Your Journey Begins Here Student Bio - Garrett College
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"My experience at GC was truly amazing and unexpected"

Kelsey Birmingham's Bio

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Class of 2017

Major

Psychology

Occupation

Mental Health Worker

Kelsey’s Journey


  • Engaged in campus activities and community service projects
  • Served as a peer tutor and a work-study on campus
  • Member of the GC Omicron Phi Chapter of Phi Theta Kappa Honor Society
  • Accepted into the Bucknell University Community College Scholars Program
  • Awarded the two-year competitive transfer scholarship to attend Bucknell University
  • 2017 Faculty Award for Leadership and Excellence

In May 2019, Kelsey Birmingham graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in psychology from Bucknell University, a private liberal arts institution in Lewisburg, Pa.

Birmingham graduated in 2017 with an associate degree with a psychology concentration from GC. She was awarded the prestigious and extremely competitive two-year transfer scholarship to attend Bucknell University in the fall of 2017. This scholarship covers tuition for two years of full-time enrolment at Bucknell University.

As part of the transfer scholarship requirements, Kelsey participated in the rigorous six-week academic Summer Scholars Program in 2016 at Bucknell. During this time, she excelled in two writing-intensive college courses, The Biology of Stress and The Psychology of Attraction and Close Relationships. She maintained commendable grades in her two courses, all while residing on-campus and participating in organized activities every week.

"My experience at Garrett College was truly amazing and unexpected," stated Birmingham. "Receiving the Bucknell Community College Transfer Scholarship changed my life entirely."

As a student at Bucknell, Kelsey kept busy conducting research in the area of multicultural health psychology. She was granted the opportunity to present her findings at the Eastern Psychological Conference in Philadelphia, Pa. in 2018. She also performed research with the United Way - Sunbury, Pennsylvania, in finding a measurement to appraise the teen impact programs in the local communities.

She also secured an internship at Behavioral Specialist, Inc., a mental and behavioral health services community organization for children and adolescents in central Pennsylvania, where she provided intensive group therapy sessions for physically and sexually abused children.

Birmingham’s sessions focused on strategies for anger management and coping skills. She also directed a play about diversity and friendship for children in the Lewisburg, Pa. community using theatre majors enrolled at Bucknell University as the actors.

Kelsey recently joined the Sheppard Pratt Health System in Towson, Md. as a mental health worker. In this role, she works with individuals with mental health disorders or disabilities, provides compassionate care, support, therapy, and assistance.

"I had no doubts that Kelsey’s path in life would lead her somewhere great. She made an enormously positive impression on the faculty and staff during both her summer experience at Bucknell as well as the previous two years she spent at GC," said Ashley Ruby, GC’s director of advising and academic success. "Kelsey was one of Garrett College’s brightest and most ambitious students. I am so proud of her many accomplishments and excited for her new journey with Sheppard Pratt."

After gaining some career and industry experience, Birmingham plans to return to higher education to pursue a doctorate in clinical psychology or a master’s degree in social work.