Profile: Mariah Laver

Ju Youn Kang / The Bulletin

The Emporia State psychology department will say goodbye to one of its brightest students this year. Mariah Laver, a graduate clinical psychology major, has left an impression not only on the students she teaches as a graduate teaching assistant but on the school overall as well.

“When you think of students that you just know are going to be successful, Mariah immediately pops up,” said Ken Weaver, director of the psychology department. “She is the student who best exemplifies what is available at ESU.”

Laver’s interest started in middle school when she read a book about a child psychologist. A career project in eighth grade offered her the chance to look into the field more and she discovered that she actually liked it.

“It’s weird to decide what you want to do in eighth grade because what do you really know,” Laver said.

As strange as it may have seemed at the time, Laver was hooked from that moment on. After more research into the field in high school, she was ready to begin her college education in the field of psychology and enrolled at Morningside College in Sioux City, Iowa to pursue a bachelor’s of science degree in both counseling psychology and Spanish. While at Morningside, she worked at a residential treatment center for juvenile sex offenders.

At the treatment facility, Laver monitored daily activities and helped individuals with homework problems. The program helped Lever get through her undergraduate work by giving her a glimpse of the field that she wanted to pursue.

After graduating from Morningside, Laver wanted to further her education and soon set her sights on a Master’s degree. Her advisor at Morningside had completed part of her undergraduate work at ESU and had received a Master’s degree as well. She encouraged Laver to look into ESU’s psychology program.

Meanwhile at ESU, Laver’s reputation had preceded her. Laver’s advisor as well as various other members of Morningside's faculty had spoken highly of her to the psychology department at ESU. The ESU psychology department was delighted to hear she had applied for the program and even more pleased to find she applied to be a graduate teaching assistant.

Laver was apprehensive about the GTA position. Though it offered a tuition waiver as well as great classroom experience, Laver wasn’t sure how she would function in the teaching world. After just a few classes, Laver’s fears were completely gone and she now says that the classes she has taught have become some of the best and most fun experiences she has had at ESU.

Her superiors in the department feel that having Laver as a GTA has been a wildly positive experience.

“When she is in the classroom the taxpayers don’t care if she’s a GTA or a full fledged Ph.D,” said Ken Weaver, chair of the psychology and special education department. “They hold her to the same standards as someone with a lot more schooling and she excels. We depend on her to do a fine job and engage the minds of students and she does. She has a very high quality of work.”

Emporia not only offered Laver a new educational experience, but a new living experience as well. Laver had lived with a roommate in the residential halls throughout college and had grown up in a home with three siblings and her parents. Emporia would mark not only her first time in college living outside the dorms, but also without a roommate. She worried that she would be bored or lonely without someone, but soon found this would not be the case. The psychology department was a huge part of helping Laver to adjust to her new home.

“The department really encourages social interactions and tries to help people adjust to being here, especially if you don’t know anyone,” Laver said.

Members of the psychology department helped Laver get involved with a number of activities outside the classroom, something Laver remembers as being helpful in her transition period.

Laver went on to become the graduate president of the psychology club and the graduate student advisory council.

Lever keeps a full schedule not only with classes and organizations, but also with an internship at the El Dorado Correctional Facility, where she leads an anger management group and meets with some inmates for individual counseling sessions. She also interviews incoming inmates for processing to identify any mental health needs or concerns.

Laver is waiting to hear back from a number of Ph.D programs before deciding what to do when she graduates in August. In the end, Laver wants to work with juvenile delinquents either individually or in a group, to help them change their behaviors, thereby changing the probability of future crimes and time in prison.

In addition to her work in juvenile delinquency, Lever said that she hopes to continue teaching psychology, if only a few classes on the side.

As someone close to light at the end of a very long tunnel, Laver credits student organizations and dedication as what got her through school.

“When you get close to the end, you lose motivation I think,” said Laver. “It’s important to stay focused.”

As far as a legacy at ESU, Laver is leaving her own mark as far as many of her professors are concerned.

“It isn’t about stellar faculty or UAC programs, though they are important,” Weaver said. “What matters in the quality of school’s graduates. Mariah will bring honor to ESU and she’ll do great things.”