Soriya Cooper
Title of Program: Humanitarian Industrial/Organizational Psychology Emphasizing International Public Policy
E-mail Address: scoope47@vols.utk.edu
Hometown: Knoxville
Year: Sophomore
Anticipated Graduation Date: May 2023
Description of Program: I/O Psychologists study the psychology of the workplace and are concerned with the ‘internal’ wellbeing of all its aspects from the employer to the employee. I am additionally concerned with and interested in studying a business’s ‘external’ impacts and relationships with the surrounding economy and native communities. HI/OP is all about observing and leading from a logical and sensible standpoint with the support of science and analytics but it’s also about fostering the intrinsic motivation for moral corporate responsibility many of us instinctively value both in and out of the workplace.
Departmental Emphases:
Psychology, Business Management, Political Science, Africana Studies
Other Academic Interests:
Globalization, Sociology, Human Resources, Economics, Public Policy
Faculty Mentor(s): Dr. Deborah Baldwin, Dr. Joe Miles, and Dr. Bob Dubois
Plans after graduation (career, graduate/professional school, etc.): Post graduation, I will be pursuing the Organization for Economic Co-Operation and Development’s (OECD) Young Associates Programme for two years before setting my sights on a Ph.D. program for I/O Psychology with political science and management as my areas of concentration. While there, I’d like real-world experience interning at the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation as their mission statement aligns closely with my passions. These internships are very competitive so in addition to the University of Minnesota’s (where I hope to go to graduate school) several intern opportunities, I’ll additionally utilize the Veterans Affairs Human Resources and Administration/Operations, Security, and Preparedness HRA/OSP) Internship as alternatives. Once my schooling has concluded, I plan to apply for a position working for the OECD on the Global Relations Secretariat. It is here that I’d like to extend and advocate for business relations with Kenya and help oversee those relations and personnel in order to facilitate corporately responsible policy strengthening business ties as a gateway to business in Africa.
Study Abroad: I plan on studying abroad in Kenya the summer of 2021 through the Critical Language Scholarship (CLS) Program learning Swahili for my long-term future relationship and career interests with the country as they are one of the fastest growing business sectors in Africa. For the spring semester of 2022, I plan to study abroad in France through CIEE’s Open Campus Block for cultural business immersion, as well as to take the necessary courses required by the Organization for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD) internship. This semester of study is crucial as it will overlap and bleed into my internship prospects with the OECD that summer as they highly recommend staying for 6 months minimum. I hope to build connections with the company for future employment prospects in order to help further their global anti-corruption and integrity initiatives and global relations with Kenya.
Research Experiences or Internships: I currently work as an independent researcher in Dr. Baldwin’s stress and resiliency lab in the Psychology Department studying differences in acculturative stress, resiliency, and perceived “workplace” climates cross-culturally. I’ve assisted researchers from the Department of Microbiology at UTK with in-field sample collection and processing of ocean sediment cores as well as in the BioSciences Division at Oak Ridge National Laboratory with in-field sample collection of stems, roots, needles, and soil of four Hemlock tree species.
Part-time employment; Hobbies; Campus Clubs/Activities: I currently work part-time on the weekends as a pediatric nurse and in the ICU as an Army reservist. I’m involved with UT’s Student Government, UT Libraries’ Dean’s Student Advisory Committee (DSAC), Tau Sigma Honor Society as a mentor to transfer students, Big Brother Big Sisters of East Tennessee as a Big, The African Student Association for connection and awareness, and very much spiritually involved at TVUUC. I enjoy traveling and meditating, mothering my pug-child Hoppy, and singing Broadway and bluegrass genres in my free-time.
