Psychology Major Finalist for Board of Trustees Scholarship
Published: March 29, 2023 | Author: Abbie Cochrane | Read Time: 3 minutes
Wyatt Read has been named the 2023 finalist for the Southern Utah University Board of Trustees Scholarship for the College of Humanities and Social Science. He is majoring in psychology and plans to continue his academic journey in graduate school after graduation.
The Board of Trustees Scholarship is funded by SUU’s Board of Trustees and awarded to one outstanding SUU student at the end of their junior year. This is one of the most prestigious scholarships offered by the University, with students being nominated by their colleges, and the seven finalists represent the best of SUU.
“Wyatt is a wonderful student: a great combination of excellence and humbleness,” said Dr. Bryan Koenig, assistant professor of psychology at SUU. “He masters course material to an exceptional degree, yet understands that much is left to learn. He is nice, respecting both peers and professors as valued human beings. I have seen him excel in classroom groups, collaborate on research teams, help struggling students, and inform me of errors on my exam keys. Wyatt is an excellent student, leader, mentee, mentor, classmate, and collaborator. Wyatt is an outstanding student who will flourish wherever he goes, and help others there to flourish too.”
When a few of Read’s friends decided to attend SUU, Read investigated for himself. He received a good scholarship from the university and now loves SUU and Cedar City.
Read is thankful for the wonderful psychology faculty at SUU, and offers special thanks to Dr. Patrick McFadden and Dr. Bryan Koenig.
“I’ve done a lot of work with Dr. McFadden and he’s been a great mentor. I also took Statistics in Psychology with Dr. Koenig. He’s a great teacher and that was an awesome class. It helped me realize how fun research is,” Read elaborated.
Hailing from St. George, Utah, Read isn’t too far from home at SUU. Some of his main hobbies include various sports: most notably basketball, which he has loved since high school. Currently, Read plays intramural basketball and pickleball, and enjoys reading. Psychology as a science also started as one of Read’s hobbies when he took AP Psychology in high school and found it interesting. Since then, psychological research has become Read’s passion.
“I think that science is a great way to improve people’s lives,” he added. “I really enjoy doing meaningful research.”
Read took an internship at SUU doing data analysis and found an interest in crunching the numbers, which, so far, is a promising start to Read for a career in data analysis.
The biggest achievement for Read so far is winning first place for his poster presentation at the most recent SUU Research Symposium. Additionally, Read is proud that he has been maintaining a 4.0 GPA every semester since his freshman year of college.
As far as being chosen as a Board of Trustees finalist, Read is honored to have been nominated.
The most challenging part of college for Read has been learning to balance school and real life. As difficult as it may seem, Read is confident that maintaining that balance is possible and attainable. For incoming students, Read is a strong advocate for SUU’s psychology program and psychology as a study.
“Psychology is awesome–I definitely recommend taking PSYCH 1010,” said Read. “I think the biggest advice I would give is to talk to your professors during their office hours. I didn’t do that until my sophomore year. It’s not something you really do in high school, but your professors are always glad to have you come in and they want to help you.”
Following graduation, Read plans to continue his academic journey by getting a Ph.D. in Social Psychology. His end goal is to be a professor.
Learn more about the seven finalists for the 2023 SUU Board of Trustees Scholarship.
Tags: College of Humanities and Social Sciences Psychology