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Meet Dr. Catherine Ma — the first Chinese full professor of psychology at Kingsborough Community College, an active board member of the Asian American/Asian Research Institute of CUNY and the 2022 recipient of the Two-Year College Teaching and Mentoring Excellence Award from the Society of the Psychological Study of Social Issues. She earned her Ph.D. and M.Phil. from the CUNY Graduate Center and has extensive experience teaching upper-level courses that include child and adolescence, classroom management, developmental psychology and the psychology of immigration. Her current research explores the impact of introducing antiracist education to education majors who will be entering the Department of Education in New York City. |
What brought you to CUNY? “I started my undergraduate days at Baruch, and my ‘Introduction to Psychology’ course led me to my passion for psychology. I just wanted to devour everything I learned in that class, but being a first-generation college student and an immigrant made pursuing higher education quite difficult for me. My parents didn’t know what psychology was about, and I wasn’t familiar with how to make a career out of psychology back then.”
What is the thing you most emphasize when you tell someone you work at CUNY? “I love teaching and connecting with students who remind me of myself as an immigrant and first-generation student. I get a unique opportunity to be the professor I never had now that I’m on the other side as a CUNY professor. It’s one thing to tell students you are there for them. It’s a whole different ballpark when you share that you’ve been where they are, that you understand their unique struggles and what they are going through, and you are here to help them every step of the way.”
What do you do for fun? “I just flew back from a long weekend in Paris to see Lizzo in concert and visit the Eiffel Tower and Disneyland, Paris. I also love spending time with my super spoiled pug, Boba. I think my kids are a little jealous, but I gently remind them they had all that while they were little. Now it's Boba’s turn, lol.”
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