One conversation with Psychology professor Colleen Pilgrim and anyone can see her passion and dedication to understanding global societies from a psychological perspective is very apparent.
Pilgrim’s love for psychology began with her intrigue in a science that dealt with researching human behavior and the puzzle aspect of it, which ultimately led her to becoming a social and developmental psychologist by training.
The walls in her office stand as testament to her interest in traveling for cross-cultural work and research; adorned with pictures from different countries.
Pilgrim’s research strongly influences her teachings at Schoolcraft. Her course on social psychology incorporates cross-cultural research and the SCHEMA framework which examines human behavior, their biases and how an individual cognitively sees the world; highlighting how these perceptions differ due to culture and environment.
Pilgrim strives to bring her global knowledge and research to campus; for this reason, her research on Pol Pot and the genocide is a part of her curriculum.
In addition to discussing the Cambodian genocide through the Loung Ung’s “First They Killed My Father” and her own research, her class applies a psychological framework on genocide and how the same social factors facilitate genocide. According to her, what keeps her passionate is bringing global focus into the classroom.
While Pilgrim worked as a research investigator at University of Michigan early in her career, she longed to return to the classroom.While she jokingly remarked that she became a professor because she never wanted to leave school, what inspired her to come to Schoolcraft was its relatively large population of first generation college students, something that resonated with her as a first generation college graduate herself.
“My job is awesome, I get paid to learn and to share that knowledge with students,” said Pilgrim when asked what inspired her to become a professor.
As a member of the International Students Center at Schoolcraft and having researched cross-cultural social psychology since her junior year of undergrad at Michigan State University, Pilgrim understands that every student comes to the classroom with different perspectives. For this reason, she has always prioritized developing new ideas and approaches to teaching.
She hopes that, in addition to the scientific methodology and processes, her students also learn the ability to expand their SCHEMA’s and be able to understand the world beyond the view they first entered the classroom with. It is clear that professor Pilgrim wants her students to gain more than just the content outlined in her syllabus.
Pilgrim urges students to consider the practicality of the psychological field, encouraging them to pursue graduate schools and exploring the different avenues within the field.
According to her, psychology is present in nearly all disciplines. However, Pilgrim emphasized that what unites all these fields is the methodology and their commitment towards trying to understand human behavior.
She believes psychology to be a vast and interesting field, one that she hopes inspires her students to become more empathetic towards other people.
Professor Colleen Pilgrim is a well-rounded professor who in addition to being dedicated to her field is also committed to giving her students a deeper understanding of the world they live in and the environment that shapes them.
Students interested in psychology should consider taking Professor Colleen Pilgrim’s Introduction to Psychology (Psych 201), Social Psychology (Psych 207), Life Span Developmental Psychology (Psych 229) or Abnormal Psychology (Psych 239).
