Fiona Shinn

I have been in my field for about 2 years now as a rising junior in psychology at Ithaca College. I moved across the country from Livingston, Montana to Ithaca, New York for college, which was a huge step for me. My parents separated a week before I left and later divorced during my freshman fall semester, so I am immensely proud of the mental growth that I have gone through and how I have developed as a human, finding myself and how I fit in with the world around me. I brought back the Student Psychology Association at Ithaca College last spring after a two-year hiatus, and I am proud to be the catalyst for more community and support for students in the social sciences across the Ithaca College campus and the Cornell campus. When I was a freshman, I didn't know anyone in my major and there were no places for me to find them or talk, so I created this space for people in the social sciences and people who care about mental health to feel supported and feel like they have a community at their college. Recently, I headed a fundraiser for the National Alliance on Mental Illness with my good friend and colleague Nathan Connors, working closely with the psychology faculty at Ithaca College to create a team for the 2026 Finger Lakes NAMI Walk, where we raised over $1,000 in support of mental health care support and education. As a master intern at You Have Got the Power, a California-based company with an industrial operations psychologist, I create marketing campaigns and content based on APA magazines and APA-accredited informational studies. I am also involved in the Ithaca College Tap Company and have been taking a class at Cornell Law, which has been really eye-opening and makes me want to explore that side of the social sciences more. I either see myself graduating with my psychology degree and going on to put doctor before my name or Esquire after my name, as I am very passionate about change within communities.