Class of 2019

Sydney Ching

Sydney graduated in 2016 from UC Irvine as a Psychology and Social Behavior major with a minor in Asian American Studies. At UC Irvine, Sydney served as part of a leadership council, as a research assistant, as a campus representative, as a teaching assistant, and as a peer consultant at the Career Center. After working for a year after graduation at UC Berkeley's Career Center, Sydney started SFSU. Outside of school, Sydney loves to draw, dance, write, read, sing, and spend time with her friends and family in the Bay Area and beyond. Since she was twelve, Sydney knew she wanted to attend graduate school for psychology, so many thanks to her dad, Kush, Dr. Zinger, and countless others who helped her find her way!

Second Year Internship: Zymergen

Wesley Hale 

Wesley Hale recently moved to the Bay Area from his hometown of Orlando, Florida. Wesley graduated from the University of Central Florida with a Bachelor of Science degree in Psychology. During his undergraduate studies, he worked as a research assistant in the D.E.L.T.A Lab (Developing Effective Leaders Teams and Alliances) under the supervision of Dr. Toshio Murase. He remained active at UCF by volunteering as a peer mentor, conversational tutor, and as the co-founder and vice president of MINDS-I, a student organization centered on the practice of mindfulness.

Before pursuing a Master’s degree in I-O Psychology, Wesley gained experience working in the education field. He started out teaching students with Autism Spectrum Disorders and went on to teach a variety of subjects in the Orange County Public School district. He spent the last two summers in China teaching an innovative conversational English program at one of China’s top universities, Xi’an Jiaotong University. He was a Guest Lecturer at XJTU during the summer of 2016 and assumed the additional role of Team Leader for the summer of 2017. Wesley enjoys hiking and spending time outdoors, drinking tea, and listening to music from all over the world.

Second Year Internship: Arctic Shores

Kathleen Hayes

Kathleen graduated from Fordham University with a B.S. in Psychology, where she was heavily involved in the Global Outreach program, coordinating both domestic and international service learning and immersion projects. It was through this program, working as an Executive Board Member and Project Manager, that Kathleen first developed an interest in I/O Psychology. A San Francisco native, Kathleen is happy to be home in the Bay and is most excited to gain a deeper understanding of organizational culture, leadership training, and employee well-being. Kathleen is also a yoga and Pilates instructor in the city, but when she's not teaching or studying, you can find her at the beach, eating burritos, or hanging with her dog.

Second Year Internship: Meltwater

Riley Johnson

Riley graduated with a B.A. from San Diego State University in 2017, where she majored in Psychology and minored in Honors Interdisciplinary Studies. She originally started doing research in a clinical anxiety lab, but soon realized she was intrigued by I/O psychology! Riley then started doing research with Dr. Mark Ehrhart in his Research on Leadership Effectiveness lab, where she did an undergraduate honors thesis on ambivalent supervision. Riley chose to continue her education at SFSU to learn more about her interest in the relationships between leadership, employee wellbeing, and productivity. She also currently works in Dr. Kevin Eschleman’s Health and Organizational Psychology Lab to fulfill her love for research. In her spare time, Riley continues her quest to find the perfect sandwich and enjoys anything related to aquatics.

Second Year Internship: Integral Talent Systems

Rupinder Kaur

Rupinder graduated from San Francisco State University in 2016 with her Bachelors of Arts in Psychology. She conducted research in the Employee Selection & Retention lab under the immediate supervision of Dr. Wright, as well as in Dr. Gross’s Psychophysiology Lab at Stanford University. Dr. Gross’s lab allowed her to gain extensive knowledge of EEG, and experience in multiple behavioral and neuroscience experiments that focused on emotional regulation and decision-making, while Dr. Wright’s lab helped shape her interest in applicant perception, employee selection, and technological factors in the workplace. In addition, she began volunteering at a non-profit, Factory Farming Awareness Coalition, as a researcher to help spread awareness of animal rights, environmental degradation, public health, and human rights. In her spare time, Rupinder enjoys collecting socks, wine tasting, hiking, trying new foods, and having Harry Potter marathons.

Second Year Internship: Integral Talent Systems

Jerrod Nelson

Jerrod earned a B.A. in Advertising with a minor in Spanish from Washington State University.  Next, he transitioned into employee training and development as Quality Assurance Trainer for Connextions, Inc., a technology and business outsourcing company.  In this role, Jerrod trained employees one-on-one to help them learn the social and professional tools necessary to be impactful in the workplace.  He then worked as a trainer for oil industry professionals at JECPT in Jizan, Saudi Arabia.  Following this, Jerrod attended Heritage University in Washington state and earned his Master’s in Education.  He has since taught as an elementary General and Special Education teacher.  In his free time, Jerrod enjoys reading noir detective novels, pop psychology books, and is dauntless in his pursuit of the perfect burrito.

Second Year Internship: Office of Institutional Research - SF State

Jasmine Schnall

Jasmine graduated from the University of California, San Diego in 2016 with her Bachelors of Science in Clinical Psychology. As an undergrad, she conducted research in the Developmental Psychology lab under Dr. Gail Heyman as well as designing and implementing an original study about teasing relationships between parents and their children (and vice versa). Additionally, Jasmine conducted research projects in Dr. Ross Metusalem’s Research Methods courses gaining valuable skills. She is very thankful for the education, support, and dedication from these outstanding professors who have helped her discover the next chapter of her life – San Francisco State University.

At SFSU, Jasmine is interested in learning more about training, climate & culture, leadership, teamwork, and how technology can be used in the workplace. She is currently a research assistant in Dr. Diana Sanchez’s Workplace Technology Research Lab to gain a deeper understanding of the various ways technology can improve and effect the workplace. In her free time, Jasmine enjoys exploring the city, attending concerts, searching for great vegan restaurants, cooking, and going to farmer’s markets.

Second Year Internship: SAP

Charlotte Sylvan

Charloote earned a B.A. in Political Science with a minor in US History from University of California, San Diego. After working for Whole Foods Global Perishables Procurement as a produce buyer, she pivoted into the wine industry where she has been a wine buyer for Chambers and Chambers Wine Merchants, an importer and distributor. Also during this time, she volunteered with the local Police Activities League as one of the leaders of their youth golf program. While in the corpoate working world, she discovered and developed a passion for I/O Psychology. Her research interests include leadership development and selection, organizational culture and employee well-being. While not immersed in her studies, Charlotte enjoys learning about and tasting wine, long walks on the beach with her dog, cooking, baking and eating her way through San Francisco.

Second Year Internship: Indeed

Alysia Thind

Alysia earned her B.S in Psychology and minor in Business Administration from the University of California, Riverside. As an undergrad, she worked in several research labs including the Childhood Cognition Lab, the Personality and Identity Lab, and lastly the Riverside Accuracy Project and International Situations Lab where she completed her senior thesis on the effects of anxiety and depression in a cross-cultural context. Additionally, she worked on a project centered around cross-modal research, focusing on the effects of learning through different forms of stimuli. Her research experiences and education in Business motivated her to pursue I/O psychology, where she is interested in learning and development, employee selection, and analytics. When she is not busy studying or tutoring middle schoolers, Alysia loves to go for jogs, eat food, explore, and spend time with her friends/family! 

Second Year Internship: CBS Interactive

Emily Toy

Emily earned her B.S. in Psychology from the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities. She assisted with research that studied the interactions between morals and politics, helped carry out a research project with over one million participants on personality traits and upper management and was hired to investigate the effects of narcissistic leadership in the workplace by the Carlson School of Management. Emily held the position of Director of Scholarship for her sorority, Delta Gamma and was actively involved in the Industrial/Organizational Psychology Club. She currently teaches statistics as a graduate teaching assistant. She likes to spend her free time eating food, petting random strangers’ dogs, and exploring San Francisco.

Second Year Internship: Docusign

Erik Weiner

Erik graduated from UC Berkeley in 2015 with his B.A. in Psychology. While studying at Cal, he assisted several research projects within the Psychology department and the School of Public Health, working in clinical and field settings to examine topics including social cognition and facial expression, adolescent health interventions, and distance techniques in cognitive-behavioral therapy. In addition, he volunteered as a staff writer for the Arts & Entertainment section of The Daily Californian. In 2016, Erik began working as a Consulting Associate within the Talent Assessment division of PSI Services LLC, an international assessment solutions company. At PSI, he assists on various projects concerning the development of occupational assessments for public and private sector organizations. His role involves providing support in exam development, validation, and other test-related projects. Currently, his research interests include selection, assessment, and gamification. Outside of the classroom, lab, and workplace, Erik enjoys playing music, attending concerts, hiking, and exploring new cities.

Second Year Internship: San Francisco Public Utilities Commission