Featured Student Hardeep Obhi

As a third-year doctoral student majoring in gerontology at Iowa State University, I find my Div. 20 membership to be a valuable professional development tool. Earning an undergraduate degree in psychology and gaining master's training in research and experimental psychology helped build a foundation for my current research interests in assessing aspects of cognition and dementia, biopsychosocial determinants of health and well-being and younger adults' interest in aging.

Being a Div. 20 member was essential to the development of my National Institute of Health pre-doctoral proposal submitted in early April. My proposal focused on biopsychosocial reserves of dementia using data from the Honolulu-Asia Aging Study, which longitudinally assessed Japanese-American men from Hawaii for approximately 50 years. Div. 20 enabled me to connect with prominent researchers in the field. These individuals have been gracious in sharing their time and expertise with me, demonstrating the great mentorship available within Adult Development and Aging. In addition, I utilized Div. 20 for this incredible learning experience by incorporating training activities (e.g., workshops, seminars) that were shared via the listserv into my training plan.

Through the Listserv, I also learned about the APA Office of Aging summer graduate internship opportunity under the supervision of Deborah DiGilio, which I started this month. During this internship, I will work on projects that align well with my research interests, including developing material related to younger adults' career interest in working with older adults and multicultural health and well-being of older adults. As an intern, I will also have the opportunity to interact with individuals beyond the university setting and explore potential careers, thus, augmenting my graduate training and professional development skills and network.

As a graduate student in interdisciplinary settings who is exploring career possibilities, I also appreciate career-related material shared on the Listserv. Exploring job postings that are disseminated on the listserv allows me to gain insight on what employers are seeking in potential candidates. It behooves me to be aware of the requisite skills and knowledge as I develop my prowess while in graduate school. Overall, I believe that becoming a Div. 20 member was a great investment for my professional development and that it has already had a tremendous impact on my development as a professional who studies aging.