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My name is Cherri Seese, and I’m a Professor in Psychology.

I am passionate about psychology and the human mind because God is passionate about the human mind. We are made in His image. He designed our human mind, our biology of the brain, for a very specific design and purpose. And He gave us feelings for a very specific design and purpose.

And so I find that humans, coupled with the presence of the Holy Spirit, can mold and shape our feelings, our behaviors, and our thoughts to glorify God and to serve those around us.

I really want to engage students in not just the theory, but how that theory applies to their daily lives, or their personal growth and development, or of course future occupations. So that means I have to be sensitive to how each student learns, how each student receives that information, how I engage each student.

I also do a lot of things outside of the classroom. I have this thing called “Coffee All Call.” I’ll send an email out to all the psych majors and say the first one to respond to this email, I’ll take you to coffee—on me. And we don’t really talk about the subject or class. I’m just really trying to get to know them—what their passions are, what they hope to do with the degree, and what’s going on in their life—just to let them know that I’m here.

I also do a lot of organizational activities. Every time one of the organizations on campus asks me to participate, I say yes. And that is so that I can communicate with students that it’s not just you sitting in the classroom that’s important to me. It’s you, and investing time with you and in you, both in and out of the classroom.

I love that I’m part of a praying community—that when there are tough times, or even if I’m having a rough morning, I can walk into the classroom and say, “You know what? I need prayer, so let’s open up in prayer,” and everybody’s right there. Or I had a death in the family last year, and I can’t tell you how many of my students and colleagues were like, “I’m so sorry. I’m praying for you.” And that was unsolicited.

So I love that we are doing life together in a learning community.

In this time in our life, we’re young. There’s all that leaving behind what I’ve known and making a life for myself. My faith is now going to be my own. I have to figure out an occupation for myself, maybe find a mate—all of this new, new stuff. And it can be scary.

But to trust God in that process, and trust that all of us here at ±¬ÁϹ«Éç are coming alongside you in it—we’re part of the safety net to help you kind of figure those things out.

So even though it feels like it might be overwhelming and scary, it really is a great, safe place to start exploring.