Psychology Research in New York

Name
Kirsten Endler

Academic School

Psychology

Where did you go?

New York University (NYU), New York City

What type of placement did you complete (Study/Work/Volunteering/Research)?
Research

What motivated you to take up a Global Opportunity?

I did not do a gap year before university, but knew I wanted to travel. Therefore, I was keen to do a placement abroad to gain practical skills and explore at the same time.

What were your top 3 highlights from your time abroad? 

Day Trips- as New York has great public transport for the USA, I enjoyed taking trips on my weekends. I went upstate to go hiking, and took coaches to explore nearby states like Philadelphia, Boston, and Connecticut.

Food- New York City (NYC) is extremely diverse and that means that there is a lot of delicious food places to go and try authentic food. My favourite places to do this were at food markets like Smorgasburg, which has different pop-up food truck festivals throughout many boroughs. The Queens night market was my favourite, as each dish was limited to $6, making it surprisingly cheap for NYC. Here I tried food from many countries, like Chile, Venezuela, Sri Lanka, and Trinidad and Tobago!

Sports- Americans love their games, and I did too! I enjoyed watching sports I had never seen before, such as Baseball. I also went to many basketball games, both in colleges like Yale, and The University of Connecticut, and professional games in Brooklyn (unfortunately not the Knicks, as tickets were crazy expensive!). It was funny to see kiss cams in real life, and how many advertisements games in the USA have. At least there were yummy fries and hotdogs to distract me!

What was your biggest challenge? How did you overcome it?

It was quite challenging to get used to such a busy city to begin with. Having to find cheap places to buy groceries, work out the subway, and having to wake up early for a real 9-5 job.

Honestly, I just had to give it time and approach challenges with excitement rather than dread. This made everything feel more fun, and when you’re in such a busy city like NYC it is almost impossible to be bored.

How has your placement been beneficial to your studies at Cardiff University or your future career? 

My placement was in a developmental research lab in NYU, therefore I gained hands-on research experience that will help me in any psychological career. I am unsure if I want to do research in the future, but because the skills I learned are so broad I can apply them to almost any career. People in my institution were able to provide contacts to advise in corporate careers like marketing too. Moreover, the research I did will help me a lot in my final year dissertation.

What is the one thing you wish you’d known before you left?

Although I knew it would be expensive, I didn’t realise how easy it was to spend so much money everyday in NYC. So make sure you have a budget!

What would you say to a student that was unsure about spending a period abroad? 

My year abroad is hands down the best thing I have done. It helped me grow so much as a person and showed me how resilient and independent I really was.

What are 3 things to do in your host destination? 

Sightseeing- go to free views of the city at Pier 57, the Highline and Little Island

Museums- many have NYC resident and student pay what you wish schemes so if you’re affiliated with a university you can go to famous museums like the MET, and MOMA for as little as $0.10

Music- add local bars and concert venues on Instagram and explore the local music. NYC is especially known for its amazing Jazz, and local events are often better and more authentic than the tourist traps.

Share your top tips for thriving in your programme destination 

– Make sure to pack a warm coat (or thrift one at L Train locations) and bring thermals for the winter. It gets much colder than Cardiff!

– Everywhere has good food but my favourite taco truck is Birria Landia, make sure to get the consomé . It is good enough to drink alone.

– Check travel Tuesday deals for cheap flights from the USA. I managed to go to Mexico for spring break for a great price.

Please sum up your experience abroad in one sentence 

Yes, this is my real accent.