Opinion: My desire to study psychology and become a licensed social worker eclipsed my fears

I graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in psychology this month and I will continue my preparation for a master’s degree in social work.

By Andrea Van Bebber

May 31, 2023 6 AM PT

Van Bebber graduated from SDSU Imperial Valley with a bachelor’s degree in psychology and lives in El Centro.

I grew up on the outskirts of Mexicali in Baja California, Mexico, in a low-income family. My father taught me the value of hard work and education, and my mother taught me to be kind, loving and respectful toward everyone. Although the place where I grew up was considered dangerous, my parents provided a loving home in which my sisters and I felt protected and supported.

When I got older and was already married, I moved to El Centro and quickly realized that I needed to learn the English language. It was 2016, and I was 26 years old. My educational journey started in an adult education program, where I took English as a second language. After I took basic English classes at the local community college — where I learned everything so fast and was a determined student — my counselor suggested I transfer to the San Diego State University Imperial Valley. At first, I was not sure if I was capable of such a challenge, but then I saw that SDSU Imperial Valley offered a major in psychology. I had been interested in that when I was in high school, so I decided to transfer and pursue a bachelor’s degree.

When I first started, I felt out of place because of obstacles involving the language and the culture. I thought about quitting, but my desire to study psychology was greater than my fears. I started talking with professors about how I felt, and they suggested joining clubs and organizations that interested me. First, because of my interest in research, I registered for a special psychology study course dedicated to creating a research project. In that class, I met my mentor, associate professor Linda Abarbanell. She guided me through the process of research and has continued to give me advice during my years at SDSU. In collaboration with my mentor and my classmates, we worked on the research “COVID-19 Vaccine Hesitancy Among Mexican Americans in the Imperial Valley,” which we presented at SDSU’s Student Research Symposium and at the Western Psychological Association convention in Portland, Oregon, in 2022. We won the Dean’s Award for our presentation at the symposium.

Next, Abarbanell invited me to be part of the Summer Undergraduate Research program as a research assistant working on her collaborative project “The Effect of Education on Science and Religion Narratives.” We completed the COVID-19-related research and presented our final findings at the SDSU Student Research Symposium on the main campus and in the Western Psychological Association convention in Riverside this year.

Abarbanell connected me with my other mentor, professor EunJeong Ko, and I worked as a research assistant on her project “Financial Toxicity Among Latina Breast Cancer Survivors.” After months of preparation, I did an oral presentation of the project as part of the most recent SDSU Student Research Symposium, and won the Provost’s and Dean’s awards for my presentations.

In addition to research projects on campus, I joined SDSU Imperial Valley’s Chicanx Sin Fronteras club, where I found people with similar backgrounds. They helped me gain the courage to get more involved in campus activities. Because of my interest in women’s studies and culture, I joined the Cross-Cultural Center and worked in collaboration with Vanessa Falcón Orta, the center’s faculty director. At the center, I had the opportunity to help create a series of events during Women’s History Month called “Revolutionary Women of Our Community.” We created a workshop to discuss women’s issues within our Imperial Valley community, and I co-moderated a symposium highlighting women who have positively impacted our community in search of social justice. I also participated in a round table discussing what it means to be Chicanx. Additionally, and perhaps in a full-circle moment, I had the privilege of presenting on personal experiences as a psychology student at SDSU Imperial Valley, in front of new transfer students.

I graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in psychology this month and I will continue my preparation for a master’s degree in social work at SDSU Imperial Valley. I plan to become a licensed social worker and continue working for social justice for the Latinx communities.