Senior Success: Shuri Hatake ’21, psychology major and international student
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Starting in September 2021, Hatake will be attending graduate school at the University College London (ULC) in London, England, where she will be getting a master’s degree in educational psychology.
During the upcoming summer, she’s going back to her home country Japan to work at a daycare center supporting children with developmental disabilities. She’s also currently taking positive psychology courses taught by the University of Pennsylvania, which she intends to finish over the summer.
“After I graduate from UCL, I plan on securing a Ph.D. in educational psychology, possibly in the U.K. or the U.S.,” she described of her future plans. “Eventually, I intend to work as a learning support assistant, teaching assistant or assistant educational psychologist to gain hands-on experience and to get to know the field at large.”
Ever the explorer, Hatake has dreams of working in Denmark for a period of her career — as Danish children are considered to be one of the happiest children in the world, and she wishes to understand why so that she can help promote happiness worldwide.
“While working with the children, I would like to incorporate some of the knowledge I gain from my positive psychology course in making children’s school life experiences better,” she said.
As an international student, there were both adventures and challenges to the university experience. However, Hatake found that Salve Regina was truly a supportive environment for international students.
“All the faculty members greatly helped me in some way or another,” she said. “Since English is my second language, I had many questions about lectures, assignments and exams. However, every faculty member in the psychology department has been extremely caring, supportive, enthusiastic and always tries to help me.”
During her time at Salve Regina, Hatake learned important lessons like perseverance, how to manage time and discipline. “Since I’ve already formed my strong work ethic, I can power through any obstacles in the future,” she said.
Because Hatake has traveled so much already in her life — even studying abroad for a time in Scotland — she has seen a variety of educational settings. To her, the experience at Salve Regina will always stand out.
“Salve Regina values individuality, yet feels as though there’s a whole community that has your back,” she concluded. “Salve is a community where I truly feel like it’s a second home. It is a one-of-a-kind place where you can grow and mature so that you can find yourself.”
Salve Success is a series of student success stories periodically featured on SALVEtoday. Check out the tag Salve Success for more stories. For more Class of 2021 stories, go here.
