STEPHENVILLE, Texas — Britt Piper’s passion for taking care of children has led her down a path to become a school psychologist. An important step in that journey was to earn her master’s degree in applied psychology, which she’ll receive at Friday’s 6 p.m. commencement ceremony at Tarleton State University.
In addition to getting her diploma, she’ll also deliver the student commencement address, highlighting her somewhat circuitous route to graduation.
The Blanket, Texas, native originally planned to be a veterinarian, so Tarleton State was always on her radar as a potential option.
“I visited Tarleton, and I really felt at home, at peace here,” she said. “Everyone was very personable and super nice. So I decided to come here and pursue my bachelor’s degree. Then I changed my major halfway through.”
The drive to work with kids overwhelmed her original plan, and after guidance from Tarleton State psychology faculty members, she made the switch.
“I looked at all the different things I could do in psychology,” she said, “and being a school psychologist really stood out to me. It combines education, getting to work with school age children and the psychology and evaluation aspects of the job.”
With her passion reignited by her new degree plan, she connected with faculty and her peers.
“The classes were exciting to me,” Piper said. “My parents owned a foster care agency for as long as I can remember, so I was always around child psychology. By choosing to major in psychology, I’ve started making my way to realizing my dream.”
With her master’s degree in hand, she plans to continue her education this fall by enrolling in the new specialist in school psychology graduate program.
“Tarleton is opening their school psychology program in the fall, so I will go directly into that,” she said. “It’s a degree between a master’s and a doctorate, but I do plan on eventually getting my Ph.D. so I can be a professor and a school psychologist.”
Those are heady goals, to be sure, but Piper is confident her time at Tarleton State has prepared her to meet them.
“I work with one of our faculty, Dr. Stephanie Robertson, as a psychometry intern,” she said. “That has given me so many opportunities. I’ve been to numerous academic conferences. In fact, I presented my thesis at a conference. Being at Tarleton has provided me a lot of connections that will impact my future career.”
With her educational background and drive to help others, she plans to feature those aspects of her time at Tarleton State in her commencement address.
“In my speech, I’ll talk about how we all need to embrace challenges, get outside our comfort zones,” she said. “That’s something I’ve struggled with my whole life. I usually stay within my comfort zone and not branch out, but my college experience led me to realize that there’s not growth in that. No opportunity.
“We need to embrace the hard challenges and obstacles because that’s where growth happens.”
A founding member of The Texas A&M System, Tarleton State University is breaking records — in enrollment, research, scholarship, athletics, philanthropy and engagement — while transforming the lives of approximately 18,000 students in Stephenville, Fort Worth, Waco, Bryan and online. For 125 years, Tarleton State has been committed to accessible higher education opportunities for all while helping students grow academically, socially and professionally through programs that emphasize real world learning and address regional, state and national needs.