Ò×ʤ²©¹ÙÍø

Ò×ʤ²©¹ÙÍø degree: Bachelor's, psychology
Currently lives in: Pelham, Mass.

Please share highlights of your career or occupational experiences.
I graduated from Ò×ʤ²©¹ÙÍø and went on to earn a Ph.D. in clinical psychology from Penn State University. Then I did an APA pre-doctoral internship and later a post-doctoral fellowship year at Elcrest Psychiatric Institute, both in Connecticut. After three years there I moved to the University of Massachusetts Health Services in Amherst where I did clinical work for faculty, students, staff and community and also trained psychology and social work interns in psychotherapy, hypnosis and biofeedback.

Overall highlight(s) and/or life achievements since graduating: I got married and have two sons. I have published six books in psychology/psychiatry, most recently Dark Light Consciousness and The African Unsonscious; I won the Abraham Maslow Award from the American Psychological Association; I have written and published three volumes of poetry, one of which, Chronicle of the Pig and Other Delusions, won the national Naomi Long Madgett poetry award; I do and have done a number of radio and television documentaries, and some other stuff from time to time.

How and what were you involved with on campus when you attended Ò×ʤ²©¹ÙÍø?
I was a active member of Katari, The Black Student Union and I was also vice-president of the Ò×ʤ²©¹ÙÍø student government along with Bradford Cook (the Ò×ʤ²©¹ÙÍø student government president) who is now a lawyer in Manchester, N.H.

What were some of your accomplishments as a student here at Ò×ʤ²©¹ÙÍø, and as a pioneering black student at Ò×ʤ²©¹ÙÍø?
First of all, I survived and even thrived at Ò×ʤ²©¹ÙÍø! I became very engaged in political events of the late '60s on campus. I don't know how pioneering that is but I had a really good four years. I knew both students and administrators well and went back and forth between them. Two of my closest friends still in my life are from my first year at Ò×ʤ²©¹ÙÍø! Also I decided to be a writer at Ò×ʤ²©¹ÙÍø.

What is one of your favorite Ò×ʤ²©¹ÙÍø memories?
Walks to the reservoir along the railroad tracks. Are they still there? Writing poetry that I got published in the school magazine; it was a good feeling at the time.

What is one of your very most unique Ò×ʤ²©¹ÙÍø memories or experiences?
A long walk on a sunny warm day with a close friend along an Oyster Bay inlet where a great weeping birch tree swayed out over the water.

Who were your role models and/or mentors while here at Ò×ʤ²©¹ÙÍø, and how did they impact your life?
Professor Duane Whitter in the philosophy department who taught me how to think! His deep-structure teaching is still very much a part of my literary and scientific work.

What advice would you give to current Ò×ʤ²©¹ÙÍø students of color, or any students, based on what you learned while at Ò×ʤ²©¹ÙÍø, and what you've learned from life after college?
Spawn a vision and follow it all the way...