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Articles

Vol. 2 No. 2 (2011)

And Then What? Four Community Psychologists Reflect on Their Careers Ten Years After Graduation

  • Sherri van de Hoef
  • Purnima Sundar
  • Stephanie Austin
  • Theresa Dostaler
Submitted
June 9, 2023
Published
2011-12-15

Abstract

According to a recent survey of North American Community Psychology (CP) graduate programs, over half of CP graduates find employment in community practice (Dziadkowiec & Jimenez, 2009). That trend has been on the rise over the last few decades. In Canada, Nelson and Lavoie (2010) concluded that, compared to 25 years ago, “there is now a sizable number of community psychologists who are primarily practitioners and applied researchers” (p. 84). In this paper, we provide a glimpse into the career paths of 4 Canadian CP graduates, and describe how our CP training prepared us for our lives after graduation. We completed our master’s degrees in CP at Wilfrid Laurier University (WLU) (Ontario, Canada) approximately ten years ago. Two of us went on to obtain PhDs while the other two went straight into the workforce. We represent diverse professions: research/evaluation consultant in a hospital setting, government policy analyst, independent researcher/consultant, and Canadian diplomat. Although several of us have worked in academia, we are now primarily community practitioners. We are also mothers and active members of our communities. We will explore what attracted us to the CP program and how we have applied CP values and skills in our respective careers. By providing real-life accounts of what CP graduates do after their training, we hope to demonstrate the value that the program has had in our professional and personal lives, as well as to contribute to the ongoing discussion on building relevant CP programs.