Ph.D. student digs into threat landscape
Q: What is your role at NCITE?
A: I’m a graduate assistant for Dr. Sam Hunter's (UNO) and Dr. Scarlett Miller’s (PSU) project on malevolent creativity. Dr. Hunter is also my advisor, so I work closely with him on other projects.
Q: What specifically are you working on day to day?
A: Recently, I’ve been identifying training needs for the Homeland Security Enterprise, so that practitioners can stimulate creative thought when they encounter problems (e.g., novel threats, ambiguous problems). I’ve also been researching threats to agricultural critical infrastructure and learning more about artificial intelligence regarding malevolent creativity.
Q: What made you want to move back to Omaha to be part of NCITE?
A: Honestly, Dr. Hunter. He’s amazing and I was so excited to research malevolent creativity. I was also part of Dr. Gina Ligon’s lab when she and Dr. Doug Derrick wrote the NCITE proposal, so I knew the impact the research would have. I’m so grateful I moved back.
Q: Your undergraduate and graduate degrees were in business. What made you want to switch fields and go into psychology?
A: The fields complement each other, and psychology lays the foundation for a lot of business theory, so the decision to switch was natural for my research interests.
Q: Does your business background impact your work in I-O Psychology?
A: I’m grateful for my background in business because I think it gives me a unique perspective on how organizations position themselves to meet their goals, especially with regard to innovation.
Q: What does I-O psychology have to do with counterterrorism research?
A: Extremist organizations operate just as conventional organizations do. Many I-O psychologists research specific industries like medicine or baseball teams, so counterterrorism functions just as any other industry would. The director of NCITE being an I-O psychologist is also meaningful to the research here because she focuses beyond counterterrorism efforts.
Q: How is your role at NCITE unique from other work in your field?
A: It overlaps a lot. It’s not uncommon for I-O psychologists to research creativity, bad behaviors, or deviance in organizations, so that that research serves as a foundation to counterterrorism research. I think researching counterterrorism with an I-O lens humanizes the individuals and organizations that engage in deliberate, destructive behavior.
Q: How has NCITE impacted your career goals and aspirations?
A: NCITE has opened my eyes to a career full of both basic and applied research opportunities that make huge impacts. I grew up in a military family, so I saw a different perspective to leadership and challenges my family members engaged in day-to-day. Terrorism was a frequent topic of discussion at the dinner table, so bridging the gap between my research interests and the many veterans in my family is so fulfilling and something I hope to continue beyond my time at UNO.
Q: Best part about working at NCITE?
A: Everything. I love the people, the research, and the amazing opportunities offered to graduate students. I learn so much from everyone’s unique perspectives and being able to collaborate with experts in different fields is unique for a psychology graduate student.