A desire to work with youth led Tiverton, Rhode Island native Elizabeth Janick to pursue a bachelor’s degree in psychology at Salve Regina. During her sophomore year, she applied for a job at Momentum, a behavioral health agency that provides services to children with special needs throughout the state of Rhode Island.

“I took an entry-level job working with children with intellectual disabilities simply to gain experience in the psychology field,” Janick said. “During that short summer working with Momentum, I fell in love with applied behavior analysis and knew that was the specific field that I needed to focus my degree in.”

That experience led Janick to enroll in Salve Regina's combined bachelor’s/master’s program for psychology and behavior analysis. She earned her bachelor’s degree in May 2017 and completed her master’s degree in May 2018. “I still love the work I do with Momentum,” said Janick, who is now a board-certified behavior analyst. “My Salve education gave me the tools and knowledge to make a difference in clients’ lives.”

Janick said she is applying the concepts learned in her behavior analysis courses in her career and everyday life. “I have been able to make better suggestions for changes or additions to my clients’ treatment plans, and I have been able to apply concepts I learn immediately,” she said. “I have been able to see the concepts and intervention strategies actually in action, being applied and making a difference.”