GPI - Deborah McMakin, Professor of Psychology

Courtesy of Deborah McMakin

By Bella Grimaldi Asst. News Editor What is your academic and professional background? I went to Framingham State, actually, as an undergrad in psychology, and I went to George Washington University to get my master's in special education and [human] development. I worked at Wayside Residential after I graduated. While I was going to Virginia State, I worked in special education with kids who were experiencing emotional behavior problems, mostly due to trauma. I really fell in love with doing group work with them, not so much teaching in the content area. I went back to school a couple of years later at Boston University and got my master's in political social work. And that's actually when I saw my mentors from Framingham State - at a craft fair at Keefe Tech. I was selling jewelry to help me with grad school at BU, and I saw one of them, Bridgett Galvin, who just recently retired. She asked if I wanted to teach as an adjunct at Framingham State. So I taught one course in the spring of 1998 and then continued teaching as an adjunct, and then started to go to school to get my doctorate in education at UMass Lowell. What brought you to Framingham State? When I was looking at colleges, I really liked Framingham State because it was a small school. I was a generation one student, and I was very worried about not doing well in college, so I thought there was a lot of support - I thought it would be difficult for me to fail at Framingham State. I felt really a sense of support here. So I loved it here. I got to be an orientation leader. I was also in the S.E.A.L.S. as a peer educator. What's your teaching philosophy? I really believe that everyone is a teacher and everyone is a learner. I learn a lot from my students, and what I try to learn from my students are better ways to communicate in the area that I am teaching. I also believe that learning about learning is really important. Meaning that Framingham State is about fostering lifelong learning, especially with the gains of technology and how quickly things change. The best thing I can do is to try to help students understand themselves and the learning process. Whether it's through a professional career or being a parent or caregiver, or good partner - so people are a good member of their community - they know how to learn new things - to do that right - to be civically engaged and be an active member of their community and find a purposeful and fulfilling life. I think learning how to learn is really important, along with all the things that I'm teaching related to psychology as a discipline and science. What led you to teaching psychology? I was invited to teach in the psych department by my mentor, and I started teaching a class in child development for future educators, which was a great fit for me. My master's is in special education and human development, so that was a great fit. And then from there, I was invited to teach additional courses. So I taught teaching dynamics. I have a cohort specialization from Boston University, and I got to teach research methods using psychology as a science. And I enjoyed teaching research methods. I love teaching development. I really love teaching research methods because psychology is a science, and I love teaching communication skills and human relations. And then one of the other things I really do love, that's not specific to the psychology department, but I had the opportunity to teach with the Inside-Out prison exchange program. Framingham State has an Inside-Out prison-exchange program - 10 students who are not incarcerated take a class for credit with 10 students who are incarcerated. And we've been at MCI [Massachusetts Correctional Institution] Framingham, [Middlesex] Jail and House of Corrections - it has been an incredible experience for me. What are your hobbies, or something students wouldn’t expect about you? I love to dance, so I try to take dance classes whenever I can. I really love all of dance - in terms of what I love to watch, I really like modern dance. Another hobby that was unexpected is I’m playing softball in a co-ed league. I’m usually out in the outfield, and now I’m learning how to play second base. I also do a West African drumming class. What advice would you give to students at Framingham State? The advice I would give them is to remember that they are capable of more than they know. So, although things really feel overwhelming, once they get through the most difficult moments this semester, my advice is to just try to remember those times when they completed a task or a project, or collaborated with other people in a way that they could.