Major: Psychology
Hometown: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Idzriana Nur Alya loves hiking, traveling, and learning new languages. A senior psychology major graduating from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, she plans to use her degree as an officer within the Malaysian government. She is also actively improving her Japanese as a backup plan, should she wish to work as a translator.
After completing her general studies, Idzriana Nur Alya considered multiple majors, but ultimately pursued psychology based on the encouragement of her parents.
This spring, she completed an internship with Family Service Lincoln as a Teacher Assistant in the Youth Development Program. The program focuses on partnering with schools, families, and neighborhoods to provide learning opportunities in safe environments to build stronger communities.
"I chose this internship to gain experience in the education field and deepen my understanding of how teachers support their students," says Idzriana Nur Alya. "Also, I am interested in how psychology principles can be applied in classroom settings. My work mainly involves implementing program activities to support the learning and development of youth."
She credits this experiential learning internship with showing her how to support students' behavior and emotional development in a real-world setting.
"This internship [has] helped me to build problem-solving and communication skills. It [has] enabled me to deepen my knowledge in [an] educational setting," says Idzriana Nur Alya.
Seeing the positive effect on students' engagement when she made small changes in her approach and used positive reinforcement impressed Idzriana Nur Alya and provided her with impactful learning moments.
"My goal is to become a psychological officer in Malaysia; thus, this internship offered direct experience in supporting that career pathway [and] preparing me to work in a professional setting," says Idzriana Nur Alya.
