Ambassade de France

As you recall a few months back I started the series of stories on my Canadian Parliamentary experience and life in Ottawa for a couple months for this non-trad.  A few months have passed and I have had time to absorb the entire experience.  Now, is the time to put this life story into words.

In retrospect when I think of the Ambassade de France the same feeling of awe overcomes me just as it did when I first walked through the front entrance one year ago.

WOW, the French Embassy in Ottawa is just magnificent!   During the Open Doors Ottawa event I had the opportunity to tour this embassy.  When I walked through the front doors I felt like I was walking into a James Bond movie. 

 The grand room for entertaining is larger than life, the pictures posted do not do it justice, but it does give you a taste of the grand estate.  The décor is elegant and all the sculpture throughout are art masterpieces.

I would travel back to Ottawa for the Open Doors Ottawa again.  In fact this June I was in Ottawa just one week before the event, darn, maybe next year!

June 2012

by val

PS: Here are a few more photos :)

This is the first in a series of interviews from current students or alumni students of OSUM

Edan Mossbrugger
OSU Alumni (Marion Campus)

Edan Mossbrugger

March 13, 2012

Edan Mossbrugger graduated from The Ohio State University in 2010

Bachelor of Art Degree, Major - Psychology and Minor – Sociology

Edan stated when she was in the beginning years of her undergraduate degree she thought she was going to seek a degree in sociology but as she continued through the sociology and psychology classes realizing she enjoyed the psychology classes more.

Edan received her Master of Science Degree in Criminal Justice this year, 2012, with a concentration in Forensic Psychology at Tiffin University.  This graduate program was a fourteen month program with three classes every quarter.

During her graduate degree program her class participated in a cultural competency seminar which was a one week stay near a homeless shelter.  They investigated different cultures beliefs while participating in other cultures daily lives.  By this I mean her class visited the following cultural areas while at this seminar:  Chinese Restaurant, Indian Restaurant, a Mosque and the homeless mission.

At the homeless mission they worked hands-on with the people.  They cooked them lunch at their pantry, which was located next door to the shelter but a completely separate building.  They were given a tour of the living shelter and the pantry.

She said the class met both individuals who were homeless and people just wanting a free meal.  Some of the individuals they met had mental disorders.  Others were men who had lost their long-term employment and were facing a different path in their life that they had not possibly known before. The woman’s shelter they stopped at were woman who had been abused by their husbands or significant other and in need of a place to stay. 

I asked Edan what some of her most interesting classes were in her Master’s Program.  She first stated  “ that most people think of a degree in forensic science as a CSI job but a Forensic Science Degree is for employment in the criminal justice system and the many areas  it is involved in”. These areas are in court, in the community, and in the prison system.  She said she thought most interesting were the following classes she had her last quarter:

The psychology of sex crimes was a little bothersome at times but most interesting because of the many aspects that were discussed; such as voyeurism, fetishes, and paraphilia’s. The class went into the thought process that was associated with individuals who participate in such

crimes. It was not only about the crimes themselves but the individual’s relationship to the crimes and how they made connections between the two.

The next class she found most interesting was Ethics in Law.  This class covered the different ethical guidelines and laws that are involved with the Criminal Justice System and the field of counseling.  Guidelines such as maintaining confidentiality and the safety of individuals you are involved with are important.

Psychological assessment was a helpful class that Edan participated in. The assessment tools that the class was introduced to are used currently and aid in the evaluation of not only the Criminal Justice System but other areas of psychology as well. The class was very beneficial for career fields in counseling, mental health, and the criminal justice system.

She found her text book a good source of this information which is the text book:  Foresnic Psychology, Third Edition.  Solomon M. Fulero and Lawrence S. Wrightsman.

These authors state in Chapter 1 that Forensic Psychology is “any application of psychology research, methods, theory and practice to a task faced by the legal system”.

I asked Edan what type of employment she is looking for in this field and she stated she “is just looking for a job” that can get her foot into the door.  This would enable her to start working with her degree.  She would eventually like to be employed in a prison counseling the prisoners but is open to any ideas. The relationship between psychology and law is what she is interested in and looking for a career related to that area of study.

Interview by Val

Second in a series of OSUM staff interviews

Jessica Shultz Sidelinger
OSUM Counselor
*This interview was done in March 2012
Jessica recently left OSUM for another position

Jessica Sidelinger is our Personal Counselor at The Ohio State University at Marion.  Jessica received a Bachelor of Arts Degree with a Major in Psychology and a Minor in Creative Writing from Otterbein University in Westerville, Ohio. 

Jessica received her Master’s Degree in Social Work from The Ohio State University in 2003.  I asked Jessica what some of her favorite classes were while she was in graduate school and she replied

Clinical track therapy:  group psycho therapy, individual psycho therapy and social policy. (Psycho therapy if another term for mental health therapy)

Jessica has been at the Marion Campus as a Personal Counselor for the past two and one half years.  Jessica has met with individuals and couples.  I asked Jessica what are the most general topics individuals schedule appointments for and she said the most common are feelings of stress, feelings of being overwhelmed, depression, lack of motivation, and relationship issues.

During finals week for winter quarter Jessica held a stress reduction period for students.  This was held for 15 minutes in the Meditation Room in Morrill Hall.  The 15 minutes were held with relaxing music, instructions for meditation and in a calming environment.

Jessica plans to reach out more to students to bring awareness of the counseling services offered on our campus that students may not be aware of.  She has plans to promote the counseling services available so students feel free to stop in to see her.  She wants to get the word out that students don’t have to be majorly depressed to come in to see her they can just stop to talk.  Students can stop in to see her even if it’s about positive issues and looking for ways to handle them.   Some positive issues can cause stress when a person is deciding how to deal with the positive situation or how to tell news of a positive event that may bring a negative reaction.  Positive events can cause stress, such as starting a new job, health issues, getting engaged, moving, deciding on majors or applying for graduate school, to name a few.  Jessica is here for students to reach out to.

Since we are a university campus there are lots of students and others on our campus who may have questions regarding relationships.

Jessica has made arrangements for a speaker on relationship issues to speak on campus Thursday, April 19^th, 2012 in Morrill Hall Room 290.  The speaker is Annette Franks, M.Ed., LPC and is a Certified Gestalt Psychotherapist and Licensed Professional Counselor.  She has over 30 years counseling experience working with individuals, couples and families.  Annette has been featured as a guest on numerous TV talk shows and is a keynote speaker among corporate America, including Fortune 500 Companies.  Annette will be on our campus to talk about “The Art of Dating and Creating Healthy Relationships”.  Jessica is encouraging everyone on campus to attend and wants to highlight that you don’t necessarily need to have a problem to listen to what Annette has to say.  She wants to have people attend who will simply leave feeling that they may have more insight into their personal relationships and can move forward with them, whether they are new relationships or five, ten, twenty year relationships.  Someone may leave with a better understanding of some things they may not have thought of before.  Jessica encourages everyone to attend this talk on April 19^th. (This event was very successful)

*The Office of Student Life encourages people on campus to make an appointment with the new counselor, when position is filled, if they need to talk, feel depressed, overwhelmed, or have any other problem they need to share in confidence.  People can do individual and couples counseling and IT’S FREE and CONFIDENTIAL.

This is the first of a series OSUM staff inteviews.

Sharon Gattshall
Acadmic Advisor

The Ohio State University - Bachelor of Arts in Psychology

 Kansas State University – Master of Science Degree -  Academic Advising & Administration

Sharon has been the Academic Advisor for Psychology Majors from 2005 through 2011.

“The student learns all areas of psychology with a general degree of psychology” stated Sharon. When asked what the general degree means specifically she stated “ it means that the student learns a mixture of psychology” from all different areas.

Sharon handled other majors such as sociology, criminology and history to name a few.

The majority of her students were psychology majors, approximately 100-150 students a quarter at the Marion Campus.

When asked what a student could pursue a career in with a psychology major and she replied various employment positions in the following areas:

Juvenile Court

Child Services

Job and Family Services

Prison systems

Head Start Programs

Counseling centers, not in a counseling position

There are many positions that requires a Bachelor Degree in Business

Over the last five years a number of the psychology students at the Marion Campus were non-traditional students that were seeking this degree.  She stated that” our campus is an excellent place to complete that degree”.  She recommends this major for a professional employment position and stated that “it is a great entrance way to many jobs”.

If you have an interest in this position you can check out the website for the Marion Campus at

www.osumarion.edu and look for the class schedule link

There are many research and independent study opportunities at the Marion Campus for all majors but especially psychology majors.  There are also opportunities to help a professor with research of data.

Honors students can complete an Honors Degree with Distinction.  The Psychology Department completes an honors research thesis. Students can inquire if interested in this with their advisor or the Psychology Department. 

I asked Sharon if most students start the psychology degree thinking they will eventually become a counselor and she said yes.  She went onto say “that most students start this degree thinking they want to be a counselor but they get into it and learn it is more than just illnesses or diseases or counseling people.  They change attitudes about what they are learning as they learn it” she said.  Students realize there are many more employment options with this degree and they start looking into the various areas they can schedule psychology classes for.

This Spring Quarter there is going to be a psychology course offered on memory and cognition.  There is another course on adolescence which deals with the child, teenage, adult conflicts such as peer pressure, stress, bullying, violence, eating disorders and depression.

This upcoming Fall Semester there will be positive psych classes, as well as a class on the psychology of personality.  Also offered will be a comparative psychology class which will be all about animals with a second class of emotion.

If you are interested in any of these psychology classes or have an interest in a psychology major or minor contact Shellie Shirk, as she has taken over this degree’s requirements in the Academic Advising Suite.  Sharon is still an Academic Advisor here just now handling other degree majors.

(Interviewed in March 2012 by Val)