Dominick Fiumano '23
BA Psychology, minor in Writing and Rhetoric
Pronouns: he/him

How did you hear about Stony Brook University?
My mother is an alumni who finished her bachelor’s degree in the biological sciences, so she suggested Stony Brook.. It was a good decision.

On Stony Brook:
During my first year, I wasn’t set on what I wanted to do as a career. Stony Brook allowed me to cement my career path in a cost-effective manner. I commute to campus, which reduces expenses. Suffolk County Community College, where I completed my associates degree, also has a transfer program that allowed me to easily transfer my credits. 

On his major:
Throughout my life, I faced adversity with not only my own mental health challenges but also the mental health challenges of others. As such, I wanted to learn more about why humans behave in the manner that they do, which in turn would help me and other people  live better lives. Choosing a major in psychology has given me a greater insight as to the factors that may unfortunately perpetuate mental illness, which has led me to make connections between the material I learned and what I experienced in my own life. It also has allowed me to develop a foundation where I can safely and effectively conduct research in graduate school and beyond, to improve current treatments for mental illnesses and ultimately improve the welfare of society.

To supplement my  major in psychology, I also chose a minor in writing and rhetoric ( a last minute decision but one that ultimately benefits me) as writing is an integral part of communicating with other scholars in the social sciences. This minor has helped me improve the clarity and significance of the topics on which I write, and allows me to better communicate with scholars and improve my chances of securing funding for research. I also find it satisfying to engage in the process of performing continuous revisions and seeing my writing gradually improve over time.

Greatest achievement:
My greatest achievement as an undergraduate will be the successful completion of my psychology honors thesis. I have had to overcome numerous obstacles during my journey in the program,which ultimately led me to become a better psychological scientist. 

First, when I signed up for the psychology honors program, it was difficult for me to secure a mentor given that I was a transfer student. I had to reach out to numerous professors before I was lucky and privileged enough to have Dr. Joy Bolger work with me to develop and complete the project. 

Another setback was that I had to rethink my topic for the project later on as it would not have been possible to complete in a year. In the end, my mentor and I ultimately decided to investigate whether a biopsychosocial educational lecture that took place online would reduce Stony Brook students’ belief that people with a gambling disorder have control over their behavior, which is hypothesized to be associated with reductions towards public stigma. I reaped the benefits of having to do this procedure not only once, but twice, as I learned how to balance between being pragmatic but also ambitious with the research I wanted to conduct.

The third challenge was that, contrary to most, if not all of my peers in the program, I did not have data to start with, which required me to collect my own. Therefore, I had to formulate my own study methodology, learn how to submit an Institutional Review Board (IRB) application to secure ethics board approval for data collection, clean up the collected data so that they could be analyzed, interpret the results, and lastly discuss the implications of those results. During data collection, there was also a fundamental flaw in our design that necessitated recruiting an entirely new subject pool. All of these challenges have enabled me to learn the skills to execute a safe, valid, and replicable research design.

Considering that I had struggled to find a mentor, rethink my entire project, overcome the obstacles of collecting my own data, and do all of this while completing work for other classes, completing my psychology honors thesis will always remain the most significant accomplishment in my entire undergraduate career.

Plans for post-graduation:
My current post-graduation plan is to gain as much laboratory experience as possible and apply to graduate schools in clinical psychology (either masters or PhD). The goal is to be enrolled in a graduate program next fall.

Career aspirations:
My goal in clinical psychology is to help develop and improve treatments for mental health disorders, specifically social anxiety disorder. I wish to conduct research on understudied constructs that may help to inform clinicians and other researchers to develop their own methodologies and treatment interventions.

Advice for potential Seawolves:
As a graduating senior, my advice to upcoming Seawolves is to be trusting of the process, and to be gentle with yourself. Love yourself; celebrate yourself; be patient with yourself; it is about YOUR journey.

You will inevitably receive grades you did not want to receive, so try not to worry about them as much as trying the absolute best you can to learn. You have limited control over the outcome of your academic journey, but you have every bit of control over your effort, persistence, and outlook. Let your dreams and aspirations be the force that breaks through the most difficult of barriers. In turn, let that motivate you to remind yourself of why you are special, and why you are important to those around you. Remind yourself of what you have had to overcome to be at this point in your life, and don’t let anyone dismiss the significance of you doing so. Life takes unpredictable twists and turns, so remember to be open, persistent, and optimistic. You got this. Good luck!