information that helped me be better prepared when hearing about sea stories, deployment stories and air stories.
AR: How has it helped thus far on internship?
LT BI: It gave me more confidence going in. Ex. It made my understanding of military culture more of a refresher rather than learning so much for the first time on internship.
LT LV: Beyond the application process, I came in having thought more deliberately thought about the challenges of becoming a psychologist and military officer. I also had a better understanding of how being a military officer may affect how I write my notes and therapy style. I learned some of the basics related to military culture and I felt I got a taste of advanced learning related to military psychology missions.
AR: What was the biggest challenge during summer institute?
LT BI: There was so much information given all at once. However, I felt I was lucky to be able to digest most this information with fellow Summer Institute students in our impromptu post-workshop meetings.
LT LV: Just keeping up the energy...The days were so full of activities that there was not enough time to do all the things that I had planned.
AR: How would you make the summer institute even better?
LT BI: There were a couple of classes that I considered a little basic. When I recently looked at the Summer Institute syllabus, I could see my feedback had been implemented. I generally have glowing things to say about Summer Institute, but I also wonder about how funding may be an issue for some students.
LT LV: I loved the Summer Institute experience. It would be nice if it could be even longer, but I understand that wish may not be realistic. I could tell CDP really spent a lot of time providing relevant experiences for us. If there is anything to improve, I might have wanted to see more service specific(Navy) training breakouts. However, I also understand that not all the students have decided which service they are interested in going to before signing up for Summer Institute.
AR: Would you recommend it to others interested in a military internship?
LT BI: I already have recommended the Summer Institute to several classmates in my program and one of my fellow students attended last year. I would highly recommend it.
LT LV: Yes, I have already sent a few peers from my school. I highly recommend it and even placed it on my Facebook page. I spent the winter holidays with a colleague I met at Summer Institute. I also met with another.
The opinions in CDP Staff Perspective blogs are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinion of the Uniformed Services University of the Health Science or the Department of Defense.
Augusto Ruiz, Psy. D., is a deployment behavioral health psychologist with the Center for Deployment Psychology at the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences in Bethesda, Maryland.