ALISA ALMAS

After graduation, I wandered east to Queen's University and began a BA in psychology. The Ice Storm Winter didn't drive me away but the Snow Storm Winter the following year did, and I packed my bags and returned to Vancouver to complete my degree at UBC. A year spent working in an Infant Language Research lab convinced me that Graduate School would be a good next step, so I once again decided to head east, this time to the University of Toronto, where I've completed a Master's and am one year away from a PhD in Developmental Science (Social Development). For those who are interested, I study parents' contributions to early adolescent friendship success˜in other words, how parents help kids be good at making friends. A side interest in orphan research took me to Romania a couple of summers ago, where I got to hang out at camp with 3- to 18-year-old orphans living with AIDS, as well as tour orphanages throughout the country. A second orphanage trip is planned for this winter (2008), this time to Kenya. I must admit I will be sad to give up the graduate student life next year, and Toronto. This is a great city and I have had plenty of time to enjoy it! Next year I will begin a post-doctoral fellowship, likely somewhere in the States, but that is still to be decided.